Archaeologists have made some incredible discoveries that have helped to increase our understanding of human history and the lives of our ancestors.
Some of the most spectacular have included Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt, Pompei in Italy and a viking burial site at Sutton Hoo in the UK.
Perhaps less well-known is a discovery in a Middle Eastern country that, in recent years, has become one of the most dangerous due to a long-lasting brutal civil war.
Tell Qaramel is an archaeological mound located in the north of present-day Syria, 25km from Aleppo.
Several circular stone towers were unearthed during excavations of the site by archaeologists.
The towers were radiocarbon-dated to the period from the middle of the 11th millennium BC to about 9650 BC, which makes them the oldest structures of this type in the world.
The monumental structures were of cult character and at the same time were probably places of assembly for the inhabitants of the settlement.
About 90 domestic buildings and outhouses were discovered in trenches located beside the towers.
Furthermore, archaeologists found remains of three temples, numerous hearths and pits.
Thirty-five human burials and several animal ones were found under the floors of some of the houses, as well as in oval or circular pits dug between buildings.
The dead were laid in an embryonic position and a few of the graves were furnished with stone or bone beads and plaques.
A rich collection of objects of everyday use made of flint and bone were unearthed in the settlement.
Many of these objects were richly decorated with geometrical, animal and anthropomorphic motifs.
Archaeologists were astonished to discover that such a highly-developed culture had taken root in a community of hunter-gatherers.
Aleppo was the scene of intense fighting between Syrian government forces loyal to the then president Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters.
Thousands of people were killed, while tens of thousands more fled the intense fighting.
Now, with Assad gone, many are coming back, from other parts of Syria and even abroad.
