Middle East

Latest about Middle East

At left, we see the reconstruction of a Neanderthal woman with a wide face and nose, big brows and dark long hair. At right, we see her reconstructed skull, which had been crushed and is now pieced together.

Neanderthal woman's face brought to life in stunning reconstruction

By Emily Cooke published

With her long, brown hair and determined gaze, the new facial reconstruction lets us peek into the world of an archaic human who lived tens of thousands of years ago.

Middle East
A large cave-like lava tube that is dark and underground. We see a researcher with a light in the corner.

Humans were living in a lava tube 7,000 years ago on the Arabian Peninsula

By Owen Jarus published

An analysis of a lava tube in Saudi Arabia reveals that humans have lived there for at least 7,000 years.

Middle East
A reconstruction of a walled fortification with trees and fields in the center.

4,000-year-old wall found around oasis in Saudi Arabia likely defended 'against raids from nomads'

By Owen Jarus published

Ancient people in what is now Saudi Arabia built a 9-mile-long wall along the Khaybar Oasis, which still exists today.

Middle East
Orange speckled sand boa snake with bulging reddish eyes

Arabian sand boa: The derpy snake that looks like it's got googly eyes glued to the top of its head

By Sascha Pare published

Arabian sand boas live in deserts on the Arabian Peninsula, where they lie buried in the sand with only their derpy eyes peeking out as they wait for prey.

Middle East
Four back-and-white aerial images showing roman forts captured in satellite photos by the U.S. military.

Cold War satellite images reveal nearly 400 Roman forts in the Middle East

By Ben Turner published

The photos, taken in the 1960s and 1970s by the first spy satellites, reveal that the eastern border of the Roman Empire was a place of vibrant trade.

Middle East
Human skull on green leaves.

Violence in the ancient Middle East spiked with the formation of states and empires, battered skulls reveal

By Kristina Killgrove published

Human violence in the Middle East has ebbed and flowed since 12000 B.C., with spikes in the Copper and Iron ages and a lull in the Bronze Age, new research finds.

Middle East
A white marble bust of Alexander the Great, severed at the neck, atop dirt and rubble.

2nd-century Alexander the Great statue with lion's-mane hairstyle unearthed in Turkey

By Tom Metcalfe published

The discovery shows the popularity of the ancient ruler hundreds of years after his death.

Middle East
A carving of a camel on a rock outcropping.

Mysterious and 'beautifully carved' life-size camel carvings discovered in Saudi Arabian desert

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Life-size carvings of camels have been found in the Saudi Arabian desert, but archaeologists aren't sure who created them and when.

Middle East
Photographs of animal horns from a variety of animals, including cattle and caprines, or animals in the goat family, discovered at at the mustatil archaeological site.

7,000-year-old animal bones, human remains found in enigmatic stone structure in Arabia

By Owen Jarus published

Researchers have discovered human bones and animal remains dating to around 7,000 years ago in Arabian stone structures known as mustatils.

Middle East
Here we see a rectangular stone standing upright with carving on it in the middle of a desert.

8,000-year-old rock carvings in Arabia may be world's oldest megastructure blueprints

By Kristina Killgrove published

Around 8,000 years ago, Middle Eastern hunters carved to-scale plans of their 'desert kite' traps onto rocks.

Middle East
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