Oldest Islamic cemetery discovered in Syria

The British “Nature” magazine revealed that a team of scientists discovered one of the oldest Islamic burials in the Levant at an archaeological site in southern Syria.
The magazine said that “studies conducted by an international team of scientists showed that the date of burial in the aforementioned cemetery is approximately 1,300 years.”
According to the magazine, “the remains of two people were previously found buried in the aforementioned excavation site in the Tal Qarasa area in the Syrian governorate of Al-Suwayda, and the remains were found in two different tombs dating back to the end of the seventh century.”
The scientists told the magazine, “The results of radiocarbon analyzes and the type of burial match with one of the oldest Arab-Islamic burials in the Levant, and it is interesting that we found a genetic match in the remains that was found at the site with the genotype of the people of Saudi Arabia, and not with the genes of most residents of the Levant. Their bodies were shrouded and their heads were placed towards Mecca.”
According to the scholars, “the discovery in general provides additional information about the early adoption of some burial rituals among Muslims, which were followed even in some remote areas.”
The magazine noted that these individuals were not buried in a traditional Islamic cemetery, explaining that this could be explained by the special circumstances of death or cultural identity: nomadic residents, pilgrims, side burials, or victims of the plague.