One of the largest concentrations of ancient tombs discovered in KSA from space

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The Rock Art of Saudi Arabia by Dr. Majeed Khan

FROM PREHISTORIC ART TO NOMADIC ART:
THOUGHTS ON THE HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF ROCK ART IN SAUDI ARABIA


Human presence in the Arabian Peninsula dates back one million years, as evidenced by lithic material discovered at sites like Shuwayhitiyah in northern Saudi Arabia, Dawadmi in the central part of the country, Bir Hima in the south and the Wadi Fatima area in the west. Ten thousand years ago, the inhabitants of the peninsula still subsisted on hunting and gathering, but between 10,000 and 8,000 BP, these activities were supplemented with herding and a form of primitive agriculture in the valleys and flood plains. Five thousand years ago the population was essentially nomadic, although circular stone structures and other archaeological remains seem to indicate that small sedentary communities were beginning to form during this period. These various populations have left behind precious testimonies of their everyday life in the form of petroglyphs and paintings depicting hunting and fighting scenes, as well as social and religious activities.


Rock Art in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Majeed Khan

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a rich cultural heritage: of its more than four thousand registered archaeological sites, one thousand five hundred include rock art, and many more are no doubt still waiting to be discovered. The settlement of the peninsula began in the Acheulean era (one million years ago), but the earliest examples of rock art date from the early Neolithic, around 12,000 BP, and this form of expression endured until the advent of the Islamic period, c. 650 AD.

The cultural origins of the Arab nomads, or Bedouins, are rooted in prehistory, in particular the tribal system that has perpetuated powerful social and cultural traditions since Antiquity.


A large carved panel found at Shuwaymis

Certain Arab dances today still have elements in common with millennia-old tribal art. A large carved panel found at Jubbah (left) seems to depict masked men and women dancing. These could also be mythological figures with a human body and a kind of equine head. Interestingly, modern-day Arab men still practise a traditional group dance called the ardha that has points of resemblance to rock art representations in Jubbah, Milihiya, Janin and Tabuk in northern Saudi Arabia. As far as can be deduced from the ancient images, the way the dancers are grouped, the positions of their legs, arms and hands (each dancer holds the hand of another) and their symmetrical movements correspond to the way the ardha tribal dance is performed today.

It is tempting to see in the modern Bedouins' devotion to tribal links and the cultural and social values of their respective tribes - like the dances - the survival of cultural traditions that have been handed down since prehistoric times.

In nearly all the compositions that can be attributed to the Neolithic period, between about 10,000 and 7,500 BP, the human figures are associated with animals, especially cattle and dogs. Presumably these animals had been domesticated and were part of the everyday life and the social and cultural activities of the early tribes.

Rock art depicted social and religious events; men and women [below left] dancing in a group. Are they masked humans or mythological beings with a human body and an animal head? Mythological beings were also represented as 'storm gods'.


Alia, goddess of love & fertility

Men and women dancing in a group

As they became sedentary, men built temples and sculpted images of their deities in stone or cast them in metal, but they also continued to carve them on rock faces. One intriguing female figure (above right) was chiselled into a hard sandstone surface at the peak of a 200-metre hill, facing east. The rays of the rising sun fall directly onto the image, which is visible at a great distance. It can be interpreted as a mother goddess, the goddess of love and fertility.


Goddess depictions in the Najran area

A number of similar depictions of goddesses have been found in the Najran area, with wide hips, hands half raised, palms open and fingers extended (left). Hunting scenes are symbolic and the animals in them are never depicted wounded or pierced with arrows. Are they illustrations of magical practices, specific events or rites performed to ensure a bountiful hunt? All of these assumptions could simply be hypotheses bolstered by our modern point of view.

Representations of Footprints and Handprints

Human Footprint

One of the earliest signs of human presence in Arabia is a nearly life-size representation of a human footprint (right) carved deep into the horizontal surface of a sandstone boulder at Shuwaymis in northern Saudi Arabia. The oldest such print ever found on the Arabian Peninsula, it dates from c. 10,000 to 8,000 BP. Representations of handprints with open palms and extended fingers have been found on one of the vertical surfaces of a hill in the northwestern Tabuk region (below). The date remains unknown. The hyena and dog were added later.

A few petroglyphs are accompanied by inscriptions - 'fight_scene' two women apparently in the midst of a fight, plus a third woman watching them with arms raised, as though she were a kind of referee reminding them to obey the rules of combat. Each of the two inscriptions gives the name of a person: it is possible to decipher B-j a dh, or Bajadh, on top and B- Pbh, or Balabh, below. These could be the names of the two opponents. The inhabitants of Arabia continued to create rock art after the invention of writing. Bedouin writing, the earliest tribal writing system, also known as 'Thamudic' script, was rudimentary. Only the names of persons or tribes have been found carved on the rocks; no extended inscription has yet been discovered.


Open palm handprint representations

Open palm handprint representations


Handprint representations

Handprint representations

The gradual change of style, content, context and conceptualization between prehistoric art and tribal or Bedouin art can be traced through the use of animal figures, tribal symbols and the later developments of Bedouin writing in the early Iron Age. The depiction of Bedouin folk dances and branded camels, as well as the presence of names of tribes or individuals carved next to certain images, show that rock art played an important role in the description of the social, cultural and religious entities of Arabia from the Prehistoric period up to the beginning of the Islamic era.

The beginning of the large-scale domestication of the camel, which went hand-in-hand with the sedentarization of large communities and the development of tribes and clans, is evidenced in the rock depictions by the inclusion of brands, locally called wusum. Each tribe used a specific mark to define its territories, sign documents and differentiate its tombs, tents and encampments. The branding of animals is a universal phenomenon. Still practised in modern times on horses and livestock, in Arabia it is an ancient tradition deeply rooted in the local customs. The Bedouins still roaming the desert today use geometrical or non-figurative motifs to denote their respective tribes. They have not left their territories for millennia, and their social and cultural values remain unchanged. The wusum system is a sort of code developed for limited use relying on a complex combination of non-phonetic signs. These wusum are symbols related to language or writing but instantly conveying their meaning, like traffic signs that require no linguistic knowledge and are understandable by all.


A rock art composition featuring bulls with deities or gods

The people of Pre-Islamic Arabia venerated a great many different deities. In the desert, the nomadic Bedouins created open-air sanctuaries, carving representations of gods and goddesses on high-standing rocks.

At Wadi Bajdha, north-west of Tabuk in the northern part of the country, a rock art composition featuring bulls and human figures (right) marks the location of an open-air sanctuary in the middle of the desert. As in Egypt, the bull was a sacred animal in Arabia. This tableau, whose date cannot be precisely determined, was carved about 5 metres above the present-day ground level on one of the smooth surfaces of a sandstone hill. Offerings might have been placed in the fissures below the image.

In another panel, the carving of female figures (below left) over earlier Bedouin inscriptions would indicate that they date from a period after the development of writing. These figures have a triangular torso with an elongated neck, narrow waist, wide hips and long hair. They could represent a goddess, perhaps Alia, the goddess of love and fertility. Several figures representing Alia appear on a readily visible vertical surface high up on a hill (below right). The site is close to a watering place that is now dry, possibly a spring or a rainwater reservoir. Sheltering spots under the rock, water and a few plants made this an ideal location for social or religious gatherings. It is possible that rituals took place here and an image of the goddess was created each time, once per year or according to another periodicity. The site remained a gathering place for centuries: there are hundreds of ancient Arabic inscriptions carved all around the reservoir that have been dated to c. 1500 to 1000 BC.


Several figures representing Alia

Carving of female figures

These images of goddesses show that the artist(s) worked within precise guidelines, each time using the same theme, motif and style, from which they could not deviate. Some ancient artists probably specialized in religious images, always reproducing the same subject(s) with no formal or stylistic variation. This would explain why identical representations of the goddess Alia have been found at nearly all the sites. There must have been a few recognized artists who, conforming to their society?s religious and cultural prescriptions, depicted only authorized figures strictly according to the imposed rules, which explains the absence of aesthetic differences and indeed of variety in the artistic creations.


Rock art panel in the Najran
region of southern Arabia
In the Najran region of southern Arabia, a prehistoric artist adorned the smooth surface of a large rock with one of the most remarkable and fascinating works of art ever created (left). When the sun rises each day, the figures of this panel, which faces east, gleam and sparkle in the first rays of sunlight. Originally the composition apparently consisted of only the male and female figures, plus the stag off to the right, which was carved using the same pecking technique and has the same kind of chisel marks as the main figures. Over time, this tableau lost its importance. The place was no longer considered sacred and the local population forgot about its traditions. Visitors began carving their own names and other texts on the rock and over the figures, which are nonetheless well preserved and still have all of their beauty and evocative power. This work has not been precisely dated, but it certainly preceded writing by at least two thousand years.

For a long time archaeologists thought that the Bedouins, as nomadic herders, had left few traces of their presence. But more recent studies, including many devoted to rock art, have disproved this assumption by discovering a considerable quantity of cultural materials in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The animals depicted correspond to the local fauna: cattle, camels, stags, gazelles, dogs, snakes, lizards, goats, etc. The flora is surprisingly absent from the images, except for representations of date palms at a few sites, as are birds, with the exception of ostriches. The artists seemed to choose the elements of their compositions from among a few animals that were part of their environment, to the exclusion of others also present. This same phenomenon has been observed in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, indicating that artists in different parts of the world all shared the same mental, intellectual and ideological approach.

From the Neolithic to the early Islamic period, the evolution of rock art shows that the desire for aesthetic achievement is not specific to contemporary civilizations, but was already a deep-seated preoccupation in the minds of our ancestors.

Dr. Majeed Khan - Curriculum Vitae

• MAJEED KHAN
• Born 1942
• Pakistani National

Education

• M. Sc. (Geography) , University of Sind, Pakistan ( 1966).
• Diploma in Prehistoric Rock Art from Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, Italy, 1985.
• Ph.D. ( Rock Art of Saudi Arabia) , University of Southampton, U.K (1989).

Current Position

• Consultant /Advisor Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

Awards


Dr. Majeed Khan

• Honorary Diploma by the International Federation of Rock Art and the Scientific Committee of International Rock Art Congress, Turin - Italy (1995) in appreciation of 'Universalistic Approach to Rock Art'.
• 'Academic World Star' and Honorary Professorship (an International Award), External University of Moscow in recognition of the distinguished activities and scholarship achieved in sciences and pedagogy specially in the field of art and archaeology of Saudi Arabia (1996).
• Honorary diploma by the Macedonian Rock Art Federation (2002). Eskopje, Republic of Macedonia.
• Certificate of appreciations by Smithsonian Institutions, USA for outstanding co-operation in preparing the web site for the National Museum of Saudi Arabia (2002).
• Certificate of appreciation by the Pakistani Community and Pakistani Writers Association Riyadh (2002) acknowledging the outstanding achievement in the field of art and archaeology of Saudi Arabia.

Books

• The Origin and Evolution of Ancient Arabian Inscriptions. Bilingual ( Eng./Arabic) book published by the Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia., 1993.
• Prehistoric Rock Art of Northern Saudi Arabia. Book based on Ph.D. thesis published by the Ministry of Education (bilingual Eng./Arabic), 1993.
• Wusum - the tribal symbols of Saudi Arabia. Bilingual (Eng./Arabic). Book published by the Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of 'Riyadh, the Capital of Arabian Culture 2000'.
• An Introduction to the Antiquities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Co-author), published by the Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2000).
• Al-bid`- History and Archaeology (Co-author), published by the Ministry of Education. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2002).
• Archaeology of Northern Frontier Areas of Saudi Arabia. (Co-author), published by the Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2003).
• Archaeology of Tabuk Area. (Co-author), published by the Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2003).
• How to Study Rock Art (bilingual English/Arabic) published by the Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2008).
• The Rock Art of Saudi Arabia Across twelve thousand Years (2008) published by the Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Jubbah - The Land of Golden Sand and the Lost Civilization of Arabia. Published by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (2010).
• Arabian Horse - Origin, Development and History. Published by Layan Cultural Foundation, Riyadh 2012.

Research Papers

• The Lower Miocene Fauna of Assarrar, Eastern Arabia, Atlal , the Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, vol. 9, 1981 (co-author).
• Ancient Dams in the Taif Area, Atlal, Vol. 5, 1982.
• Ancient Mining Survey of Southwestern Arabia Atlal, vol.7,1984 ( co-author).
• Rock Art and Epigraphic Survey of northwestern Saudi Arabia, Atlal, vol.9, 1985.
• Rock Art and Epigraphic Survey of Northeastern Saudi Arabia, Atlal vol.10, 1986.
• Rock Art and Epigraphic Survey of Northern Saudi Arabia, Atlal vol.11, 1988.
• Schematization and Form in the Rock Art of Northern Saudi Arabia, Atlal vol.11, 1988.
• Art and Religion: Sacred Images of Prehistoric Metaphysical World, Atlal vol.12, 1990.
• Female Profile Figures from Wadi Damm, NW Saudi Arabia, Atlal vol.,13 (1991).
• Recent Rock Art and Epigraphic Investigations in Saudi Arabia, Seminar for Arabian Studies, University of London, 1991.
• Origin of Urbanism in Saudi Arabia - Seminar on Urbanism , Kenya, 1993.
• Rock Art of the Arabian Peninsula, Levant and Anatolia. World Rock Art series, London, U.K, 1996.
• A Critical Review of Rock Art Studies in Saudi Arabia, East and West (Italy) vol. 48,no.3-4 Dec.1998.
• Legacy of Rock Art Studies in Saudi Arabia. Rock Art Studies, News of the World III, edited by Paul Bahn, Natalie Franklin and Maththias Strecker. London 1999.
• Saudi Arabian Rock Art - from pictographs to alphabets. Aura Newsletter, vol4, no.1 1997.
• The Human Figures in the Rock Art of Saudi Arabia. Publications of the International Rock Art Congress, Ripen, Wisconsin USA. 1999.
• Rock Art of Saudi Arabia- A Bedouin Leisure Activity or an Intelligent System of Pre-historic Communication. Kinda, Bulletin of the Saudi Society for Archaeological Studies n02, 1421/2000AD.
• Wusum al-Qabail bain al-Madhi wa Hadhir. The GCC Countries Cooperation Organization publications 2000.
• The Symbolic and Semantic Significance of Wusum. The Desert Rambler. Journal of Riyadh Historic Society 2001.
• Bir Himma - the Center of Prehistoric art and culture. Admatu Issue no.6,July 2002. A Semi-Annual Archaeological Reference Journal on the Arab World.
• Jubbah - the most prominent rock art site of Saudi Arabia. Indo-Koko-Kenkyu, no.26:2004-2005, Japan, page.63-72.
• Scientific Studies of Saudi Arabian Rock Art (co-author) Rock Art Research, Australia. 2005.
• Sacred Images of Metaphysical World - Perspective of Prehistoric Religion in Arabia. Volcamonica Symposium Italy (2007).
• Origin of Symbolism - An Arabian Perspective in Exploring the mind of ancient man pp 243-248. Research India Press India, 2007.
• Saudi Arabian Rock Art in Universal Context. Journal of Epigraphy and Rock Drawings, Jordan 2007.
• Symbolism in the Rock Art of Saudi Arabia: Hand and Foot Prints. Rock Art Research, Australia 2008.
• The Rock Art of Southern Arabia - Reconsidered - (co-author). Adumatu, July 2009.

Address

Consultant Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities
P.O.Box 3734, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia.
Telephoen: (00961) 4029500/1548 • Mobile: 00966/508724781.
Email: majeedkhan1942@yahoo.com

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/middle_east/saudi_arabia_rock_art/majeed_khan.php

 

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Gallery of Saudi Arabian Rock Art

This is rock art that predates the Neolithic period, rock art from the Neolithic period and rock art shortly after the Neolithic period.

The Neolithic period in Arabia began approximately 10.000 BC spreading from neighboring Southern Levant where the period first began in the world, 200 years previously. See the previous post and article by Pakistani Professor Majeed Khan and one of the leading experts on rock art in KSA.

Arabia, more precisely modern-day KSA, is home to some of the largest rock art complexes in the world and some of the best preserved and moreover archaeologists and experts believe that only a small percentage has been found to date.

 

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Continued:

 

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Al-Magar site, amid the remote low hills and sandy valleys of southwestern Saudi Arabia and located near the town of Al-Gayirah, is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the Middle East. Carried out by the Antiquities Sector of the Saudi Commission for Antiquities and Museums, Al-Magar represents the first Neolithic settlement site in the Arabian Peninsula. According to Dr. Ali, the SCTA vice President, the horse stone sculpture located at al-Magar clearly shows that it was most likely a domesticated animal, and present in the Peninsula for over 10,000 years.

Al-Magar Site

One of the most excting components of Al-Magar was the discovery of a large stone carving of an 'equid' - an animal belonging to the horse family. According to Ali bin Ibrahim Al Ghabban, vice-president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, 'It could possibly be the birthplace of an advanced prehistoric civilisation that witnessed the domestication of animals, particularly the horse, for the first time during the Neolithic period.'

The piece itself, measuring 86 cms long by 18 cms thick and weighing more than 135kg., is a large sculptural fragment that appears to show the head, muzzle, shoulder and withers of a horse. The fact that other smaller, horse-like sculptures were found at Al-Magar, with similar bands over the shoulders, supports the idea that this culture may have been using 'tack' to domesticate horses.

On the ground surface at Al-Magar, there is large scattering of stone objects over a wide area. The typical Neolithic objects consist of arrow heads, precisely made stone scrapers, knives, grinding stones and pots, similar to those located at the Neolithic sites of Thimamh, Rub al-Khali, Tatleeth, Yabrin, Tabuk and Jawf, Sakkaka.



Several stone statues and carvings of conceivably domesticated animals were found on the site, possibly part of the daily life of the inhabitants. The statues of animals located at al-Magar are also represented in the rock art of various Neolithic sites at Hima, Najran, Jubbah and Shuwaymis. The statues of most common animals found at Al-Magar are sheep, goat, dogs, ostriches, falcons, fish and horses.

Al-Magar is the most elaborate and ancient settlement site in the Arabian Peninsula. It represents an advanced pre-pottery Neolithic period. The people lived in stone houses built with dry masonary.

The archaeological survey at al-Magar has revealed traces of stone structures, connected with settlement and with signs of agricultural activity. The sculptures themselves were found buried in one of the stone structures, formerly a building of some sort. The archaeology evidence of al-Magar is slowly revealing clues about the social aspects and the culture of the people who lived here; about domestication, trade and migration. What is more, there are clear signs of even earlier occupation; adjacent to the Neolithic finds, flaked stone tools, such as scrapers, estimated to be 50,000 years in age. Al-Magar was an attractive environment for human activity over multiple periods.

The Arabian Horse - Origin & Development

The Arabian Horse

It is generally believed that the horse was introduced into the Arabian Peninsula, but that it was domesticated in Arabia between 3,000 and 4,000 BC, although this remains controversial. Clearly, the horse has always been a part of Arabian culture.

The recent discovery of horse figures in the Neolithic rock art at Shuwaymis has changed the story of the presence and domestication of the horse in Arabia. Now we can say with authenticity that the horse was already present in Arabia as early as the Neolithic period c. 10,000-9,000 years before present.

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

Horse depictions in Saudi Arabia Rock Artt

Horse depictions in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

New Archaeological Discoveries in Eastern Province​

September 2016


Recent efforts to excavate archaeological sites in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia have unearthed a record of the Kingdom’s rich cultural past and ancient heritage. Under the patronage of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), teams of international and national experts have revealed the region’s status as a hub of social and commercial life over 7,000 years ago.

Spread out over a number of sites in Saudi Arabia, the discoveries contain valuable artifacts that have given researchers a glimpse into the traditions of those living during the earliest days of the spread of Islam. In Dammam, experts are using pieces of pottery and houses to develop an understanding of traditional craftwork and architecture in the civilizations that once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula.

In the ancient city of Thaj, a key discovery of gold and jewelry provided researchers with new information on the skillful metalwork of the area’s residents. In Tarout, the unearthing of weaponry, pottery, and metal tools demonstrated similar levels of technical expertise that is slated to be exhibited in the National Museum of Riyadh.

As a center of human interaction and engagement between civilizations, the Arabian Peninsula was home to peoples who benefited from coastal trade and commerce along the routes of the Mesopotamia. It is for this reason, SCTNH President Prince Sultan bin Salman stated, that such archaeological history points to the role that Saudi Arabia played in the religious, political, and cultural flourishing of ancient life.

Vision 2030 Protects Proud Islamic Heritage, Attracts Tourists
In recognition of the nation’s proud heritage and ancient cultural vibrancy, Saudi officials have devoted resources under the Vision 2030 plan to protect the Kingdom’s proud Arab and Islamic heritage. According to the plan, the diversity that distinguishes Saudi Arabia will continue to offer future generations a foundation for social development and serve as a tool to attract visitors from other countries as witnesses to the country’s place in history.

Through the creation of the world’s largest Islamic heritage museum and intention to double the number of sites registered by UNESCO, the Kingdom aims to fortify its place among leading nations in cultural preservation and education.

http://www.arabianow.org/archaeolog...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

TRAVEL TOP FIVE

In Saudi Arabia, Jewish sites with ancient resonance beckon​

For now, Israelis are not allowed into the kingdom, and Jews are at best grudgingly admitted. But with ties just possibly warming, a Jewish history dating back millennia might soon be more accessible

BY JESSICA STEINBERG August 4, 2016, 12:53 am

​

Saudi Arabia is not high on the list of Jewish travel destinations.

There has been no organized Jewish activity in the country for 70 years. Even though a Saudi delegation visited Israel last month, anyone with an Israeli passport is banned from entering the country, as the two countries don’t have diplomatic relations. As of 2014, Jews are now apparently, unofficially, allowed to work there, though not to hold prayer services.

Yet 3,000 years ago, around the time of the First Temple, there was a strong, vibrant Jewish community in the area of what is today Saudi Arabia.

And in the sixth and seventh centuries, there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly around Medina, Khaybar and Tayma. Hejaz makes up most of the western part of modern-day Saudi Arabia and is centered on the two holiest Muslim cities, Mecca and Medina.

The medieval Jewish traveler, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela in Spain, during an 1165-1173 trek to the Holy Land, made his way to the far-flung Jewish communities that are now in the geographic area of Saudi Arabia.

He cataloged his trip, describing the places he visited and the people he met and providing a demographic rundown of Jews in every town and country. Tayma and Khaybar, where he visited, are two oases that became populated communities because they were along a key land route between the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley.


Former Saudi general Dr. Anwar Eshki (center, in striped tie) and other members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members and others during a visit to Israel on July 22, 2016 (via twitter)

Benjamin of Tudela in the Sahara , in the 12th century, as shown in an engraving by Dumouza (Wikimedia Commons)

Historical sites pertaining to the ancient Jewish experience still exist. With the Saudis just possibly warming their ties to Israel — ex-Saudi general Anwar Eshki, who led the recent delegation to Israel, also met publicly in the US last year with Foreign Ministry chief Dore Gold — the day may be drawing near when these locales will be more accessible.

These are five top Jewish spots in Saudi Arabia, to savor online for now, and just maybe up close in the near future:

1) Khaybar is situated in a valley with natural wells that have irrigated the area since ancient times, aiding in the growth of dates known throughout the country. The oasis made Khaybar a regular stop along the incense trade route from Yemen to the Levant, which is why it was the home of the Jewish community at the time. Visitors can also stop at the Jewish cemetery, a 1,400-year-old graveyard without any headstones but known locally for its Jewish history.

2) There’s also the Khaybar Fortress, perched on a hill overlooking the oasis, which is at least 1,400 years old. The earliest accounts of its construction date from the Battle of Khaybar, when the Prophet Mohammed and his army invaded and conquered Khaybar. It was Mohammed’s nephew and son-in-law, Ali, who was able to unlock the gate of the fortress to allow the Muslim armies to finally conquer the fortress. It was rebuilt and reused several times, but is still usually referred to it as the Fortress of the Jews.

Khaybar fortress (Wikimedia Commons)

3) The Palace of the Jewish Tribe’s Head is also located in Khaybar, and was the home of the Jewish tribe of Marhab. The tribe was known to be wealthy from dealing in gold and jewelry, and the palace it lived in is above the town, about a ten-minute climb from the center.

4) In Tayma, which was often referred to as a fortified city belonging to the Jews, most travelers stop at the Al-Naslaa Rock Formation, located in the Tayma oasis. It’s considered to have one of the most photogenic petroglyphs, or rock art, depicting the life and times of ancient communities. Al-Naslaa is also known for the perfect, natural slit between the two standing stones. Experts say the cause of this perfect slit could be the ground having shifted slightly underneath one of the two supports.

5) At the center of Tayma is Bir Haddaj, a large well considered to be about 2,500 years old, dating back at least to the middle of the sixth century BCE. It wasn’t in use until the 1950s, when it was repaired and later restored to its previous appearance.

The well is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah as the place where the descendants of Ishmael’s son, Tema, lived: “Unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! The inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitive with his bread.”

There are also the famous Tayma stones inscribed in Aramaic that are now in the Louvre Museum. Thousands of other Aramaic inscriptions that have been found in the area are stored in the city’s museum.


The Tayma Stone, a stele with Aramaic inscription. Now in the Louvre (Jastrow / Wikipedia)

http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-saudi-arabia-jewish-sites-with-ancient-resonance-beckon/

@DavidSling @500

 

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World's Oldest "Standing" Church is in Saudi Arabia - 4th Century Assyrian Church with PICS. ​

G'day ATS,

When I was about six years old, my family moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One of my first memories of living there is being woken early in the morning by loud wailing. Little did I know that this was the call to morning prayers. My sister and I were actually freaked out and she had to be comforted by my parents (being only four), I will always remember that experience.

Saudi Arabia is Muslim to the core.

It is the birthplace of the religion and home to the two holiest places in Islam (Mecca &Medina)

But the Saudis have a "dirty" little secret.

It is one of those amazing stories, a chance discovery, a government trying to cover it up to save face.

But I've found some links and information and I can bring it to you now ATS!

For a background I'll quote Wikipedia, the information is highly innadequate, but the lack of the quality and quantity of information released in the public domain will tell how sensitive a subject this is for the Saudis.

The Jubail Church

Jubail Church is the oldest still remaining church in the world, located in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. It dates to the 4th century. It was discovered in 1986. The government hides it from locals and bans foreigners from visiting it, even archaeologists. It is an ancient Assyrian church possibly of the Nabatean culture.

That's it, all they have. But after some digging, and I must admit the sources are obscure, I can bring you more details and pics of the World's Oldest Remaining Church, in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia no less!

The Church of Jubail


In 1986, people on a desert picnic discovered the ruins of a church near the city of Jubail, Saudi Arabia, while digging one of their trucks out of the sand. The church is believed to have been built prior to A.D. 400, making it older than most churches in Europe. It was likely associated with one of five bishoprics existing on the shores of the Arabian Sea during the term of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople and founder of the heresy that bears his name.

Anyone familiar with contemporary Latin and Eastern Rite Catholic church buildings will recognize the basic design. The foundation marks for roof support columns in the main room easily identify it as the nave of a church. Probably, the roof was a thatch of palm branches supported by risers and crossbeams about a foot above the walls for sunlight and ventilation. The congregation would have entered through the main doorway at the west side of the nave and assembled, women standing to the right and men to the left, facing east toward the sanctuary (the middle of the three smaller chambers") where the altar would have been.

At the doorways to the sacristy, sanctuary, chapel, and the main entrance, stone crosses were attached to the wall. These four crosses, in place during the early excavation, disappeared in late 1986 or early 1987. Over the years since the discovery, the desert has erased even the marks left when the crosses were removed.

The last part is not surprising, I believe this is an intentional plan to leave the Church at the Mercy of the Desert Winds:

4th Century Assyrian Church in Saudi Arabia (Assyrian International News Agency)


The ruins are known as the Jubail Church and are acknowledged by the Saudi government, who will not issue permits to visit it because 'the site is being excavated.'

In any case, the original ruins contained four stone crosses, which later went missing, though the marks where the crosses were are still visible. The ruins are thought to date from the 4th century, which make them older than any known church in Europe. Not much else is known but speculation is that it was in some way connected to one of the five Assyrian Church of the East bishoprics which are known to have existed in this area of the Gulf in the 4th century.

The photographs were taken by Robert and Patricia McWhorter during 1986 shortly after the ruins were partially excavated and protected by the Saudi Department of Antiquities.

I went to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and searched for Church of Jubail, guess what?

It goes without saying that there were no results for that (as well as just "Church"), nor for the same search on the World Heritage Site either.

The oldest standing Church in the World not mentioned by either the Saudi Commission for Antiquities nor the World Heritage Site.

I find that very odd!

Note in the pictures the barbed wire fence, obviously to "Protect" the building, more likely to stop interested parties finding out that Saudi Arabia had one of the World's first Churches, and also that the current Oldest Standing Church n the World can still be found in this strictly Muslim country.

All the best ATS, Kiwifoot!

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread533512/pg1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail_Church

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtiname_of_Muhammad

Christian community of Najran

The existence of a Christian community in Najran is attested by several historical sources of the Arabian peninsula, where it recorded as having been created in the 5th century CE or perhaps a century earlier. According to the Arab Muslim historian, Ibn Ishaq, Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia.
Contents
1Prior to Christianity

• 2Economic, political and religious center

• 3Persecution of Christians

• 4Book of Himyarites

• 5Letter of Simeon of Beth Arsham

• 6Martyrs of Najran

• 7Church in Najran

• 8Najran pact

• 9Resistance to the rise of Islam

• 10Najran accord of 897

• 11Disappearance of the Christian community

• 12See also

• 13Citations

• 14References

Prior to Christianity
Prior to the rise of Christianity, the people of Najran were polytheists and worshipped a tall date-palm tree, for which also they had an annual festival when they hung upon it the finest garments they could find, and female ornaments. Then they would come and dance around it the whole day. During this period, they had a Chief named Abdullah ibn ath-Thamir who became the first Najranite to embrace Christianity. A pious Christian builder and bricklayer named Phemion settled among them and led them to his religion and its religious laws, which they adopted.

Economic, political and religious center
Before the advent of Islam, it appears from indications in the Qur'an it would appear that the Jews to the West of the Himyarite kingdom, in western Arabia, maintained some form of rabbinical organisation, possibly connected to late antique Judaism, and were not wholly cut off from their brethren elsewhere in the Middle East.[1] On source speaks of rabbis from Tiberias itself enjoying the hospitality of Dhu Nuwas's court.[2] The apparent conversion of local Himyarite rulers to Judaism, or some form of a Judaic monotheism,[2] as early as the late fourth century under the Tabbāi'a dynasty,[2] is indirect evidence that suggests appear to have been effective Jewish proselytization was active in the region.[1]

The Christians of Najran were divided into two sects. One drew on a variety of Nestorianism[citation needed], which a local merchant had acquired during a sojourn in al-Hira, and took back to Najran sometime during the reign of the Sassanid ruler Yazdegerd II. The other was a form of anti-Chalcedonianism.[3] had suffered an earlier, but brief, stint of persecution with the advent of the new dynasty under the Himyarite ruler Shurihbi'īl Yakkuf (c.468-480).[2] The Jewish faith had strong roots within the Himyarite kingdom when Dhu Nuwas rose to power, and not only in Zafar but Najran also, it seems that several synagogues had been built.[2]

Najran was an oasis, with a large population of Christian Arabs, and a significant community of Jews,[4] unlike most Ṣayhadic people of that zone, had only come under the authority of the Himyarite kingdom in the early fifth century, more or less around the time that a local merchant, one Hayyān by name, had visited Constantinople and underwent conversion at al-Hīra, near Mecca, during a later journey. On his return to his native town, he began to proseyltise on behalf of the new religion.[2]

and the seat of a Bishopric (?). It sheltered an oligarchy of Christian merchants which were as rich as any in Edessa or Alexandria (?). It had been an important stop on the spice route from Hadhramaut. Najran had been an important centre of Christianity in South Arabia and the focus of international intrigues in which economics, politics, and religion were all entangled.

Persecution of Christians
Commercial reasons probably induced Christians to explore the possibilities in the area at an early period but the first attested Christian mission dates to that of Theophilos the Indian, a Christian of the Arian persuasion, who was active during the reign of Constantius II, and who was reported to have converted the Himyarites around 354/5.[5]

In the first quarter of the 6th century, a variety of records refer to a tragic episode in which a local king, Yusuf As'ar Dhu Nuwas, who had converted to Judaism and subjected the local Christian community to persecution, reportedly in retribution for the burning of a synagogue.[1] The events comprised episodes involving a massacre of Ethiopians in a Yemen garrison, the destruction of churches, punitive expeditions in a number of regions, and attempts to constrain communities to undergo conversion to Judaism. The most celebrated episode concerns the martyrdom of the Christian denizens in the great oasis of Najrān, culminating in the execution of Arethas,[6] an incident alluded to in the Qur'an, in Sura 85:4-8, where however the Christians are described as Believers martyred for their faith[7] These circumstances have a geopolitical dimension as well, in that there are indications that these Jewish communities had connections with the Iranian Sassanid kingdom, while the Christians, though Monophysites, were linked to Byzantine interests.[1]

After coming to the throne through a coup d'état, Dhu Nuwas launched a campaign which swept away an Aksumite garrison in Zafar, where a church was put to the torch, and then invaded the Tihāma coastal lowlands where a partially Christianized population dwelt, and where he took over key centres as far as the Bab el-Mandeb.He sent one of his generals, a Jewish prince, north to Najran in order to impose an economic blockade on the oasis by cutting off the trade route to Qaryat al-Faw in eastern Arabia.[8] The Christians of Najran were massacred in 524 by the Himyarite king, Yusuf As'ar Dhu Nuwas. The Najranite Christians, like other Southern Arabian Christian communities, had close connections with the ecclesiastical authorities in Byzantium and Abyssinia. They were identified by virtue of their religion as "pro-Axumite" and "pro-Byzantine".[citation needed]

Dhu Nuwas hoped to create, in the rich lands of Southern Arabia, a "Davidic" kingship which was independent of the Christian powers. He also considered Najran to be a Byzantine base that controlled the Red Sea trade route and did harm to the economic situation of Himyar.[citation needed]

When Dhu Nuwas invaded, he called upon its people to abandon Christianity and embrace Judaism. When they refused, he had them thrown into burning ditches alive. Estimates of the death toll from this event range up to 20,000 in some sources.[who?] Some sources[who?] say that Dus Dhu Tha'laban from the Saba tribe was the only man able to escape the massacre of Najran, who fled to Constantinople to seek help and promptly reported everything. This brought about the wrath of emperor of Byzantium, Justin I who, as protector of Christianity encouraged his ally, the Abyssinian king Ella-Asbeha of Aksum, to invade the country, kill Dhu-Nuwas, and annex Himyar in 525.[citation needed]

Book of Himyarites
However, according to the "Book of Himyarites", the instigation to action was not caused by a request from Constantinople but, more plausibly, the arrival at the court of the Abyssinian king of a refugee from Najran by the name of Umayya. Later, an army of 7,000 men led by Abraha al-Ashram, the Christian viceroy of the Negus of Abyssinia defeated Dhu Nuwas's forces and restored Christian rule in Najran.

In his 524 C.E letter describing the Najran persecutions in detail, the West-Syrian debater Simeon, the bishop of Beth Arsham describes how female martyrs rushed in to join "our parents and brothers and sisters who have died for the sake of Christ our lord".

In one exchange, reminiscent of the Acts of Marta and her father Pusai, a freeborn woman of Najran named Habsa bint Hayyan taunts Dhu Nuwas with the memory of her father:[9]

Habsa told him, "I am the daughter of Hayyan, of the family of Hayyan, the teacher by whose hand our lord sowed Christianity in this land. My father is Hayyan who once burned your synagogues". Masruq the Crucifier (Dhu Nuwas), said to her, "So, you have the same ideas as your father? I suppose you too would be ready to burn our synagogues just as your father did." Habsa told him, "No! I am not going to burn it down because i am prepared to follow quickly this path of martyrdom in the footsteps of my brothers in Christ. But we have confidence in the justice of Jesus Christ our Lord and our God, that he will swiftly bring an end to your rule and make it disappear from amongst mankind: he will bring low your pride and your life, and he will uproot your synagogues from our lands, and build there holy churches. Christianity will increase and rule here, through the grace of our Lord and through the prayers of our parents and brothers and sisters who have died for the sake of Christ our Lord. Whereas you and all who belong to your people will become a byword that will cause future generations to wonder, because of all that you, a godless and merciless man, have wrought upon the holy churches and upon those who worship Christ God."

Letter of Simeon of Beth Arsham
Simeon of Beth Arsham's Second letter preserves yet another memorably gruesome episode. After seeing her Christian kinsmen burned alive, Ruhm, a great noblewoman of Najran, brings her daughter before the Himyarite king and instructs him: "Cut off our heads, so that we may go join our brothers and my daughter's father." The executioners comply, slaughtering her daughter and granddaughter before Ruhm's eyes and forcing her to drink her blood. The king then asks, "How does your daughter's blood taste to you?" The martyr replies, "Like a pure spotless offering: that is what it tasted like in my mouth and in my soul."[10]

Martyrs of Najran
The martyrs of Najran are remembered in the Christian calendars and are even mentioned in the Surat al-Buruj of the Q'uran 85:4–8, where the persecutions are condemned and the steadfast believers are praised:

...slain were the men of the pit (Al-Ukhdood),

the fire abounding in fuel, when they were seated over it, and were themselves witnesses of what they did with the believers. They took revenge on them because they believed in God the All-mighty, the All-laudable...

The stories of the Najran deaths spread quickly to other Christian realms, where they were recounted in terms of heroic martyrdom for the cause of Christ. Their martyrdom led to Najran becoming a major pilgrimage centre that, for a time, rivaled Mecca to the north. The leader of the Arabs of Najran who was executed during the period of persection, Al-Harith, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as St. Aretas.[11]

The Martyrdom of the Christians of Najran is celebrated in the Roman Calendar on the 24 October; in the Jacobite Menologies on 31 December; in the Arabic Feasts of the Melkites on 2 October; in the Armenian Synaxarium on the 20 October, and in the Ethiopian Senkesar on November 22.

Church in Najran
The bishops of Najran, who were probably Nestorians, came to the great fairs of Mina and Ukaz, and preached Christianity, each seated on a camel as in a pulpit. The Church of Najran was called the Ka'bat Najran. (Note that several other shrines in Arabia were also called Ka'aba meaning square like building). The Ka'aba Najran at Jabal Taslal drew worshippers for some 40 years during the pre-Islamic era. The Arabian sources single out Khath'am, as a Christian tribe which used to perform the pilgrimage to the Christian Ka'aba of Najran. When Najran was occupied by Dhu Nuwas, the Ka'aba Najran was burned together with the bones of its martyrs and some 2,000 live Christians within it.

Najran pact
In the tenth year of the Hijrah, a delegation of fourteen Christian Chiefs from Najran; among them Abdul Masih of Bani Kinda, their chief, and Abdul Harith, bishop of Bani Harith, came to Medina to make a treaty with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and were permitted by him to pray in his mosque, which they did turning towards the east.[12]

Resistance to the rise of Islam
They were ordered by Umar ibn al-Khattab to vacate the city and emigrate out of the Arabian peninsula, or accept a money payment.[13] Some migrated to Syria; but the greater part settled in the vicinity of Al-Kufa in predominantly Christian Southern Iraq, where the colony of Al-Najraniyyah long maintained the memory of their expatriation.

However, the historicity of these events is not absolutely reliably established.[13] It appears that the orders of Umar were not fully carried out and might have applied only to Christians living in Najran itself, not to those settled round about. This is because there is some evidence of a continuing Christian presence in Najran for at least 200 years after the expulsion.[13] Some sources also state that the Christian community of Najran still had considerable political weight in the late ninth century.[13]

Najran accord of 897
According to a Yemeni Arab source, the first Zaydite Imam of Yemen, al-Hadi Ila l-Haqq Yahya ibn al-Hussain (897–911) concluded an accord with the Christians and the Jews of the oasis on 897, at the time of the foundation of the Zaydite principality.[14]

A second Yemeni source alludes to the Christians of Najran in muharram 390 (999–1000). The oasis was still one third Christian and one third Jewish, according to the testimony of the Persian traveller, Ibn al-Mujawir.[15] The last evidence of the presence of Christianity in Northern Yemen of which Najran used to belong to, dates back to the 13th century.[15]

Disappearance of the Christian community
Eventually the Old Najran which was Christian disappeared, and is now represented by Al-Ukhdood, a desolate village, while another the Najran which is Islamic, has now appeared in its vicinity.[16]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_community_of_Najran

Write "MYSTAGOGY: Saint Arethas the Great Martyr and the Christian Martyrs of Najran" on Google.

 

[19887]

Al-Magar site, amid the remote low hills and sandy valleys of southwestern Saudi Arabia and located near the town of Al-Gayirah, is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the Middle East. Carried out by the Antiquities Sector of the Saudi Commission for Antiquities and Museums, Al-Magar represents the first Neolithic settlement site in the Arabian Peninsula. According to Dr. Ali, the SCTA vice President, the horse stone sculpture located at al-Magar clearly shows that it was most likely a domesticated animal, and present in the Peninsula for over 10,000 years.

Al-Magar Site

One of the most excting components of Al-Magar was the discovery of a large stone carving of an 'equid' - an animal belonging to the horse family. According to Ali bin Ibrahim Al Ghabban, vice-president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, 'It could possibly be the birthplace of an advanced prehistoric civilisation that witnessed the domestication of animals, particularly the horse, for the first time during the Neolithic period.'

The piece itself, measuring 86 cms long by 18 cms thick and weighing more than 135kg., is a large sculptural fragment that appears to show the head, muzzle, shoulder and withers of a horse. The fact that other smaller, horse-like sculptures were found at Al-Magar, with similar bands over the shoulders, supports the idea that this culture may have been using 'tack' to domesticate horses.

On the ground surface at Al-Magar, there is large scattering of stone objects over a wide area. The typical Neolithic objects consist of arrow heads, precisely made stone scrapers, knives, grinding stones and pots, similar to those located at the Neolithic sites of Thimamh, Rub al-Khali, Tatleeth, Yabrin, Tabuk and Jawf, Sakkaka.



Several stone statues and carvings of conceivably domesticated animals were found on the site, possibly part of the daily life of the inhabitants. The statues of animals located at al-Magar are also represented in the rock art of various Neolithic sites at Hima, Najran, Jubbah and Shuwaymis. The statues of most common animals found at Al-Magar are sheep, goat, dogs, ostriches, falcons, fish and horses.

Al-Magar is the most elaborate and ancient settlement site in the Arabian Peninsula. It represents an advanced pre-pottery Neolithic period. The people lived in stone houses built with dry masonary.

The archaeological survey at al-Magar has revealed traces of stone structures, connected with settlement and with signs of agricultural activity. The sculptures themselves were found buried in one of the stone structures, formerly a building of some sort. The archaeology evidence of al-Magar is slowly revealing clues about the social aspects and the culture of the people who lived here; about domestication, trade and migration. What is more, there are clear signs of even earlier occupation; adjacent to the Neolithic finds, flaked stone tools, such as scrapers, estimated to be 50,000 years in age. Al-Magar was an attractive environment for human activity over multiple periods.

The Arabian Horse - Origin & Development

The Arabian Horse

It is generally believed that the horse was introduced into the Arabian Peninsula, but that it was domesticated in Arabia between 3,000 and 4,000 BC, although this remains controversial. Clearly, the horse has always been a part of Arabian culture.

The recent discovery of horse figures in the Neolithic rock art at Shuwaymis has changed the story of the presence and domestication of the horse in Arabia. Now we can say with authenticity that the horse was already present in Arabia as early as the Neolithic period c. 10,000-9,000 years before present.

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

Horse depictions in Saudi Arabia Rock Artt

Horse depictions in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

The Arabian Horse in Saudi Arabia Rock Art

New Archaeological Discoveries in Eastern Province​

September 2016


Recent efforts to excavate archaeological sites in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia have unearthed a record of the Kingdom’s rich cultural past and ancient heritage. Under the patronage of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), teams of international and national experts have revealed the region’s status as a hub of social and commercial life over 7,000 years ago.

Spread out over a number of sites in Saudi Arabia, the discoveries contain valuable artifacts that have given researchers a glimpse into the traditions of those living during the earliest days of the spread of Islam. In Dammam, experts are using pieces of pottery and houses to develop an understanding of traditional craftwork and architecture in the civilizations that once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula.

In the ancient city of Thaj, a key discovery of gold and jewelry provided researchers with new information on the skillful metalwork of the area’s residents. In Tarout, the unearthing of weaponry, pottery, and metal tools demonstrated similar levels of technical expertise that is slated to be exhibited in the National Museum of Riyadh.

As a center of human interaction and engagement between civilizations, the Arabian Peninsula was home to peoples who benefited from coastal trade and commerce along the routes of the Mesopotamia. It is for this reason, SCTNH President Prince Sultan bin Salman stated, that such archaeological history points to the role that Saudi Arabia played in the religious, political, and cultural flourishing of ancient life.

Vision 2030 Protects Proud Islamic Heritage, Attracts Tourists
In recognition of the nation’s proud heritage and ancient cultural vibrancy, Saudi officials have devoted resources under the Vision 2030 plan to protect the Kingdom’s proud Arab and Islamic heritage. According to the plan, the diversity that distinguishes Saudi Arabia will continue to offer future generations a foundation for social development and serve as a tool to attract visitors from other countries as witnesses to the country’s place in history.

Through the creation of the world’s largest Islamic heritage museum and intention to double the number of sites registered by UNESCO, the Kingdom aims to fortify its place among leading nations in cultural preservation and education.

http://www.arabianow.org/archaeolog...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

TRAVEL TOP FIVE

In Saudi Arabia, Jewish sites with ancient resonance beckon​

For now, Israelis are not allowed into the kingdom, and Jews are at best grudgingly admitted. But with ties just possibly warming, a Jewish history dating back millennia might soon be more accessible

BY JESSICA STEINBERG August 4, 2016, 12:53 am

​

Saudi Arabia is not high on the list of Jewish travel destinations.

There has been no organized Jewish activity in the country for 70 years. Even though a Saudi delegation visited Israel last month, anyone with an Israeli passport is banned from entering the country, as the two countries don’t have diplomatic relations. As of 2014, Jews are now apparently, unofficially, allowed to work there, though not to hold prayer services.

Yet 3,000 years ago, around the time of the First Temple, there was a strong, vibrant Jewish community in the area of what is today Saudi Arabia.

And in the sixth and seventh centuries, there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly around Medina, Khaybar and Tayma. Hejaz makes up most of the western part of modern-day Saudi Arabia and is centered on the two holiest Muslim cities, Mecca and Medina.

The medieval Jewish traveler, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela in Spain, during an 1165-1173 trek to the Holy Land, made his way to the far-flung Jewish communities that are now in the geographic area of Saudi Arabia.

He cataloged his trip, describing the places he visited and the people he met and providing a demographic rundown of Jews in every town and country. Tayma and Khaybar, where he visited, are two oases that became populated communities because they were along a key land route between the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley.


Former Saudi general Dr. Anwar Eshki (center, in striped tie) and other members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members and others during a visit to Israel on July 22, 2016 (via twitter)

Benjamin of Tudela in the Sahara , in the 12th century, as shown in an engraving by Dumouza (Wikimedia Commons)

Historical sites pertaining to the ancient Jewish experience still exist. With the Saudis just possibly warming their ties to Israel — ex-Saudi general Anwar Eshki, who led the recent delegation to Israel, also met publicly in the US last year with Foreign Ministry chief Dore Gold — the day may be drawing near when these locales will be more accessible.

These are five top Jewish spots in Saudi Arabia, to savor online for now, and just maybe up close in the near future:

1) Khaybar is situated in a valley with natural wells that have irrigated the area since ancient times, aiding in the growth of dates known throughout the country. The oasis made Khaybar a regular stop along the incense trade route from Yemen to the Levant, which is why it was the home of the Jewish community at the time. Visitors can also stop at the Jewish cemetery, a 1,400-year-old graveyard without any headstones but known locally for its Jewish history.

2) There’s also the Khaybar Fortress, perched on a hill overlooking the oasis, which is at least 1,400 years old. The earliest accounts of its construction date from the Battle of Khaybar, when the Prophet Mohammed and his army invaded and conquered Khaybar. It was Mohammed’s nephew and son-in-law, Ali, who was able to unlock the gate of the fortress to allow the Muslim armies to finally conquer the fortress. It was rebuilt and reused several times, but is still usually referred to it as the Fortress of the Jews.

Khaybar fortress (Wikimedia Commons)

3) The Palace of the Jewish Tribe’s Head is also located in Khaybar, and was the home of the Jewish tribe of Marhab. The tribe was known to be wealthy from dealing in gold and jewelry, and the palace it lived in is above the town, about a ten-minute climb from the center.

4) In Tayma, which was often referred to as a fortified city belonging to the Jews, most travelers stop at the Al-Naslaa Rock Formation, located in the Tayma oasis. It’s considered to have one of the most photogenic petroglyphs, or rock art, depicting the life and times of ancient communities. Al-Naslaa is also known for the perfect, natural slit between the two standing stones. Experts say the cause of this perfect slit could be the ground having shifted slightly underneath one of the two supports.

5) At the center of Tayma is Bir Haddaj, a large well considered to be about 2,500 years old, dating back at least to the middle of the sixth century BCE. It wasn’t in use until the 1950s, when it was repaired and later restored to its previous appearance.

The well is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah as the place where the descendants of Ishmael’s son, Tema, lived: “Unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! The inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitive with his bread.”

There are also the famous Tayma stones inscribed in Aramaic that are now in the Louvre Museum. Thousands of other Aramaic inscriptions that have been found in the area are stored in the city’s museum.


The Tayma Stone, a stele with Aramaic inscription. Now in the Louvre (Jastrow / Wikipedia)

http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-saudi-arabia-jewish-sites-with-ancient-resonance-beckon/

@DavidSling @500

very interesting,thanks

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

The historical region of Najd in KSA is home to one of the oldest civilizations (Al-Magar from the Neolithic period - 7000 BC) and is a possible/likely source of the domestication of horses and other animals as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Magar

https://www.scta.gov.sa/en/antiquities-museums/archeologicaldiscovery/pages/Al-Magar.aspx

When Mutlaq ibn Gublan decided to dig a birka (pond) to keep his camels watered, he arranged for a backhoe and drums of diesel fuel to be driven from the road to the site on his ancestral grazing lands in southwest Saudi Arabia. The spot he had chosen, amid finger-like valleys that cut through low sandstone hills, was near traces of an ancient waterfall, which hinted that, in millennia past, nature itself supplied more than a mere birka.

His pond was never completed. As he supervised the excavation, he says, "I spotted a smooth, shaped stone sticking out of the ground. I recognized it was an old and important object." He could tell at once it was a statue of an animal. It was buried upright, head toward the surface, he says. "I paid off the operator and told him to follow his tracks back to the road."

SAUDI COMMISSION FOR TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES

Above and top: The largest, and to date the most significant, of more than 300 artifacts found so far at al-Magar is a sculpture fragment whose head, muzzle, nostrils, arched neck, shoulder, withers and overall proportions resemble those of a horse, though it may represent an ***, an onager or a hybrid. Eighty-six centimeters (34") long, 18 centimeters (7") thick and weighing more than 135 kilograms (300 lbs), it is provisionally dated to about 7000 bce.
Over the next few years, Ibn Gublan unearthed some 300 objects there. Though none was as large as the first, his finds included a small stone menagerie: ostrich, sheep and goats; what may be fish and birds; a cow-like bovid (Bovidae); and an elegant canine profile that resembles one of the oldest known domesticated breeds, the desert saluki. In addition, he found mortars and pestles, grain grinders, a soapstone pot ornamented with looping and hatched geometric motifs, weights likely used in weaving and stone tools that may have been used in leather processing, as well as scrapers, arrowheads and blades—including an exquisitely decorated stone knife in the unmistakable curved design of the traditional Arabian dagger.

"I recognized it was an old and important object," says Mutlaq ibn Gublan, who canceled excavation of his camel-watering pond when the excavator's backhoe struck the Neolithic sculpture. "I am happy that in the footsteps of my grandfather and his long line of ancestors I have found something from the heart of Arabia that goes deep into our history and helps connect us with the past."
Two years ago, he loaded it all up in his Jeep, drove it to Riyadh and donated it to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (scta).

"When I first saw the pieces, I just could not believe it. It was, how can I say, incroyable," recalls Ali al-Ghabban, head of antiquities at the scta, his French-accented English giving away his years at the University of Provence. "This is Neolithic material," he states, from "a sophisticated society possessing a high level of art and craftsmanship that we have not previously seen." Al-Ghabban had a laboratory run a radiocarbon analysis on trace organic remains found later alongside some of the objects. That dated the material to between 6590 and 7250 bce, he says.

The discovery has been named "the al-Magar civilization" after its location, a name that means "gathering place" or "headquarters" in a tribal context. It is the carvings of animals—far more numerous, and some larger, than anything previously found in the western Arabian Peninsula—that are the most intriguing. Among them, the largest, the one that prompted Ibn Gublan to stop the backhoe, has sparked the most curiosity of all.

Eighty-six centimeters (34") long, 18 centimeters (7") thick and weighing more than 135 kilograms (300 lbs), the carving has a rounded head, arched neck, muzzle, nostrils, shoulder, withers and overall proportions that clearly resemble an equid—a horse, an ***, an onager or some hybrid. But what makes it so very curious are its two distinctive tooled markings—one in relief from the shoulder down toward the forefoot, and the other carefully, even delicately, incised around the muzzle. The question fairly leaps out: Were the people who inhabited al-Magar putting early forms of bridles on such animals? If so, they were doing it millennia before experts believe it was done elsewhere.

The discovery at al-Magar and the electrifying question it raises come as Saudi Arabia experiences a resurgent pride not only in its archeological heritage but also, particularly, in the legacy and culture of the desert-bred Arabian horse. The discovery also coincides with recent advances in analytical technologies that can help address important questions: When and where did humans begin to move from hunting wild horses (Equus ferus) for food, bone, hide and hair toward the capture, taming and exploitation of horses for meat, milk and transport—a process that gave rise to the subspecies (Equus ferus caballus) that is today's domesticated horse? This pivotal historic development revolutionized transport and trade, allowed people to connect over much larger distances, speeded migrations and changed conquest and warfare. Yet despite more than a century of archeology and the latest in genetic technology, it remains an open question exactly when, where and how domestication occurred. The discovery at al-Magar shows again just how very open a question it is.


When Ibn Gublan removes from a document case a sheaf of neatly clipped and plastic-protected press clippings, in both Arabic and English, and fans them out in the tented majlis(salon) of his brother's home, it is the picture of the banded and incised equid-like statue that takes pride of place. In a scholarly manner, he adjusts his thick-rimmed glasses and peers at a photograph of Saudi King Abdullah bin 'Abd al-'Aziz examining the objects last year, when the discovery was announced and the finds were first displayed to dignitaries and high government officials.

With mint tea brewing on the hearth and Arab coffee deftly served by his young nephew Saud, attention turns to this prize statue. It is the centerpiece of a new archeological discussion, and its initial interpretation is as challenging and contentious as it is intriguing.

A wet epoch in Arabia, starting after the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, and enduring for about 5000 years, allowed widely varied flora and fauna to flourish. Evidence of this is abundant in rock art throughout the western Arabian Peninsula, where depictions of various equids appear along with other species, such as cheetah, hippo, hyena and giraffe, which disappeared as the climate dried to desert. How and when the horse appeared is a matter of both emerging science and Saudi cultural pride—this latter evidenced not only by today's pride in Arabian horses, but also by the rich legacy of poetry and legend, going back deep into pre-Islamic times, that surround and celebrate the desert-bred Arabian horse.

The sculptures from al-Magar "might be" equids, says David Anthony, author of The Horse, The Wheel, and Language and a leading authority on the domestication of the horse. "The local equid in southern Mesopotamia was the onager, and another was the ***, introduced probably from Egypt. No Equus caballus specimens have been found, to my knowledge, anywhere near Saudi Arabia before 1800 bce." For anything conclusive, he continues, "there need to be finds of definite Equus ferus caballus bones in a good stratified context dated by radiocarbon."

In March 2010, the scta flew Saudi and international archeologists and pre-historians to al-Magar for a brief daytime survey. The team fanned out and, in a few hours, collected more stone objects, including tools and another horse-like statue. They also sifted out four samples of burned bone, which were later used for radiocarbon dating of the site. The date, about 9000 years before the present, coincides with the period when the inhabitants of the first known settlements in Arabia and the Levant, already starting to cultivate crops, were also beginning to domesticate animals.

With the area now monitored to prevent illicit digging, the scta is preparing for detailed surveys and excavations expected to take years. "This impressive discovery reflects the importance of the site as a cultural center and could possibly be the birthplace of an advanced prehistoric civilization that witnessed domestication of animals for the first time during the Neolithic period," says al-Ghabban. "We now need to know more."


"All current evidence points to the Eurasian steppe, and probably not much earlier than around 4000 bce," as the place and time the horse was first domesticated, says zooarcheologist Sandra Olsen, head of anthropology and director of the Center for World Cultures at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Olsen has studied the roles of horses in human cultures since 1975 and pioneered research on horse domestication. She and her colleagues have documented the oldest evidence for domestic horses known to date: It comes from about 3500 bce, in northern Kazakhstan.

In 2010 and 2011, Olsen joined Majid Khan, a specialist on Arabian rock art, in Saudi Arabia for a kingdom-wide survey of known rock art that shows equids—and a quest for new finds. Khan has spent the last three decades investigating Saudi petroglyphs, and he estimates there are more than 1000 that portray equids as hunted, ridden or draft animals. He believes the earliest among them date back into the Neolithic era—though assigning accurate dates is notoriously challenging.

Al-Magar lies amid the low hills and sandy valleys of southwestern Saudi Arabia, which until 4000 or 5000 years ago was as verdant as African savannah today.
Given the limitations of the archeological record, how can archeologists make progress in identifying where and when the long process of domestication actually began? Olsen describes her team's approach as "holistic," or simply, "piecing together as much evidence as possible, whether direct or more circumstantial." In the steppes of Asia, she adds, "we also take an 'upside-down' approach: If the prehistoric horse bones are difficult to decipher, then why not look at the settlement and at traces of the human lifestyle for evidence that they were affected by horse domestication?"

According to al-Ghabban, it is just such a multidisciplinary approach that will be applied at al-Magar, where specialists will include zooarcheologists, geoarcheologists, archeobotanists, paleoclimatologists, petrologists, paleontologists, authorities on the domestication of flora and fauna, and archeogeneticists, who will likely be enlisted to use relatively new mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. What makes mtDNA analysis particularly useful is that—unlike nuclear DNA—mtDNA resides outside a cell's nucleus, which means it is inherited exclusively through the maternal line, unshuffled from generation to generation. MtDNA studies comparing a range of domestic horse breeds reveal high diversity among maternal lines, or matrilines. This diversity, Olsen says, supports the theory that horse domestication took place in a number of different places at different times. "There was no one ancestral mare that was the 'Eve' of all domestic horses," she says.

Supporting this view is a study published in January in the journal of the us National Academy of Sciences that examines the rate of mutation of equine mtdna. It not only concludes that communities in both Asia and Europe domesticated horses independently, but also suggests how far back in time domestication events may have taken place. Alessandro Achilli, assistant professor of genetics in the Department of Cellular and Environmental Biology at the University of Perugia in Italy, collected maternally inherited mitochondrial genomes from living horses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Because mtDNA mutation occurs at a known rate, these samples allowed him to trace maternal ancestry using a kind of "molecular clock."

NATUREFOLIO / ALAMY; BLICKWINKEL / ALAMY; DANIEL PICKERING

Equid species known to Neolithic humans in Africa and Asia included the African wild ***, Equus africanus somalicus, above; the onager, Equus hemionus onager, right; and the early wild horse, Equus ferus, opposite, from which today's domestic horse species are descended.
His team identified maternal lines descending unambiguously from different female ancestors. "This means that multiple female horse lines were domesticated throughout the Neolithic period—during the last 10,000 years—in multiple locations of Eurasia, possibly including western Europe," says Achilli. "The very fact that many wild mares were independently domesticated in different places testifies to how significant horses have been to humankind. Taming these animals could generate the food surplus necessary to support the growth of human populations and the human capability to expand and adapt to new environments, or could facilitate transportation." Achilli adds that "unfortunately, we have no idea about the exact location of the domestication events," a question that only archeological dna sampling can answer.

Olsen, though inclined to agree, cautions against accepting this as any kind of last word. She argues that humans and wild animals, as well as horses, all have different maternal lines. "I think that these multiple matrilines are the result of ancient horse herders occasionally catching and adding wild mares to their breeding populations," she says. And, she adds, in the other direction, "domesticated mares can be 'stolen' by wild stallions and incorporated into their harems."


However it took place, the generally accepted scenario of multiple, separate domestication events does open the tantalizing possibility that the Arabian Peninsula had its own horse-domestication event, and the Peninsula's last wet climatic period would seem like an ideal epoch for that to have occurred, if indeed it did. While Arabian domestication implies that there would have been wild horses roaming a then-verdant, savannah-like landscape, Olsen believes that picture is not supported by the petroglyphs she has seen in the country, nor by any skeletal remains, which have yet to be found. Although she accepts that wild asses or onagers are shown being hunted in Neolithic Saudi petroglyphs, she contends that the earliest horses she has seen on the Peninsula are those depicted with chariots, and those, she says, are "no older than at the most 2000 bce." That shows "why I believe it is imperative to distinguish between wild asses and hemiones [onagers] versus horses."

Unambiguously domesticated horses appear in petroglyphs dating back to the second or late third millennium bce. The mounted hunter, above left, and the two-horse chariot, above right, are both from northwestern Saudi Arabia. The chariot of similar appearance, below lef, was drawn in southern Libya.

LARS BJURSTROM / SAWDIA; RICHARD T. BRYANT; ROBERTO ESPOSTI / ALAMY; BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY

As in all detective work, one of the great dangers is flawed evidence. Nearly half a century ago in the Ukraine, a Soviet archeologist uncovered the skull and lower leg bones of a young stallion at Dereivka, near the banks of the Dnieper River. Radiocarbon analysis dated the find at 4200 to 3700 bce, and the stallion's premolars showed signs of wear by a bit. Soviet archeologists confidently pronounced that the site was evidence of horse domestication. But the find's importance collapsed when more detailed radiocarbon dating showed that the remains were what archeologists call "an intrusive deposit" placed there by Iron Age Scythians in the first millennium bce.

This simple, even crude, petroglyph near al-Magar may show a mounted rider.

Subsequently, studies have looked not only for evidence of horses being ridden but also for evidence of their being herded. Attention shifted east, over the Ural Mountains, to the northern marches of Kazakhstan, where in the 1980's, near a small village called Botai, Viktor Zaibert of Kokshetau University unearthed horse bones—300,000 of them.

Zaibert, collaborating with American and British archeologists, found traces of bit wear on lower-jaw teeth, revealing that around 3500 bce some Botai horses were indeed probably harnessed, either for draft purposes or for riding, or both.

Olsen was among Zaibert's collaborators, and she identified in Botai traces of corrals and of roofing material that contained horse manure, as well as signs of ceremonial sacrifices. She also found tools used to make leather straps that may have served as bridles or hobbles. This is parallel to some of the stone tools found at al-Magar, which also point to the likelihood of leather or fiber processing, which could be associated with items of horse tack. But however significant indirect evidence may be, one of the lessons from Botai is that if al-Magar is to inform us, then it is not only reliable taxonomy of the statuary, or interpretation of artifacts, that is required, but also organic remains.

Wild, Tame or Domesticated?

Of the planet's roughly 5500 mammal species, only one, Homo sapiens, over the last 15,000 years or so has selected and controlled the breeding of other species for food, transport, worship, companionship and other purposes. Exactly how many species have been so controlled depends on the definition of "domestication," a word derived from the Latin domus, meaning home.

"What domestication is not," says Alan Outram, "is taming wild animals." For example, he says, although reindeer are hunted and herded for meat and are used to pull sleds, attempts to manage their breeding for specific desirable traits has so far been unsuccessful. That makes them "tame" rather than "domesticated," he maintains.

Dogs, our first successful domestication, are a dramatically different story. Current theory places the process in Russia, possibly as far back as the Upper Paleolithic. The hypothesis is that some feeble gray wolf pups, runts ejected from the pack, gravitated toward humans for survival. As subordinate creatures that could help a hunter retrieve wounded prey, they earned their adoption, and Canis lupus familiaris evolved.

At the other end of the time line is the horse, which is our penultimate major domestication. (Bactrian and dromedary camels followed around 3000 bce.)

Only 14 species account for more than 90 percent of the world's domesticated livestock. By controlled breeding, humans have developed some 4000 varieties from only nine of those species: In order of their domestication, they are sheep, goat, pig, cattle, chicken, ***, horse, buffalo and duck. Horses account for some 300 of those breeds.

And what is the most common of all the domestic animals? The answer is the chicken—population 19 billion—followed by cattle at 1.4 billion and dogs at 500 million. Horses? There are about 65 million in the world today.

It was Alan Outram, a professor of archeological science at Exeter University, who found fat residues absorbed in Botai pottery that were later determined to be from milk rather than meat. The overwhelming proliferation of horse bones on the site logically suggested mare's milk, which to this day remains a popular traditional drink throughout Central Asia. The thousands of horse bones, found in 150 house pits, show these horses were slender, like later Bronze Age domestic horses, distinct from the more robust wild horses that once roamed the Eurasian lands from the steppe to Iberia. Nevertheless, "in our science it is very difficult to determine whether the horse was domesticated or not. The answer to this question is based on a complex study of all contexts of the material culture," says Zaibert.

Olsen homes in on the bones: "Hunters abandon heavy bones of low utility at faraway kill sites, whereas herders slaughter domestic animals in or near their village. In the latter case, all of the bones of the skeleton are found at the home site, and that is exactly what appears at the Botai sites." Soil analysis in enclosures at one Botai site identified high levels of phosphate and sodium, indicating that manure and urine were present inside what were likely corrals, and Olsen has found signs of postholes around some, reinforcing the idea that at Botai, people corralled some of their horses. These enclosures, as well as houses set in circles and rows, all point toward a kind of social organization that could lend itself to horse domestication.

Just as Botai included developed settlements, the discovery at al-Magar includes traces of stone structures. Abdullah al-Sharekh, an archeologist at King Sa'ud University, was among the first experts on the site. He was impressed with the large number of scattered stone structural remains connected with settlement and with signs of agricultural activity that he saw around the site, as well as along the tops of surrounding hills, including walls erected along the slopes. The buried statues were all found within the remains of a building. "Nothing this size has been found in Arabia before, and the stratigraphic evidence will make this perhaps the most significant site in Saudi Arabia," says al-Sharekh. "In a regional context, a find of such variety must have significance. It can tell us about social aspects and the culture of the people who lived here, domestication, trade and migration, and perhaps any early ritualistic importance," he says, adding that "a pause is needed before we can make judgments."

Also present on the scta's initial survey team was Michael Petraglia, a specialist in Paleolithic archeology and stone-tool technologies of the Arabian Peninsula. He quickly found at al-Magar a far older historical horizon. Adjacent to the Neolithic finds, he found flaked stone tools, such as scrapers, that he estimates exceed 50,000 years in age. Al-Magar "was an attractive environment for human activity over multiple periods," he says. "This is very important not only for the more recent site, but also for what it can tell us about past climatic fluctuations between dry and humid periods."


It also makes al-Magar all the more intriguing as a possible site of early horse domestication. The equid-like sculpture's prominent bas-relief band, which could represent a halter, is not unique: Other, smaller, equid-like statues from the site also have bands across the shoulder. There is also on this largest piece the incision around the muzzle to the middle of the upper jaw, which resembles a noseband. Do these features portray tack, or do they represent natural aspects of the animal itself, such as musculature or coat markings? (The question has been posed before: In the 1980's, analysts of Paleolithic paintings in French caves advanced claims that certain markings on horses indicated halters and consequently suggested that domestication in Europe dated back as far as 25,000 years. World authorities, including Olsen, debunked this by showing that the markings portrayed body features and hair patterns, not halters.)

Alan Outram hopes for the chance to examine horse teeth that may be found at al-Magar to see if they would show characteristic effects of wear caused by leather bits.
Before the use of metals, halters, reins and other tack were made entirely from natural materials, and among the al-Magar finds are stone implements that may have been used to produce long strips of leather from the hides of sheep, goats or equids. Al-Ghabban is particularly intrigued by a semi-spherical black stone with a deeply cut, rounded cleft worn smooth. Curious lines are scored on either side of the gap. "We have not seen anything like this before, and we need to carefully study this piece and what it tells us about processing leather and making rope and cord," he says.

Outram explains its potential significance. "As a culture develops away from hunting and gathering and toward such activities as horse herding, the tool kit people use changes. We find more scrapers than pointed projectiles, as well as entirely new processing tools," he says, pointing to such similar tools at Botai sites as leather thong smoothers carved from horse jawbones. Outram has conducted laboratory simulations using tools recreated from horse mandibles, processing thongs that could have been used as tack or tethers.

JOSHUA FRANZOS

Sandra Olsen, top, has found the oldest firm evidence for domestic horses known to date, circa 3500 bce, at Botai in northern Kazakhstan, where organic remains at house sites, above, help patches of vegetation grow thicker and greener.
Tack made from organic materials rarely survives in the archeological record, and thus stone tools, petroglyphs and equine dental wear must provide the evidence of pre-metal-age bits on equids. To establish whether soft bits leave dental wear patterns, and what those might look like, David Anthony pioneered experiments with bits made from leather, hemp and horsehair rope, which he kept in place with cheek pieces made with flint tools. Comparing before-and-after equine dental mouldings, he found that the organic bits created beveled wear that indeed differs from the abrasion patterns known from metal bits.

"The date when Equus caballus was introduced into northern and eastern Arabia has been debated since the 19th century," says Michael Macdonald, a research associate at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Writing 15 years ago on the horse in pre-Islamic Arabia, he explains that controversy is to be expected until considerably more research is carried out. "It will be many years before a coherent picture emerges," he says.

But there is no controversy that al-Magar constitutes a significant discovery. To Khan, it represents the earliest known Neolithic settlement in the Arabian Peninsula and provides "solid and undeniable evidence of the presence and domestication of horses in Arabia." He backs up his claim not only with the statuary but also with the discovery, within a few minutes' walk of the site, of petroglyphs showing ostriches, dogs and ibex. One image, deeply pecked into the rock and with a heavy patina of oxides built up over millennia, hints at a figure mounted on an animal. Khan is convinced it portrays a rider and a horse, and he considers it Neolithic, contemporary with the oldest rock art he has studied so thoroughly at Jubbah, near Hail in northern Saudi Arabia.

Others remain cautious. Juris Zarins, chief archeologist of the expedition that in 1992 discovered the "lost" city of 'Ubar, and who worked in the early days of archeology in Saudi Arabia in the 1970's, says that he is "not surprised" at the finds because al-Magar belongs to a region that is "an archeological hotbed," and that it is "not out of the realm of possibility" that the markings could be the first hints of domestication. "There has not been enough exploration carried out in Arabia," he says, "and new discoveries like this could change things." Whatever the species the sculptures represent, he agrees the nose marking in particular could be significant. "In Arabia in the Neolithic period, we have tethering stones, which archeologists say represent the first attempts at domestication. I think it is Equus asinus [African wild ***]. They may have been trying to do something with it, based on the head. The earliest suggested Equus asinus domestication in the Levant is generally regarded as 3500 bce. If so, this could mark the start of a much longer-than-expected domestication process."

Olsen argues for careful study. The upstanding band could, she says, represent natural features of the animal, or it might even be a tang for attaching the carving to a wall. "And where's the mane?" she asks, elaborating that she would expect equid statuary to show the feature, whether upright as on wild horses or floppy like those on domesticated ones. "What is clearly needed now," she suggests, "is a detailed and expert anatomical analysis of all of the animal heads in order to assess their taxonomic identification."

Beyond this, the discovery of al-Magar, she says, "is extremely important in shedding light on an apparently new culture that existed at a sophisticated level in a local region previously not known for this."

Mutlaq ibn Gublan draws on a lifetime spent with domesticated herds, including, of course, camels. He sips his coffee and says, "When I saw the piece, and the large marking on it, I first thought it was an ox. But then its face told me this is a horse. I am happy that in the footsteps of my grandfather and his long line of ancestors I have found something from the heart of Arabia that goes deep into our history and helps connect us with the past." Just what that thing is will, for now, remain a mystery.

Peter Harrigan (harrigan@fastmail.fm), a frequent contributor to this magazine, is a visiting researcher at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University and commissioning editor of four books on Arabian horses. He lives on the Isle of Wight.
This article appeared on pages 2-9 of the print edition of Saudi Aramco World.


Check the Public Affairs Digital Image Archive for May/June 2012 images.

http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201203/discovery.at.al-magar.htm

very interesting,thanks

Welcome.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Arabian Gulf: the Cradle of Civilization?

Fran Gillespie
Gulf Times
Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:46 UTC

Is the Arabian Gulf the Cradle of Civilisation? Yes, postulates Dr Jeffrey Rose, archaeologist and researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK, in a recently published paper. Rose's paper summarises the theories that are now gaining ground and causing considerable excitement among Middle Eastern archaeologists and historians: that the shallow waters of the Gulf may well hide evidence of the earliest human migrations out of Africa.

Around 8,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age drew to a close, rising sea levels resulting from the melting of the ice caused the Indian Ocean to break through a natural barrier in what is now known as the Straits of Hormuz. In what must have been the mother of all waterfalls, sea water poured through the gap and over a period of some 200 years flooded what had been a fertile plain, watered by rivers including the Tigris and Euphrates in what is now Iraq, and springs which welled up from an aquifer through the karstic limestone which lines the basin. Such springs, known as khawakh in local Arabic, still exist to this day and are thought to have given rise to the name Bahrain - 'two seas', ie salt and fresh water.

During the Pleistocene period, which ended around 12,000 years ago, the inhabitants of Arabia were among the first anatomically modern humans to branch from the common ancestral population that first appeared in East Africa some 190,000 years ago.

The Arabian Gulf is an elongated basin some 250km in width and around 1,000km in depth. It is bounded to the west by the deserts of the Arabian peninsula, to the east by the Zagros mountain range and to the north by the Mesopotamian floodplain. The sea is one of the shallowest in the world, averaging only 35m in depth. During the glacial period in the northern continents sea level worldwide was 120m lower than in the modern era, and along the basin of the Gulf ran a prehistoric river, the Shatt-Al-Arab, discharging into the Indian Ocean at the Straits of Hormuz.

It is inconceivable, given the nature of much of the harsh surrounding landscape, that early humans did not make use of the most precious of all commodities: plentiful fresh water. Rose theorises that this well-watered fertile land could have seen human occupation for over 100,000 years. From about 74,000 years ago until 8,000 years ago the Arabian Gulf oasis formed the southern tip of what is known as the 'Fertile Crescent'. The low-lying floodplain of the Shatt-Al-Arab included not only the river itself but two sizeable lakes, and a mosaic of springs, mangrove swamps and estuaries.

Modern archaeology in Eastern Arabia dates back only to the beginning of the oil era, ie about 60 years ago. It got off to a false start with the Danish expedition to Qatar in the 1960s, designating as Paleolithic what they regarded as early examples of stone tools. Then came the French scientific expedition a decade later. Based on their excavations at sites around Al Khor, they dismissed the Danes' tentative dating and postulated that the whole assemblage of stone tools in Qatar was no older than the Neolithic period, ie around 7,000 years before the present era.

For many years most scholars accepted the dating put forward by the French expedition. It was known, from carbon dating of charcoal found the Yaftah Cave in the Zagros Mountains in Iran, that humans were occupying the cave 35,000 years ago, but the first indication of an early human presence in Eastern Arabia was in 2005, when a rock shelter in the UAE being investigated by a joint Emirate of Sharjah/Tubingen University expedition yielded small hand axes, hammer blades and bifacial foliates that clearly pre-dated lithics from the Neolithic period. Then in 2009 the discovery of a surface scatter of stone tools at Ras 'Ushayriq on the north-west coast of Qatar caused a radical re-assessment of the dates of the earliest human occupation of the Gulf region.

In the last decade, archaeologists have identified over 60 settlements along the shores of the Gulf, dating to about 7,500 years ago. The scattered camps of Neolithic hunter-gatherers were already known, but these were settlements, occupied by modern people who built permanent stone houses, made fine decorated pottery and sophisticated 'pressure-flaked' tools of flint, grew crops, domesticated animals, constructed sea-worthy boats and established long-distance trading networks. Where did they come from? Such civilisations do not spring up overnight, and Rose believes that evidence of preceding populations is missing because it is hidden beneath the Gulf. He said, "These new colonists may have come from the heart of the Gulf, displaced by rising water levels that plunged the once fertile landscape beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean."

"It is no coincidence," he went on, "that the founding of such remarkably well developed communities along the shoreline corresponds with the flooding of the Gulf basin around 8,000 years ago."

Water was vital to human settlement. Much later, in the Bronze Age when the Dilmun civilisation flourished in the Gulf, the Sumerian legend of the god Enki and his consort Ninhursag relates, "For Dilmun... I will create long waterways, rivers and canals, whereby water will flow to quench the thirst of all beings and bring abundance to the land." On the island of Bahrain, only after the oil era brought an increased population which drained the aquifers near the surface, did these canals cease to flow and the springs of fresh water fail.

There is evidence that humans could have been in the region even before the Arabian Gulf oasis suffered its catastrophic flooding. Recently, sites in Oman and Yemen have produced a type of stone tool very different from those in the East African tradition. They bear affinities with Levantine and Zagros stone tool assemblages. This suggests that human beings could have been established in the south of the Arabian Peninsula as long ago as 100,000 years, or even longer. To such early migrants, the fresh water of the Arabian Gulf and the green trees and vegetation would have been a sanctuary amid the barren desert landscapes.
It may well be that deep beneath the busy shipping lanes which now criss-cross the waters of the Arabian Gulf may lie vital pieces of the human evolutionary puzzle. Meanwhile, a project between the Qatar Museums Authority and The University of Birmingham, directed by Dr Richard Cuttler, is undertaking research into this former landscape to investigate the former environments and archaeological remains within the Arabian Gulf.

https://www.sott.net/article/223938-Arabian-Gulf-the-Cradle-of-Civilisation

Archeologists examine 10,000-year-old Saudi site

The facility is made up of an archeological hill with 5 meters longitude (Al Arabiya File)

By Staff writer Al Arabiya English,
Riyadh Monday, 24 October 2016

Researchers from the archeology department of the University of York, Britain, are scrutinizing a Saudi archeological facility in the region of Tabuk, dating back to the Stone Age, an approximate eight thousand year ago.

According to Professor Jeff Bailey, an expert in Arabian archeology, the facility is considered to be one of the rarest archeological sites in the world, raising many scientific questions around it, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.

As maintained by Saudi Scholar Khaled Asmari, the facility is made up of an archeological hill with 5 meters longitude, consisting of stone houses organized and built room by room, eight thousand years BC.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/var...sts-examine-Saudi-site-aged-10000-years-.html

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Post 112 in this thread should be understood in connection to this information below and afterwards every sane person can make his own obvious conclusions. In short, very exciting times in the "terra incognita" (archeology wise) that KSA remains to this very day despite countless of very important findings on a global scale.

Speaking about Neolithic peoples, Saudi Arabians show the greatest genetic affinity to Neolithic mummies.

Recently a DNA study proved that modern-day Saudi Arabians (scoring the highest), Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians have the largest ancestral claim on the Neolithic civilizations that first appeared in Southern Levant.

"The Epipaleolithic Natufian culture /nəˈtuːfiən/[1] existed from around 12,500 to 9,500 BC in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world.[citation needed] Natufians founded Jericho which may be the oldest city in the world. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world.[2] Generally, though, Natufians exploited wild cereals. Animals hunted included gazelles.[3] According to Christy G. Turner II, there is archaeological and physical anthropological evidence for a relationship between the modern Semitic-speaking populations of the Levant and the Natufians.[4]

Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at Shuqba cave in Wadi an-Natuf, in the western Judean Mountains."​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natufian_culture

A culture that existed from 12.5000 BC to 9.500 BC whose people are known to have built the first Neolithic settlements on the planet as well as made the first attempts at agriculture, organized included. It was also arguably the first sedentary culture of this size in the world as well.

Here are the DNA results from last year (2016)

https://plot.ly/~PortalAntropologiczny9cfa/1.embed?share_key=za9Lb3y1UX6nJRG9v4EXOL

Here is the entire report:

http://biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2016/06/16/059311.full.pdf

It's quite cool that Saudi Arabians (in particular as they scored the highest percentage - one sample 60.38%!), Palestinians, Jordanians, "Israeli" Bedouins and Egyptians (afterwards other Arabs in the Near East) show the strongest genetic affinity to the ancient Natufian culture (12.500 BC - 9.500 BC) that was not only the first settled Neolithic civilization/community in the world but as mentioned earlier the first culture and people who introduced farming and built the first known settlements! More so knowing that the Natufians did not hail from the outside whether nearby Europe or Africa! They were indigenous to the region.
​

@azzo @Full Moon @Bubblegum Crisis @KTOOOOM @alarabi @Arabi @ARABIC @الأعرابي @EgyptianAmerican @The SC etc.

"The Roads of Arabia" archeological exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing has reportedly been visited by almost 1 million Chinese from late December until its conclusion last week. That's impressive in 3 months time. South Korea and Japan are next on the list.

Saudi King, Chinese President attend Roads of Arabia Expo

(SPA Photo)

The two leaders toured the expo containing rare artifacts representing the long history of the Arabian Peninsula. (SPA Photo)

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the final ceremony of the Roads of Arabia Expo, being held at the China National Museum in Beijing.

The King and the Chinese President toured the expo containing ancient and rare artifacts which represent the long history of the Arabian Peninsula and introduce the civilizational dimensions of the Arabian Peninsula and the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The artifacts displayed in the expo cover the period extends from the Old Stone Age since prehistoric times, and the establishment of the Saudi state until the reign of late King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi state.

The Saudi King delivered a speech stressing the importance of the exhibition which recounts the ancient history of the Arabian Peninsula and what it represents in terms of exchange in the field of knowledge and historical heritage.

He said it strengthens the foundations of the existing relations between the two countries and contributes to forming a common culture for the peoples of the two countries.

He underlined the importance of the Saudi Arabia, being at the the crossroads between the East and the West, and the meeting point of civilizations.

“China's efforts and Kingdom's participation in building the economic belt of Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road come to boost trade relations between the East and the West and increase the interaction between civilizations”, he said

http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/194937/Saudi-King,-Chinese-President-attend-Roads-of-Arabia-Expo

 

[Saif al-Arab]

SAUDI ARABIA
6,000-year-old relic handed to Saudi government
Arab News | Published — Tuesday 21 March 2017

Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH,) honors Mohammed bin Halil Al-Balawi of Tabuk for giving the relic to the commission. (SPA)​

RIYADH: Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH,) received a rare archaeological piece dating to 6,000 years ago from Mohammed bin Halil Al-Balawi of Tabuk. Prince Sultan handed Al-Balawi a reward and a certificate of honor for giving the relic to the commission.

The body’s Board of Directors at the body’s headquarters in Riyadh received the artifact following the conclusion of a meeting on Tuesday, reported Saudi Press Agency.
SPA did not identify the artifact.
The Saudi law stipulates that archaeological pieces are the property of the state and citizens who find them are required to hand them over to the SCTH.
Prince Sultan said some honest citizens who find archaeological pieces make the common mistake of digging them out and then hand them over to the SCTH. It is a mistake because 50 percent of the relic’s story is in the place it was found, he said. He added that the correct way to leave the piece in its place and notify only the Antiquities Office that will handle it.
He said keeping found archaeological pieces is a crime punishable by law. He said the SCTH will launch an awareness campaign. He said the SCTH receives nearly 20,000 reports of kept or stolen artifacts.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1071501/saudi-arabia

 

[lastofthepatriots]

This thread is dope.

Stupid Arabs are too busy fighting amongst themselves instead of discovering their past and future.

LOL, I guess I never realized how many Arab words we have in Urdu.

Khali means empty in Urdu. Is it the same in Arabic?

 

[azzo]

It's sad that the "Roads to Arabia" exhibition is being shown everywhere around the world, but can't be exhibited in Saudi Arabia due to our version of the iranian Mullahs.

Khali means empty in Urdu. Is it the same in Arabic?

Yup. For example "Al rob' Al Khali" (The empty quarter)

 

[Saif al-Arab]

This thread is dope.

Stupid Arabs are too busy fighting amongst themselves instead of discovering their past and future.

LOL, I guess I never realized how many Arab words we have in Urdu.

Khali means empty in Urdu. Is it the same in Arabic?

Many of the older generation in KSA in particular the Eastern Province and Eastern Arabia in general

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Arabia

spoke Urdu due to the ancient ties between this region of Arabia and the Arab world and nearby South Asia and also due to trade.

Trade and cultural links between ancient India and Arabia date back to third millennium BC.[1]

1. Heptulla, Nejma. Indo-West Asian relations: the Nehru era. Allied Publishers, 1991. ISBN 9788170233404.

Also due to the large South Asian diaspora in the GCC many locals understand/can speak some of your many languages.

You will love this video below, lol.

It's sad that the "Roads to Arabia" exhibition is being shown everywhere around the world, but can't be exhibited in Saudi Arabia due to our version of the iranian Mullahs.



Yup. For example "Al rob' Al Khali" (The empty quarter)

Did they not fix that? Many museums in KSA have ancient pre-islamic heritage at display including the national museum in Riyadh. Maybe they protested against this particular exhibition (around 500 artifacts) due to the many ancient sculptures? Anyway if true it is a shame and I do not understand what the problem is? 99,9% of us are all proud Muslims today.

 

[lastofthepatriots]

It's sad that the "Roads to Arabia" exhibition is being shown everywhere around the world, but can't be exhibited in Saudi Arabia due to our version of the iranian Mullahs.



Yup. For example "Al rob' Al Khali" (The empty quarter)

We have many Arabic words in Urdu that even Arabs today do not use.

Words such as takaloof.

We also use arabic word yani which is used as 'clarify'. Also we use the word bus which means 'enough'.

Kitaab (book)
Insaan (human)
Dunya (world)
Sabr (patience)
Shukr (thankful)
Qawm (nation)
Niyat (intention)
Galat (wrong)
Sahih (correct)
Ijazat (permission)
mawt (death)
Haq (right)
ilm (knowledge)
kursi (chair)
kalam (pen)


OMG, actually there too many Arabic words in Urdu that I can even show. It's a pointless exercise. It would be interesting for linguists. We use lots and lots of Arabic words in Urdu.

 

[AmirPatriot]

almost 50% of all Farsi vocabulary derives from Arabic

lol sure

Welcome back with your 5th account, I'm sure we'll see more of this BS in the coming weeks. Any ideas on the name of the 6th account?