An archaeologist measures the interior of the newly discovered Iron Age collective grave in Sidakan’s Degmen area, where remains of 11 individuals were found.
Iron Age mass grave with 11 men uncovered in Erbil’s Sidakan district
ERBIL — A mass grave dating back to the Iron Age, estimated at around 2,500 years old, has been discovered in a village in the Sidakan district of the Soran Independent Administration in Erbil governorate. Officials from Soran Antiquities have described the find as “rare.”
The discovery was made when local farmer Jalal Uzair was plowing his land. Uzair told 964media that he has owned the plot for a long time, but it had not been used or plowed for “more than 100 to 200 years.” This year, he decided to plant wheat, which led to the discovery.
“It was evening, when the tractor’s plow hit two stones, a large hole appeared,” Uzair said. “I quickly shone my light to see what it was, and I saw a very large hole. Below, it was clear there were walls, and between the walls were human bones. I immediately stopped and informed the security forces.”
Abdulwahab Sulaiman, director of Soran Antiquities, confirmed the age and contents of the burial site.
“The site dates back 2,500 years,” Sulaiman told 964media. “The grave contains the bones of 11 people and dates to the Iron Age.”
He said the underground chamber is approximately four meters long, 160 centimeters wide and 135 centimeters high.
Sulaiman noted an unusual aspect of the burial: all 11 individuals are male.
“What is different is that all of them are male,” he said, “because previous sites that have been discovered contained the bones of women and children, but this grave only has men. We will continue the investigation until we reach a conclusion as to why they were buried in one grave in this manner.”