Choman, Sidakan, Shanidar, Dinarta

Choman, Erbil

Choman lies North East Erbil city, and 15 km off the Iranian border


Choman town is surrounded by very high altitude mountains ranging (2500-3500 m)




Choman town is located at an altitude of more than 1100 m



Sidakan, Soran, Erbil

Sidakan is a remote town located North East Erbil, is 15 km off Iranian border and 35 km to the Turksih border




Apple orchard in Sidakan



Shanidar, Mergasur, Erbil

The cave site of Shanidar is located at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in north-eastern Iraq. It was excavated between 1957-1961 by Ralph Solecki and his team from Columbia University and yielded the first adult Neandertal skeletons in Iraq, dating between 60-80,000 years BP (Before Present)


The cave is away 2.17 km from the highway


Shanidar cave grid coordinates 36°50'4.86"N, 44°13'9.06"E (apply to Google-Earth)


Stairs to the cave


Spider web


Nine skeletons of Neanderthals of varying ages and states of preservation and completeness were excavated (labelled Shanidar I - IX)


Me inside the Shanidar cave at the excavation site


In this photograph Kurdish workmen have just begun the excavation of the earthen floor of the cave. Bedrock was reached at a depth of 45 feet. Photo by Dr. Ralph Solecki


Shanidar 1 - The Shanidar Cave site is most famous for two of its skeletons, I and IV. Shanidar I was an elderly Neanderthal male known as Shanidar I, or ‘Nandy’ to its excavators. He was aged between 40-50 years, which was considerably old for a Neanderthal, equivalent to 80 years old today, displaying severe signs of deformity


Ralph Solecki, archaeologist and supervisor of the dig which discovered the Neanderthal remains in Shanidar Cave, pictured here with Dorothy Garrod discussing the Shanidar Cave finds in the Mustansariyah, Baghdad

Dinarta, Akre, Dahuk

Dinarta is 10 km North East Akre


Cattle system in Dinarta