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Stone structures 7000 years old found in Saudi Arabia: older than Stonehenge and Egyptian pyramids

Maria Tsikhotska

Stone structures 7000 years old found in Saudi Arabia: older than Stonehenge and Egyptian pyramids
Mustatil . Source: Daily Mail

Structures located in ancient cattle worship sites have long attracted the attention of researchers. Only recently, archaeologists from the University of Western Australia in Perth have begun a more detailed study of these mysterious structures called mustatils. They were first discovered in the 1970s, but then they did not gain much popularity among scientists.

This was reported by the Daily Mail.

According to archaeological data, mustatils are usually rectangular in shape with long walls enclosing a central courtyard. An entrance is located at one end, and in the courtyard you can find platforms with rubble and even vertical stones in some central chambers. Many of the entrances were blocked by rubble, adding to the mystery of these structures.

Read also: A 2500-year-old dagger was found in India that belonged to a hitherto unexplored civilization

However, the archaeologists were most interested in the findings inside one of the mustatils - fragments of horns and skulls of cows, goats, sheep, and gazelles. This indicates that the community that built these structures used animal sacrifice in their rituals. Previously, scientists believed that the mustatils could have served as cattle pens, but the height of the walls was insufficient to keep the animals.

The findings of this research open up new perspectives for understanding the ancient rituals and religious practices of this ancient people. Scientists continue to carefully study the mustatils, hoping that these structures will reveal their secrets and help to better understand the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations.

As a reminder, at least 125 Roman tombs have been discovered in the Gaza Strip.

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