Tag Archive for syrian desert

Mysterious Structures Found in Syrian Desert

Photo: The monastery of Deir Mar Musa (Saint Moses the Abyssinian) some 50 miles north of Damascus. Source Wikipedia (Public Domain)

from Discovery News

Analysis by Rossella Lorenzi
Tue Jun 26, 2012 02:22 PM ET

An ancient landscape of stone circles, alignments and possible tombs lies out in the Syrian Desert, according to a Royal Ontario Museum archaeologist who has dubbed the mysterious structures “Syria’s Stonehenge.”

“These enigmatic arrangements are not especially imposing, they are not megaliths or anything like that, but they are very intriguing and clearly deliberately aligned,” Robert Mason of Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum told Discovery News.

Uncovered in 2009 near the monastery of Deir Mar Musa (Saint Moses the Abyssinian) some 50 miles north of Damascus, the strange features are likely to remain a desert mystery since the conflict tearing apart the Middle Eastern nation is preventing archaeologists from investigating the site.

Analysis of fragments of stone tools scattered in the area may date the formations to the Neolithic Period or early Bronze Age– 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. . . . Read Complete Report

Why the Vibrant City of Palmyra Was Located in the Middle of What Is Now the Syrian Desert (w/video)

Photo: View of Palmyra with the Temple of Bel, Syria CREDIT Bernard Gagnon SOURCE Wikipedia

from Science Daily

ScienceDaily (June 20, 2012) — Norwegian archaeologists have solved one of the great puzzles of the Roman Empire: Why was the vibrant city of Palmyra located in the middle of the Syrian Desert?

In ancient Roman times A.D., Palmyra was the most important point along the trade route linking the east and west, reaching a population of 100 000 inhabitants. But its history has always been shrouded in mystery: What was a city that size doing in the middle of the desert? How could so many people live in such an inhospitable place nearly 2 000 years ago? Where did their food come from? And why would such an important trade route pass directly through the desert?

Norwegian researchers collaborated with Syrian colleagues for four years to find answers. . . . Read Complete Report

Palmyra – City of a Thousand Pillars

from youtube

Uploaded by on Jan 8, 2010

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