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SORAN, Kurdistan Region - A team of archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, collaborating with an archaeological team from Salahaddin University in the Soran district, discovered a small stone that provides significant insights into an important prehistoric era.
The archaeologists aim to confirm the connection between the inhabitants of this area and those of other regions through the analysis of the stone, which is over 7,500 years old.
Ana Maria Bach Gomez, an archaeologist from the Autonomous University of Barcelona explained that the small stone they found was formed from volcanic rock.
According to Gomez, the stone’s exact place of origin is still uncertain, as such a stone cannot be found in the Soran area. The technological analysis will determine whether it came from Lebanon, Turkey, or Iran.
“But the most important is the technology of how this was made, and we [will] know the technique that was useful,” she said.
Another outcome of the archaeological team’s work is the finding out about the beginning of a new phase of house construction in the area.
"Of the 1,150 archaeological sites registered in Soran [district], the first one that can be considered the first seasonal village in the world, Zawiya Chameya, dates back to the Middle Stone Age, 15,000 years ago," Abdulwahhab Sulaiman, director of Soran district archaeology told Rudaw on Tuesday.
He added, "This tells us what kind of houses were built back then. However, by the Neolithic Age, during the Halafian period, we see much more advanced house designs. People transitioned from building circular structures to creating more beautiful and sophisticated houses with corners."
The team is in the final year of its six-year contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Despite their work nearing completion, they have provided dozens of answers to questions about history and civilization.
“Based on the remains of food and bones found, along with the clay fragments and the foundations of the houses in the layer we are currently working on, we found out that they are from the Halafian period of the Neolithic Age. At the same time we found out that the inhabitants of the area lived on animal domestication and agriculture,” said archaeologist Aram Jalal.
A total of 1,150 archaeological sites have been registered in Soran, with new sites being discovered each year.
Ana Maria Bach Gomez, an archaeologist from the Autonomous University of Barcelona explained that the small stone they found was formed from volcanic rock.
According to Gomez, the stone’s exact place of origin is still uncertain, as such a stone cannot be found in the Soran area. The technological analysis will determine whether it came from Lebanon, Turkey, or Iran.
“But the most important is the technology of how this was made, and we [will] know the technique that was useful,” she said.
Another outcome of the archaeological team’s work is the finding out about the beginning of a new phase of house construction in the area.
"Of the 1,150 archaeological sites registered in Soran [district], the first one that can be considered the first seasonal village in the world, Zawiya Chameya, dates back to the Middle Stone Age, 15,000 years ago," Abdulwahhab Sulaiman, director of Soran district archaeology told Rudaw on Tuesday.
He added, "This tells us what kind of houses were built back then. However, by the Neolithic Age, during the Halafian period, we see much more advanced house designs. People transitioned from building circular structures to creating more beautiful and sophisticated houses with corners."
The team is in the final year of its six-year contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Despite their work nearing completion, they have provided dozens of answers to questions about history and civilization.
“Based on the remains of food and bones found, along with the clay fragments and the foundations of the houses in the layer we are currently working on, we found out that they are from the Halafian period of the Neolithic Age. At the same time we found out that the inhabitants of the area lived on animal domestication and agriculture,” said archaeologist Aram Jalal.
A total of 1,150 archaeological sites have been registered in Soran, with new sites being discovered each year.
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