Archaeologists found unique Stone Age artifacts in Iraq: what is interesting

During a pilot excavation in the Iraqi desert, archaeologists discovered more than 850 Stone Age artifacts dating back up to 1.5 million years. This discovery provides new insights into human evolution on the Arabian Peninsula.

As reported by Interesting Engineering, an international team of researchers made an expedition to the Iraqi desert in November and December to assess the archaeological potential of the region. They focused their search in a place where a large lake was located in the Pleistocene. A wide range of Paleolithic artifacts were found there, from hand axes that are more than a million years old to Levallois chips that are 300,000 to 50,000 years old.

After the successful research, the archaeologists plan to expand their work to study the artifacts in more detail and obtain more data on the earliest inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Due to safety concerns, the excavation had to be postponed for a year, but now the researchers have managed to delve into the geomorphological history of the Iraqi desert and check whether other ancient and Middle Paleolithic sites are hidden under the sand.

Scientists have discovered seven Paleolithic sites containing hundreds of artifacts dating back more than a million years. Researcher Ella Egberts noted that one of the sites was chosen for a detailed survey to analyze the location of the finds and conduct a preliminary technological and typological analysis.

Since the expedition was only a pilot project, the researchers believe that there may be numerous undiscovered sites in the region that will help to better understand early human land use. The next stage of work involves expanding excavations and attracting new funding to study Pleistocene environmental changes and the ancient human presence in the Western Desert of Iraq. The Iraqi State Council of Antiquities and Heritage has praised the research and encourages archaeologists to continue their work.

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