Google Earth has exceeded everyone’s expectations. The program was supposed to be a simple one that could help users get directions or take a look at a location for their upcoming holiday. However, it appears that some people have been using Google Earth for higher purposes.

In the past the program has helped researchers make some important discoveries and it appears that things won’t stop there. A while ago, Google Earth imagery was used to determine some vital information about the forests of the planet. Now, another important discovery was made thanks to the help of satellite imagery, and this time it is an archaeological one.

Mysterious gates found in the Saudi Arabia

Google Earth became an important tool for Prof David Kennedy from the University of Western Australia. He used it in order to analyse the deserts of Saudi Arabia, and what he discovered baffled everyone. It appears that there are some ancient structures, and the professor managed to identify 400.

While no one knows anything exactly, the structures were probably built between 2,000 and 9,000 years ago. This means that researchers have a lot to discover about the populations that have lived in that region.

Kennedy published his findings in a paper that appeared in the journal Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. “I refer to them as gates because when you view them from above, they look like a simple field gate lying flat, two upright posts on the sides, connected by one or more long bars,” he declared.

Kennedy explains that this area has been researched for 40 years but nothing was discovered until now. “They don’t look like structures where people would have lived nor do they look like animal traps or for disposing of dead bodies. It’s a mystery as to what their purpose would have been,” he added.