The site dates back to the Iron Age, some 2,500 years ago, and would have been around during the time when the Urartians, Assyrians, and Scythains cultures were trying to control this area in what is now northern Iraq. Just like "back in the day", this area still has different groups fighting for control of the area. With the country of Iraq being in chaos since U.S. involvement in 2003 (and many would argue WAY before then), recently this site has seen artillery bombing from Iran to the east, plane bombings from Turkey to the northwest, and leftover landmines from the recent conflicts. Also, with the advancing forces of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS for short, the site is in constant fear of being taken over by outside forces. The article did say that the Kurdistan region, "is autonomous, and its militia has been able to prevent ISIS from entering it." Even so, this awesome archaeology find is not your average archaeology site.
On a side note, I followed the links within the Fox News article and found that the story is really one that was found on another site: LiveScience. After linking to this site, I found that it was right up my alley! I have now subscribed to LiveScience on my Feedly and have added the site to my Delicious account. Score one for Trevor and score one for life long learning!
References:
Jarus, Owen. "Remains of Long-Lost Temple Discovered in Iraq." Live Science, 7 July 2014. Web. 7 July 2014.
Trevor,
ReplyDeleteGreat post on the archaeological find in Iraq. There probably is not much left of the find after artillery, bombings, and scattered land mines in the area. That is good that the local militia is able to keep ISIS out of the region. Maybe that will help preserve the long-lost temple or at least what is left of the find.
They were able to preserve lots of the findings. Check some of them out if you like! http://www.livescience.com/46665-iraq-archaeological-discoveries-photos.html
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