Middle East
Latest about Middle East

Ancient lake full of crop circles lurks in the shadow of Saudi Arabia's 'camel-hump' mountain
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2020 astronaut photo shows the oasis town of Jubbah lurking within a paleolake in the wind shadow of Saudi Arabia's "two camel-hump mountain."

Ancient mummified cheetahs discovered in Saudi Arabia contain preserved DNA from the long-lost population
By Sarah Wild published
Cheetahs vanished from Saudi Arabia half a century ago. Now long-dead mummified big cats may help herald their return.

'A huge surprise': 1,500-year-old church found next to Zoroastrianism place of worship in Iraq
By Tom Metcalfe published
A 2,000-year-old palace in the Republic of Georgia and a 1,500-year-old church in Iraq suggest Zoroastrians coexisted with people of other religions.

5,000-year old 'cultic space' discovered in Iraq dates to time of the world's first cities
By Tom Metcalfe published
Archaeologists in Iraq have discovered the remains of a 5,000-year-old building that might have been used as a "cultic space" or temple for worship.

Life-size rock art points the way to oldest human inhabitants of Saudi Arabia — and the desert oases they used
By Sophie Berdugo published
Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have discovered hundreds of rock art engravings that were carved by humans more than 12,000 years ago.

1,100-year-old Viking hoard reveals raiding wealthy only 'part of the picture' — they traded with the Middle East too
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers have found that the Bedale Viking hoard contains silver from Middle Eastern coins, highlighting that the Vikings profited from long-distance trade networks and brought this imported silver with them when they settled in England.

Males of 4 never-before-seen tarantula species have record-long genitalia
By Sascha Pare published
'Size really does matter' The males of four newfound tarantula species have extremely long genitalia so that they can keep their distance from aggressive females during mating, researchers say.

Enslaved Africans led a decade-long rebellion 1,200 years ago in Iraq, new evidence suggests
By Owen Jarus published
The Zanj, enslaved people largely from Africa, rebelled at the same time they were ordered to build a massive system of canals in what is now Iraq, a new study finds.

Cats may have been domesticated much later than we thought — with earlier felines being eaten or made into clothes
By Richard Pallardy last updated
Two studies of ancient felines find that cats were likely domesticated in Egypt or other regions in North Africa — and moved into Europe with humans much later than previously believed.
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