Kurdistan, Iraq – Monumental building circles dating back at least 5,000 years have been discovered at the Kinshai archaeological site, located in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq, according to a statement released by the University of Kombra. Researchers from the University of Coimbra, the University of Allegro, the University of Cambridge, and the Sulaimani Antiquities and Heritage Directorate believe that the building was used as a temple. They note that it was decorated with wall cones, commonly found in monumental architecture at Uruk, an early Sumerian metropolis in southern Mesopotamia where more than 40,000 people lived between 3300 and 3100. B.C A gold pendant and a fragment of a cylinder seal corresponding to this period were also uncovered at the site of the building. “If the monumental nature of this building is confirmed – which we are now investigating in detail – the discovery could change our understanding of Uruk’s relationship with the surrounding regions, showing that sites like Kanishai were not trivial, but key actors in the formation of cultural and political networks,” the researchers explained. To read about the remains of an ancient boat unearthed near Uruk, go to “Sailing in Sommer”.
A 5,000-year-old monumental building excavated in Iraq was published in Post First on Archeology magazine.
