Archaeology

Kurdistan has at least 1,307 known archaeological sites. [1]

Among the most famous is the Erbil citadel, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world, which has been settled since 6,000 BC.

Another is the Shanidar cave, where nine Neanderthal skeletons were found dating between 60-80,000 years. The cave is in Bradost mountain, in Erbil province. It was excavated between 1957-1961 by Ralph Solecki and his team from Columbia University and yielded the first adult Neanderthal skeletons in Iraq. One skeleton and casts of the others are at the Smithsonian Institution in the US.

Erbil and Suleimaniah each have a museum holding collections of antiquities, statues and remains from the Region, while Duhok Traditional Museum displays Kurdistan’s folklore and heritage.

[1] Kurdistan Regional Statistical Office, www.krso.net.