July14 , 2026
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U.S. and Russian Forces Pull Back from Syria

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By Zack Oudrhiri

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Buried Circle in Scotland Rewrites Violence Before Rome

Scotland's Buried Circle Rewrites Violence Before Rome Keywords: Neolithic Scotland, Machrie Moor, conflict, stone circles, archaeology, Roman Britain Brief: Standing stones in moorland mist; a bronze blade laid beside excavated earth.New discoveries at Machrie Moor and a major Edinburgh exhibition are pushing Scotland's prehistory away from pastoral myth and closer to a landscape of ritual, memory and organised violence.Scotland's ancient past is often imagined in stone, fog and silence. The newest archaeology suggests something noisier. Historic Environment Scotland this week announced the detection of a possible new prehistoric ring beneath the peat on the Isle of Arran: a circle of 12 pit-like anomalies forming a feature approximately 28 metres across, with space for two additional settings that may bring the original total to 14 posts or stones. Led by Dr Nick Hannon, the survey team used geophysical scanning equipment that detects underground disturbances without lifting a single turf. "The discovery of a new circle completely surpassed our expectations," Dr Hannon said. The find arrives at the same moment as the National Museum of Scotland opens Scotland's First Warriors, an exhibition tracing 4,000 years of conflict from the Neolithic to the Romans, covering more than 200 objects and asking how and why people fought, what weapons they used and what early conflict did to communities. Taken together, the two stories complicate the old image of early Scotland as a remote edge of prehistory waiting passively for civilisation to arrive. Ritual and Conflict Shared the Same Landscape It is tempting to separate ceremonial monuments from warfare, as if one belonged to religion and the other to politics. The new exhibition suggests prehistoric Scotland did not organise life so neatly. Machrie Moor's circles date from between roughly 3500 and 1500 BCE, and excavations have shown that several were preceded by timber circles in the same positions. The timber circle at Machrie Moor 1 has been radiocarbon-dated to 2030 ± 180 BCE, before the wooden posts were replaced with stone around 2000 BCE. The circles align with a prominent notch at the head of Machrie Glen, where the midsummer sunrise would have been visible, and later served as burial grounds for cremations and inhumations. The Edinburgh exhibition changes the emotional map of prehistoric Scotland. Stone circles were not necessarily built by peaceful mystics untouched by danger. They belonged to societies capable of both ceremony and force, burial and battle, symbolic order and lethal dispute. As the exhibition makes clear, interpersonal violence, fortification and organised conflict were real parts of Scotland's deep past, not marginal episodes but structural features of life on the moor. The landscape was never only sacred space. It was lived space. Before Rome, There Was Already History The most useful thing about these discoveries is that they pull Scottish prehistory out of the shadow of Rome. Too often, Britain's northern story begins when classical writers notice it. The Arran circle and the "first warriors" frame both insist that Scotland already had long, structured histories of monument-building, territorial meaning and conflict before Roman contact ever entered the picture. The Arran cursus, a ceremonial enclosure approximately 1.1 kilometres long sitting adjacent to the stone circles, underlines the landscape's sustained importance as a gathering place across millennia. The new ring at Machrie Moor has not yet been excavated, and the evidence for prehistoric violence remains open to interpretation. But the direction of travel is clear. Early Scotland looks less like an empty northern fringe and more like a dense world of ritual landscapes, armed communities and social memory stretching back 5,000 years. The stones were never mute. We are only getting better at hearing what kind of world they belonged to.Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates! Read also: The Outlander Effect: How the Show Put Scotland on the Map Rural Europe Pushes Back Against Megafarms Homer in a Mummy Rewrites Cultural Borders
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American troops will leave Syria as Russia evacuates its Mediterranean naval base, redrawing the military map of a country still grappling with leadership changes.

White House officials have told Israeli counterparts about plans to withdraw US forces from Syria, where 2,000 American personnel currently operate. The announcement emerges amid broader regional upheaval following Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power last December.

Russia Evacuates Strategic Mediterranean Base

Satellite photos show Russian cargo vessels Sparta and Sparta II docked at Tartus naval base, loading equipment and vehicles. Syria’s new government cancelled Russia’s 49-year lease on the facility, ending Moscow’s naval foothold in the Mediterranean. The base served as a supply point for Russian operations across the Middle East and Africa, particularly in Libya.

Russia’s military has drawn down its presence at Khmeimim Air Base as well. Recent satellite imagery reveals the disappearance of vehicles and equipment from marshalling areas. Russian helicopters now patrol the evacuation zones, mirroring previous withdrawal operations.

As Russia and America withdraw their armed forces, eyes turn to Israel, which is insisting on keeping military presence in Syria.

Israel Says Troops Must Stay

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared his forces would remain atop Mount Hermon “indefinitely” to “defend” northern communities. The Israeli military entered the buffer zone on December 8th when Assad’s government collapsed.

Syria’s new authorities have pushed back. During meetings with UN peacekeeping head Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Syrian officials offered to deploy their own troops along the 1974 ceasefire lines if Israeli forces withdraw. The United Nations considers Israel’s presence in the buffer zone a violation of long-standing agreements.

While Syria and Israel wrangle over buffer zone control, Kurdish forces in the northeast must choose whether to toe the line or break ranks.

Complex Situation for Kurdish forces

The Syrian Democratic Forces control a third of Syria, including most oil fields. The Kurdish-led group now faces mounting pressure as US protection wanes. The Pentagon admitted to having 2,000 troops in Syria, not 900 as previously claimed.

The withdrawal echoes a similar pullout in 2019 when President Trump ordered American forces to leave northern Syria. That decision left Kurdish allies exposed to Turkish military operations. Defence Secretary Mark Esper at the time defended the move, saying “50 service members are not going to stop a Turkish advance.”

Islamic State fighters have grown bolder, launching 35 attacks across seven provinces in early January alone. A recent prison break attempt highlighted ongoing security risks. The militant group killed 502 people in Syria’s central desert during 2023.

The group has reestablished shadow control in parts of regime-held territory, running complex extortion operations targeting everyone from doctors to truck drivers. In rural areas, Islamic State operates as an unofficial authority, issuing taxation demands based on detailed knowledge of local businesses.

As security threats loom, Syria’s new government searches for ways to maintain stability.

New Leadership Seeks Solutions

Some U.S. officials have proposed cooperation between Kurdish forces and Syria’s government to maintain anti-terror operations. Yet historical tensions between these groups cast doubt on such arrangements.

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Kurdish delegates last week, showing openness to dialogue. The talks focused on integrating Kurdish forces into a new national military structure.

Control of Syria’s oil fields remains central to negotiations. Kurdish-held areas contain 70 percent of the country’s oil and gas resources. Without recognised authority to sign contracts, neither Kurdish authorities nor the U.S. can arrange the foreign investment needed to rebuild Syria’s energy sector.

As foreign forces depart, regional powers like Türkiye may step into the void. The coming months will test whether Syria’s competing factions can forge lasting security agreements without outside military presence. For now, the simultaneous withdrawal of American and Russian forces herald the end of an era in Syria’s long-running conflict.

Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates!

Read also:

Türkiye and U.S. Sideline France in Northern Syria

Türkiye Warns Kurdish Fighters in Syria

Syria at Crossroads: Geostrategy Amid Turmoil

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