Posted inMedieval Archaeology

A Major Medieval Irrigation Structure in Mesopotamia Was Found to Have Been Built by Black Slaves During the Islamic Period

An international team of archaeologists has, for the first time, accurately dated an extensive farming system in southern Iraq whose origins have historically been linked to the exploitation of Black slaves during the early Islamic period. The findings of the study, published in the journal Antiquity, challenge previous assumptions about its abandonment and its connection […]

Posted inAntiquity

The Controversial Baghdad Jars, Which Some Consider Voltaic Batteries Created in Antiquity

Many readers were probably fans of watching Myth Busters, that television show that used scientific recreation to test urban and historical legends, each one more bizarre than the last. Well, in episode 29, aired in March 2005, they “busted” one of those out-of-place artifacts often cited by conspiracy theorists and lovers of the esoteric to […]

Posted inIron Age Archaeology

Archaeologists Discover a Network of More Than 4,000 Canals and 700 Farms in Eridu, the First City in History According to Mesopotamian Sources

In the heart of ancient Mesopotamia, a group of researchers has achieved a significant archaeological milestone: the identification and mapping of a vast network of irrigation canals in the region of Eridu, in southern Iraq, the southernmost of all the great Mesopotamian cities and, according to the Sumerian King List, the oldest city in history. […]

Posted inBronze Age Archaeology

Archaeologists Find Evidence That Kurd Qaburstan Could Be the Ancient City of Qabra, Mentioned in Babylonian Inscriptions

The archaeological site of Kurd Qaburstan, located in the Erbil region of northeastern Iraq, has emerged as an invaluable source of knowledge about the Middle Bronze Age Mesopotamian civilization. Recent excavations led by Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), have revealed surprising findings that could redefine our […]

Posted inStone Age Archaeology

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

In the vast Navkur plain near the city of Rovia in Iraqi Kurdistan, a team of archaeologists from the University of Udine has made exceptional discoveries at the Asingeran and Kanispan sites. These excavations, carried out as part of the Asingeran Excavation Project in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities of Dohuk, have revealed valuable […]

Posted inIron Age Archaeology

Fabulous New Discoveries Inside the Temple of Ninurta in Nimrud: Two Shrines, Statue Platforms with Cuneiform Inscriptions, a Kudurru and Other Artifacts

As part of efforts to preserve cultural heritage, recent archaeological work in Nimrud, Iraq, led by the Penn Museum in collaboration with Iraqi archaeologists, has brought to light fascinating discoveries that enrich our understanding of the ancient Assyrian Empire. This research, part of the Penn Nimrud Project, falls under the University of Pennsylvania’s Iraq Heritage […]

Posted inBronze Age Archaeology

Structures Found in Iraq Reveal the Deliberate Collapse of One of the First Centralized Governments Over 5,000 Years Ago

At the archaeological site of Shakhi Kora, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, excavations have provided new insights into the origin and evolution of the earliest state institutions, dated to the fourth millennium BCE. An international team led by Professor Claudia Glatz from the University of Glasgow has uncovered structures and objects that reveal both […]

Posted inMedieval Archaeology

The Site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, which in 637 CE Pitted the Arabs against the Sassanian Empire and Was Key in the Expansion of Islam, Has Been Discovered

A team of archaeologists led by Dr. William Deadman from the Department of Archaeology at Durham University has successfully pinpointed the site of the historic Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. This battle, which took place between 637 and 638 CE, is known as a key confrontation in the expansion of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula, culminating in […]