Bones of ancient giant camel found

DAMASCUS, Syria — The bones of a giant camel dating back 100,000 years have been unearthed in the Syrian desert, a government newspaper reported over the weekend.

The bones were discovered by a joint Syrian-Swiss archaeological team at the site of al-Hemel in the Palmyra region about 155 miles northeast of Damascus, the state-run Tishrin daily reported Saturday.

The discovery revealed that the Syrian desert "is the first origin of the camel," Bassam Jammous, director general of the Antiquities and Museum Department in Syria, told the newspaper.

He said the animal would have been some 13 feet tall _ double the size of the modern-day camel _ and "poses a revolution in the world of archaeological discoveries."

Officials with the Swiss archaeology team could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.

The discovery of the bones was first reported in 2005.

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