Middle East
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Strange phenomena create festive decorations on Iraq's 'Christmas tree lake'Earth from space A 2018 astronaut photo shows a festive, fir-tree-shaped artificial reservoir in Iraq decorated with both natural and imagined ornaments.
By Harry Baker Published
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Queen Puabi's lyre: A bull-headed music maker played for Mesopotamian royalty 4,500 years agoA lyre in a treasure-laden royal tomb discovered in Mesopotamia is the earliest stringed instrument ever found.
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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Ancient Assyrian capital that's been abandoned for 2,700 years revealed in new magnetic surveyA new magnetic survey of the ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad has revealed several structures, including a villa, buried underground.
By Margherita Bassi Published
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7,000-year-old alien-like figurine from Kuwait a 'total surprise' to archaeologistsA newfound clay head from the sixth millennium B.C. is the first of its kind ever found in Kuwait, but similar finds have been unearthed from ancient Mesopotamia.
By Hannah Kate Simon Published
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5,000-year-old artifacts in Iraq hint at mysterious collapse of one of the world's 1st governmentsNewly analyzed 5,000-year-old clay bowls unearthed in Iraq may be evidence of early government-like rule, a new study finds.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Declassified spy satellite images reveal 1,400-year-old battle site in Iraq that set off the Muslim conquestHistorical texts that mentioned details about the battle site helped researchers match the images to the lost town of al-Qadisiyyah.
By Sierra Bouchér Published
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Origins of world's earliest writing point to symbols on 'seals' used in Mesopotamian tradeResearchers investigating how the first writing arose identified the motifs on preliterate "cylinder seals" used in the trade of agricultural products and textiles.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Al Naslaa rock: Saudi Arabia's enigmatic sandstone block that's split perfectly down the middleAl Naslaa is a rock formation in Saudi Arabia's northwestern desert consisting of two huge, symmetrical stone blocks that are separated by a mysterious gap and sit on small pedestals.
By Sascha Pare Published
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'A king will die': 4,000-year-old lunar eclipse omen tablets finally decipheredTablets added to the British Museum's collection many decades ago have finally been deciphered.
By Owen Jarus Published
middle-east
