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Tell es-Sultan in Jericho is an archaeological site that traces its origins to around 12,000 BC

UN Heritage Listing in Palestine Sparks Israeli Discontent

At a recent UN conference, the 12,000-year-old Tell es-Sultan archaeological site near Jericho, on the West Bank, was listed as a World Heritage Site “in Palestine.” This decision angered Israeli...
The natural cliff overhang provided protection from the elements, contributing to the remarkable preservation of the horn chamber.  Source: Royal Commission for AlUla

7,000-year-old Evidence of ‘World’s Earliest Pilgrimage’ Unearthed in Arabia

Recent excavations and ensuing studies conducted at the ancient stone monuments ‘mustatil’ (literally meaning rectangle) in northwest Arabia have revealed the presence of a cultic ritual that was...
Montage of article images. 	Source: Various

Ten of the Biggest and Best Geoglyphs from the Ancient World

The most well-known geoglyphs in the world are undoubtedly the Nazca Lines of coastal Peru. Yet, scattered across the globe are thousands of other geoglyphs that are equally as impressive. The earth...
Top Stories This Week: Arabian Chivalry, Polish Treasures & The Lost City of Lagash

Top Stories This Week: Arabian Chivalry, Polish Treasures & The Lost City of Lagash

In this top story overview, we highlight our most read articles this week, including a look at the little-known subject of Arabian Chivalry and exploring Lagash, a lost city from Mesopotamia. Among...
The 1,000-year-old Middle Eastern gold earring was found in in Denmark. Source: Nationalmuseet

1,000-Year-Old Middle Eastern Gold Earring Discovered in Scandinavia

The National Museum in Copenhagen announced on Sunday that 54-year-old Frants Fugl Vestergaard from Denmark unearthed a rare gold earring while metal detecting in a field in West Jutland. Believed to...
20,000-Year-Old Woman Burned In Fiery Death Ritual

20,000-Year-Old Woman Burned In Fiery Death Ritual

The burnt remains of a woman discovered in an ancient Jordanian hunters’ camp have been dated to almost 20,000 years ago. And having been partially incinerated in an obscure death ritual, this...
One of the decorated ostrich eggs used in the study.  Source: Tamar Hodos et al. / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Scientists Unscramble Secrets to World of Ancient Ostrich Eggs

An international team of scientists have revealed secrets about the ancient creation skills, trade and economy of decorated ostrich eggs in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Easter is here again and...
Boat with oars on a rock, Al Jassasiya, Qatar Source: Alizada Studios/ Adobe Stock

Creators of the 800 Al Jassasiya Rock Carvings Remain Undetected

While some societies leave few remains, especially if they were not literate, rock carvings have helped historians understand prehistoric people and mysterious cultures . Some of the most impressive...
Left: Front angle of the reconstructed Bull Headed Lyre found in the Sumerian Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia, c. 2500 BC. Source: Penn Museum

Satire in Mesopotamia: Unravelling the Bull Headed Lyre of Ur

Many of us tend to think that the people of early cultures were less sophisticated than us. The wealthiest people may have lived lives of luxury with gold and slaves, but admittedly we cannot really...
The Mongol ruler Hulagu in Baghdad interns the Caliph of Baghdad among his treasures. Hulagu founded the Ilkhanate.

The Ilkhanate Had Only Two Goals: Conquest and Power

The Ilkhanate was one of the four khanates that emerged after the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire. This khanate was founded by Hulegu Khan, one of Genghis Khan’s grandsons, and lasted from the...
Arge Bam, Bam, Iran.

Castle in the Sand: Arg-e Bam as a Pillar of Middle-Eastern Longevity

Iran’s Arg-e Bam, Bam Citadel, once stood as a pillar of longevity in the Middle East. Created upon the beginnings of the Achaemenid Empire (6th-4th centuries BC), and building on the commercial...
Mrs. Joan Howard, nicknamed Indiana Joan, is a 95-year-old woman accused of tomb raiding in the 1960s and 1970s.

Indiana Joan’s $1 Million Artifact Collection Has Got Her in a Spot of Bother

Ninety-five-year-old Joan Howard proudly showed off her collection of ancient artifacts to a local newspaper in Australia, not realizing that he story was to spark a worldwide controversy. Now...
Google Earth image of manmade stone structures in Saudi Arabia

Mysterious Manmade Stone Structures Detected in the Remote Landscape of Saudi Arabia

Deep in the heart of Saudi Arabia, 400 peculiar stone structures have been found, dating back thousands of years ago. These stone features were discovered by archaeologists with the use of satellite...
Analyzing Mummy Genes: Were Ancient Egyptians closely Related to Middle Easterners?

Analyzing Mummy Genes: Were Ancient Egyptians closely Related to Middle Easterners?

Egypt has been thought of by many as a quintessentially African civilization. There is, however, evidence that the ancient Egyptians may have been less African than modern Egyptians, at least...
A miniature from the Rashid al-Din’s Jami‘ al-Tawarikh showing Mahmud of Ghazni receiving a richly decorated robe of honour form the Abbasid caliph in 1000 AD.

Mahmud of Ghazni: Merciless Tyrant Obliterated Hindu Temples and Conquered Territories Through Plunder and Slaughter

God be merciful to both father and son! Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of the country [India], and performed wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all...
Eliminating the Competition: Selim I, A Grim Conqueror Who Vastly Extended the Ottoman Empire

Eliminating the Competition: Selim I, A Grim Conqueror Who Vastly Extended the Ottoman Empire

Selim I (known also by his epithet ‘Yavuz’, which, translated from Turkish, means ‘the Grim’) was the 9th sultan of the Ottoman Empire who lived during the second half of the 15th century and the...
Sweet Ancient Melodies of the Ney: One of the Oldest Musical Instruments Still in Use

Sweet Ancient Melodies of the Ney: One of the Oldest Musical Instruments Still in Use

For proof that the ney (also spelled nay) is one of the oldest musical instruments still in use, you need look no further than the great Sumerian city of Ur. Archeologists have found the delicate...
Legends, Mysteries, Light and Darkness: The Secret History of the Biblical Cave of the Patriarchs

Legends, Mysteries, Light and Darkness: The Secret History of the Biblical Cave of the Patriarchs

The Cave of the Patriarchs is a very famous site in the Middle East. Known as Ibrahim Mosque or the Sanctuary of Abraham today, it appears in the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. Legends tell of a...
Why was Ancient Middle Eastern Bitumen Discovered in an Anglo-Saxon Boat Burial at Sutton Hoo, England?

Why was Ancient Middle Eastern Bitumen Discovered in an Anglo-Saxon Boat Burial at Sutton Hoo, England?

Sutton Hoo in East Anglia is one of the most important archaeological sites in England. The weapons, clothing and other objects buried in the Anglo-Saxon cemeteries show that trade networks in the...
Phoenicians: Creating what is now known as the Alphabet

Phoenicians: Creating what is now known as the Alphabet

A-B-C-D-E-F-G ... This famous sequence of letters known to much of the world dates back to the 16th century BC. A fairly small group of traders and merchants known as the Phoenicians created the...
The Powerful Assyrians, Rulers of Empires

The Powerful Assyrians, Rulers of Empires

Much of Assyria's history is closely tied to its southern neighbor, Babylonia. The two Mesopotamian empires spoke similar languages and worshipped most of the same gods. They were often rivals on the...
How Europeans saw the Garden of Eden in the Middle Ages. Painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)

Was the Garden of Eden a Real Place?

Mention the Garden of Eden to a group of friends and you are likely to get as many suggestions on its true location as people you ask, plus a fair number who will deny that it was ever a real place...
Google Image of some of the “wheel” geoglyphs found in the Azraq Oasis of Jordan.

Some Giant Geoglyphs in Jordan are Older than the World Famous Nazca Lines

Despite the difficulty in discerning the finished product of the giant designs from earth, archaeologists have recently announced that at least some of the great “works of old men” (as the Bedouin...
Illustration of Mesopotamia

Abrupt Climate Change May Have Rocked the Cradle of Civilization

New research reveals that some of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent may have been affected by abrupt climate change. These findings show that while socio-economic...

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