Google Earth reveals almost 2000 ancient archaeo sites in Saudi Arabia
By ANIFriday, February 4, 2011
LONDON - Google Earth has revealed 1977 potential archaeological sites, including 1082 “pendants” - ancient tear-drop shaped tombs made of stone, in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s not the easiest country to break into,” New Scientist quoted David Kennedy from the University of Western Australia, who found the sites.
He compared the images with structures that Kennedy has seen in Jordan and thinks the sites may be 9000 years old but said ground verification would be required to confirm the number.
“Just from Google Earth it’s impossible to know whether we have found a Bedouin structure that was made 150 years ago, or 10,000 years ago,” he said.
In 2008 researchers from Melbourne, Australia, found 463 potential sites in the Registan desert in Afghanistan using the desktop computer program.
The find has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. (ANI)
