What is enclosed by the modern state of Syria was once the heart of human civilization, the 'Fertile Crescent'. The developments that arose there in astronomy, accountancy, administration, animal domestication and many other fields has been passed through to modern human societies.
Syrian archaeology is a relatively new field.
Interrupted by two world wars, it resumed in the 1950's. They have yielded extraordinary insights into the past, frequently rewriting the history of important events. The imminent construction of two hydroelectric dams in Syria threatens historic archaeological artifacts near the Euphrates and the Khabur river valleys. Sixty tells are likely to be flooded by the construction. GPS and NASA satellite imagery were used to map the sites prior to the excavation work which occured over the next three years as a major archaeological expedition.