Burma caves point to a rich culture
ANCIENT ART: The cave walls are adorned with sketches of animal and human figures.
RIYADH: KHALID TAWALBEH
Published — Friday 30 May 2014
Last update 30 May 2014 1:25 am
The Burma caves, located a mere 66 km northeast of Riyadh, have stood the test of time.
These caves are full of rocks with ancient inscriptions. The mount is considered one of the oldest in the ME region, dating back to about 2,400 years before Christ. The place has largely remained unknown despite being mentioned in several books.
Arab News visited the site, an archaeological marvel containing highly legible Thamudic inscriptions with the names of men from the ancient civilization.
The cave also contains cavernous paintings of humans, horses, deer, camels and spears.
The problem is that a large part of the cave is covered with sand.
Black plateaus, known in Arabic as “abariq,” are scattered across the caves, which made it easy for people to make their inscriptions.
It is likely that a great many inscriptions lie buried under sand dunes.
Yet these inscriptions indicate a great culture of education among a nation that clearly does not belong to a shepherd’s tribe or bedouin clan, as some archaeologists suspected.
Indeed, this form of writing belongs to fine urban workmanship and, as such, must be attributed to an educated people.
Among these ruins in Burma is a small hill of sandstone that contains various symbols and tags.
The Burma caves are distinguished with palm inscriptions containing a collection of writings in the Thamudic language with the names of various people. It also contains a collection of animal shapes, such as cows, deer and ostrich, in addition to human figures.
The place also has a cave that is 12 meters deep, ending with a deep hole carved into the rocks and covered with soil.
Burma caves point to a rich culture | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS
Published — Wednesday 21 August 2013
Last update 22 August 2013 8:11 am
Fifteen missions from abroad, including teams from France, Italy, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Belgium, are cooperating with the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities to explore 15 projects at historic and archaeological sites in different regions of Saudi Arabia.
The archaeological survey began in the Kingdom 40 years ago with the implementation of five-year plans carried out by Saudi missions in cooperation with foreign missions. Through the missions, many archaeological sites were demarcated and recorded and some sites were chosen for further exploration.
Considering the diversity of various time periods, comprehensive excavations were taken up to cover various ages — from the prehistoric era to the advent of Islamic civilization.
The launch of archaeological studies in the Kingdom, in addition to field surveys and archaeological excavations taken up in all the regions, helped in collecting a tremendous amount of information and evidence covering periods stretching from prehistoric times to the late Islamic era.
Archaeological discoveries include artifacts from ancient cities, such as housing units, architectural buildings, castles, forts and towers. Other discoveries include ponds and dams, canals and wells, pottery, tools made of steatite, glass items of different colors and shapes, metal coins and ornaments, weapons made of minerals, and many rock drawings and inscriptions in Nabataean and Southern Mosnad, as well as other scripts.
Daifallah Ettalhi, head of Tourism and Archaeology at the University of Hail and the President of the Saudi side in the Saudi-French Mission at the site of Madain Saleh, said: “The Arabian Peninsula is the cradle of ancient civilizations, but many aspects of its great history are still unexplored. The Authority’s work in this field is to direct archaeological detection toward a deeper understanding of the history of Arab and Islamic nations, as well as human history in general.”
According to Ettalhi, the mission has found many artifacts in Madain Saleh, notably currencies dating back to the reign of Al-Harith, the fourth King of the Nabateans who ruled during the period 9 BC to 40 AD.
Abdul Aziz Gazan, the chairman of the Saudi Association for Archaeological Studies and the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Tourism and Antiquities, said archaeological fieldwork in the Kingdom had turned more active than it was in the past.
“There are many foreign missions operating in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Saudi Mission, and this is a good thing,” he said.
However, there is a need to enhance field work by increasing missions operating at archaeological sites because archaeological work is a national act, the first goal of which is to rebuild and understand the history of the country since ancient times, he said.
Foreign teams to study 15 Saudi archaeological sites | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more
