"A Remote Stalagmite May Have Solved the Mystery ..." Topic

…of the Akkadian Empire's Fall.

"There's a lot we still don't know about the Akkadian Empire, but one of the chief mysteries that haunts archaeologists is why it fell. At its height, the the Akkadians ruled over much of Mesopotamia, and its multi-national empire brought an impressive period of peace and prosperity to the region. Then, around 4,200 years ago, the empire fell apart for unknown reasons. The fact that civilizations in Egypt and the Indus River Valley also went through dramatic changes during this period only deepened the mystery, but a stalagmite discovered in a remote cave may shed some light on what happened.

The stalagmite, discovered in Gol-e-Zard Cave, which is located Iran's Alborz Mountains, acts similarly to an ice core sample taken by climatologists in Antarctica: its slow formation over thousands of years captured geologic "snapshots" of the Earth's conditions, embedded in its composition. After examining it, scientists from the University of Oxford discovered that it collected much more magnesium than calcium between 4,510 and 4,260 years ago, as well as other chemical changes. After ruling out human-triggered climate effects as the culprit, the team hypothesized that an extended period of dry weather, marked by large dust deposits, may have contributed to the death of the Akkadian Empire…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks Tango.

No mention my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand