Thousands of years ago, people lived in a massive lava tube | Tech News [Video]

Early herdsmen were using a volcanic lava tube to shelter from fierce desert sun at least 7,000 years ago, new research reveals.

Lava tubes are caves left behind by underground lava flows – at one time, a river of lava rather through the rock, but as it drained away, it left a huge tunnel behind.

The bones, etchings and other artefacts discovered in the tube in what is now Saudi Arabia are among the first evidence of herding and agriculture in the region, say scientists.

The finds made inside a large lava tube called Umm Jirsan located in the volcanic field of Harrat Khaybar, around 80 miles north of Medina, show it provided ‘valuable shelter’ for humans herding sheep, goats and cattle for at least the past 7,000 years.

It has been difficult to establish the timing of early human occupations in the region and their connections with the nearby Levant remain poorly understood, mainly due to poor preservation of …