Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: Archaeologists working in Syria have unearthed the remains of dozens of youths thought to have been killed in a fierce confrontation 6,000 years ago. According to Science magazine, the celebrating victors may even have feasted on beef in the aftermath. The findings come from northeastern Syria, near Tell Brak, one of the world's oldest known cities. Tell Brak has been known for 30 years, but is only now revealing its sophistication and complexity. Studies by British and American archaeologists published in the journals Antiquity and Science suggest Tell Brak was a flourishing urban centre at the same time as better known early cities from southern Iraq. The work also suggests that, unusually, the Syrian city grew from the outside-in, rather than the inside-out. A third paper, due to be published in an upcoming edition of the journal Iraq, details the burials at Tell Majnuna, 0.5km from the main urban site at Tell Brak. Two mass burial pits have been excavated at this site. The first has so far revealed the bones of 34 young to middle-aged adults. Thus far, only a small portion have been excavated. "There could be hundreds and potentially thousands," said Augusta McMahon, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge, UK.
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