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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Tombs of Mada’in Saleh                   Source: mstarling / Adobe Stock

Mada'in Saleh - Saudi Arabia’s Abandoned Nabatean City

Although archaeological remains may not be the first thing that spring to mind when most people think of Saudi Arabia, it has incredible historic sites. Mada'in Saleh, which was designated a World...
Early hominids processing game with stone tools. Diorama at the Nairobi National Museum.

Resourceful and Intelligent, Unidentified Hominins Flourished in Arabia Using “Old School” Stone Tools

Beginning more than 1.5 million years ago, early humans made stone handaxes in a style known as the Acheulean - the longest lasting tool-making tradition in prehistory. New research led by the Max...
This restoration is based on evidence from the Daka Member, Ethiopia. The photo in the background is from a gallery forest on the Kebena River, a tributary of the modern Awash River. The squatting posture is based on femoral anteversion frequent in Homo erectus. The hand ax is African latest early or early middle Acheulean. The cranial shape is based on BOU-VP-2-66, the Daka Calvaria.

Idle Not Innovative? New Study Says Laziness Led to the Extinction of Homo erectus

The path of least resistence may not be the best to take. New archaeological research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found that Homo erectus , a species of primitive humans, went...
Fossil finger bone of Homo sapiens from the Al Wusta site, Saudi Arabia.

Ancient Human Fossil Finger Discovery Points to Earlier Eurasian Migration

Huw Groucutt / The Conversation The Arabian Peninsula is a vast landmass at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia. Yet until the last decade almost nothing was known about early humans in the area. In...
High relief of standing dromedary on sandstone spur at center of image.

Rock art: Life-sized Sculptures of Dromedaries Found in Saudi Arabia

At a remarkable site in northwest Saudi Arabia, a CNRS archaeologist and colleagues from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) have discovered camelid sculptures unlike any...
A large hand axe found in the Wadi Dadsa.

Ancient Stone Artifacts Could Tell the Story of When Early Humans Spread Out of Africa

A team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of over a thousand stone artifacts, with some of them being up to 1.76 million years old. The discovery took place at Wadi Dabsa, in southwest...
Image showing part of the engraving found in the Arabian Desert with dogs on leashes

8,000-Year-Old Engravings in Arabian Desert Are Oldest Known Depictions of Dogs on Leashes

Archaeologists have discovered a set of engravings in Saudi Arabia dating back at least 8,000 years, which depict a hunter accompanied by 13 dogs, 2 of which appear to be on leashes attached to the...
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...
Al Naslaa split rock.

It Looks Like a Laser Cut But What Really Split the Ancient Al Naslaa Rock?

The Tayma oasis in Saudi Arabia is famous for its rock art and its historic legacy. It was a major trade route in antiquity and was once the dwelling place of a Babylonian king, Nabonidus. It is...
A photo showing some stelae found with Arabic inscriptions.

Archaeologists Discover that Earliest Known Arabic Writing Was Penned by a Christian

The oldest known Arabic writing found in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 AD belong to a Christian context and predates the advent of Islam with 150 years. In December 2015, researchers from a French-Saudi...
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...
The Qasr al-Farid, the Lonely Castle of the Nabataeans

The Qasr al-Farid, the Lonely Castle of the Nabataeans

The Nabataean Kingdom ruled over an area that spanned from the southern Levant to northern Arabia, a position that allowed them to control the Incense Route that passed through the Arabian Peninsula...
Geoglyphs of the Middle East

The Works of Old Men: Geoglyphs of the Middle East

Stretching from Syria to Saudi Arabia, thousands of ancient geoglyphs built from stone stretch across the desert plains. Known as the “works of old men”, some display a kite-like structure while...
Petra - Jordan

Oldest Arabic inscription provides missing link between Nabatean and Arabic writing

A Saudi-French archaeological team has discovered the oldest known inscription in the Arabic alphabet at a site located near Najran in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in Arab News . The finding...

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