Archaeologists Find Site of the Battle of Qadisiyyah Using Satellite Images

U.S. spy satellite images from the 1970s, now declassified, have led a British-Iraqi archaeological team to a location they believe to be the site of the decisive Battle of Qadisiyyah in the 7th century. The battle occurred in present-day Iraq in 630 AD during the expansion of Islam, between Muslim invaders and the Sasanian army led by Rostam Farrokhzad, resulting in a Muslim victory that enabled further advances into present-day Iran. A joint team from Durham University in the UK and Al-Qadisiyyah University in Iraq accidentally discovered this site while conducting remote sensing to map the Zubaydah route, a pilgrimage path from Kufa in Iraq to Saudi Arabia established over a thousand years ago. The findings were published on Tuesday, November 13, in the journal Antiquity. The research team found that a location about 30 kilometers south of Kufa in the Najaf province of southern Iraq, a desert area with scattered agricultural lands, has features that exactly match the historical descriptions of the Qadisiyyah battlefield. A field survey also confirmed the findings, and the team became convinced they had correctly identified the site. The members of the group also found pottery shards that correspond to the time period of the battle. William Deadman, a remote sensing archaeology specialist from Durham University, stated that Cold War-era satellite images are excellent tools for Middle Eastern archaeologists as they reveal features that have since been destroyed or altered and are not visible in modern satellite images. He emphasized, 'The Middle East has developed significantly in the last 50 years, both agriculturally and in urban fabric,' and some distinct features at the Qadisiyyah site, such as a distinctive trench, were 'much more pristine and clearer' in the 1970s images. Professor Jaafar Juthri, an archaeology professor at Al-Qadisiyyah University in Iraq, noted that a deep trench, two fortresses, and an ancient river—over which Iranian troops rode elephants—were key findings. Juthri mentioned that Iraqis of his generation, who grew up during Saddam Hussein's era, are all familiar with the detailed accounts of the Battle of Qadisiyyah, including the names of the commanders on both sides, as Saddam Hussein politically exploited the battle as a symbol of Iraq's victory during his eight-year war with Iran, and a popular film about this battle was frequently aired on television. He stated that the research team plans to begin excavations at the battlefield site next year. This discovery is part of a broader project that began in 2015 to document endangered archaeological sites in the region. Archaeological excavations in Iraq, referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' had been halted due to decades of conflict that led to the destruction of thousands of artifacts, but in recent years, excavations have resumed, and thousands of looted artifacts have been returned to the country.