Al-Ula Explores Missing Links From Its Human History

Gulf

November 6th, 1:33pm

Riyadh- Asharq Al-Awsat

Lions carved on the rocks above ttombs from the Dadaan Kingdom (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The city of Al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia is brimming with historical treasures and artifacts. Kingdoms from different eras have passed through this region and shaped its identity. However, only a few of them have been discovered so far. The Royal Commission for Al-Ula aims to explore more of what these epochs left behind, and various local and international teams of experts have been contracted to do just that. Today, after the lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, archaeologists have resumed their work and are continuing their exploration of Al-Ula’s hidden treasures. Some of them go back to antiquity and had never received the attention they deserved, but that has changed, as the current project is among the world’s largest ongoing archaeological excavations. It has allowed them to make discoveries about the region’s history, with the announcement of further developments expected soon. Although Al-Ula is mostly associated with al-Hijr, the first Saudi site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, it also has over 27,000 other archaeological sites, and the discovery of others is expected in upcoming months. Thanks to the efforts of the excavation teams, the Commission’s partners (national and international universities, research institutes, and museums, as well as the teams from the French Agency for Al-Ula Development (AFALULA), the discovery of some of the missing links in the province’s history has been made possible. By 2021, more of Al Ula’s hidden heritage will have been revealed, with several documentaries and films in the works. The area will also be reopened, allowing visitors to explore one of the region’s most important archaeological sites. The archaeological discoveries made by the Al-Ula Commission teams demonstrated that hunter and gathers and grazers had inhabited the regions, as it has been green and fertile at the time. The discoveries made in some of the hidden locations that had not been explored confirmed that the culture of the peoples who inhabited the region was more complex than previously thought. By using satellite images, aerial photography, ground surveys, and excavation and drilling operations, it became possible to estimate the number of stone structures built in the late prehistoric period (5200 - 1200 BC) across Al-Ula. The size and number of these structures, in addition to their location, confirm that the tribes that built them had a degree of communal cooperation and organization. There are indications that some of the sites were used for different types of rituals, which may change the perception of these ancient societies’ ways of life. Among the structures spread across the province are the Rectangles. They are believed to be the oldest types of structures in the region. Some of them are hundreds of meters long. Another type of construction is called the Necklace; it is composed of a main tomb linked to several structures connected, “giving them the appearance of a hanging necklace.” Commenting on the excavations, Dr. Rebecca Foote, Director of the Archaeology and Cultural Research at the Commission, said: “These shapes and structures date back to the prehistoric era, and studying helps us get a glimpse into the history of the region 7,000 years ago and several thousands of years after that. If we assume that the structures were used as primary or secondary boundary markers for hunting or grazing areas, for example, this may mean that people at the time had developed concepts such as private property or ownership. We will be collecting samples from these sites and documenting them to determine the chronological order of this ancient history. By conducting extensive surveys and targeted excavation operations in the critical sites, we will get very significant insights about their functions. This comprehensive methodology has never been followed in Al-Ula before.” The excavations also shed light on other epochs, like the Lihyanite and Dadanite Kingdoms and the Islamic era.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2609491/al-ula-explores-missing-links-its-human-history