A team of archaeologists have discovered a series of mysterious-looking statues and masks, with features that bear striking resemblance to ‘aliens’.
With stretched-out heads, flat noses, and large eyes, these ancient objects look like what you’d expect to come from the leading protagonist in a science fiction film.
The joint dig was from Kuwait’s National Council of Arts and Letters (NNCAL), and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw.
The excavation took place at the Bahra 1 site in Kuwait, a focal point for archaeological investigations into what life was like in Stone Age Arabia.
The unearthing of these objects gives experts new insight into the Ubaid culture, a period in Arabia which lasted from 5500-4000 B.C.
However it isn’t the first time that we have thought ancient artefacts pointed us to extra-terrestrial life, and earlier this year a number of monoliths appeared in the US.
Revelations included: finding out the scale and size of types of pottery produced in the region, which at its peak ranged from Anatolia to Mesopotamia.
Similar items had been found in previous digs at Mesopotamia, however, it’s a first for the Gulf Region.
Archaeologist Piotr Bieliński, one of the directors of Bahra 1, confirmed the breakthrough in a statement.
He said: ‘Its presence raises intriguing questions about its purpose and the symbolic, or possibly ritualistic, value it held for the people of this ancient community.
These findings, alongside scientific analyses by Professor Anna Smogorzewska, confirm Bahra 1 as the oldest pottery production site in the Gulf.
Bahra 1 also opened the door to learning more about the region’s environmental past, by doing ‘archaeobotanical analyses’.
These tests are explained through organic remains embedded in the new type of clay discovered at Bahra 1, known as ‘Coarse Red Ware’.
Specialists Professor Aldona Mueller-Bieniek and Dr. Roman Hovsepyan, examined fragments of clay for traces of plants that helped identify organic matter from the Arabian Stone Age.
Dr Hovsepyan explains the results: ‘Early analyses have revealed traces of wild plants, particularly, reed, within the locally produced pottery, while cultivated plant remains, including cereals, such as barley and wheat, have been found in the imported Ubaid ware’.
The archaeology team at Bahra 1 hopes to continue the momentum of its 2024 season, which has now concluded, and discover more objects to shed further light on the Ubaid culture.
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