- International team, sponsored by the Royal Commission
for AlUla (RCU), analyses unique dwellings described as
Standing Stone Circles
- Key research into the Neolithic period suggests that
region's inhabitants during the 6th and 5th millennia BCE were
more settled than previously thought
ALULA, Saudi Arabia,
July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Ground-breaking archaeological research in AlUla County in
north-west Saudi Arabia has
published the first comprehensive description and analysis of a
long-term dwelling type identified in the region during the
Neolithic period.
This research suggests that the region's inhabitants during the
6th and 5th millennia BCE were more settled
than previously thought. They also had a diverse assemblage of
cultural material: they herded livestock, made jewellery, and
conducted trade along a cultural horizon that extended through the
Levant and into eastern Jordan and
the Red Sea.
In a report published 2 July, in the peer-reviewed Levant
journal, the research led by the University
of Sydney archaeologist Jane
McMahon describes latest conclusions and observations of
archaeological investigations of structures known as Standing Stone
Circles, a unique type of dwelling in which a double row of upright
stone slabs was placed in a circle four to eight metres in
diameter. The slabs appear to have been used as foundations for
timber posts (possibly acacia) wedged between the two rows to
support the dwelling's roof, with another slab in the middle also
supporting a central timber post lashed to it. While the
researchers emphasise that further study is needed, tools and
animal remain found at the site suggest that the roofs might have
been made of animal skins.
In all, the team studied 431 Standing Stone Circles in the
Harrat Uwayrid, a basalt-covered volcanic plateau in AlUla County,
with 52 of the structures surveyed and 11 excavated.
Jane McMahon said:
"This research is testing assumptions about how the early
inhabitants of north-west Arabia lived. They were not just nomadic
pastoralists eking out a utilitarian existence. They had
distinctive architecture and houses, large quantities of domestic
animals, and jewellery and tools with an unexpected and exceptional
level of diversity. And based on the number and size of the
Standing Stone Circles, they also appear to have been far greater
in number than previously thought."
Rebecca
Foote, Director of Archaeology
and Cultural Heritage Research for RCU, said: "RCU's
sponsorship of one of the world's largest archaeological research
programmes is deepening our understanding of the region's Neolithic
inhabitants. Our earlier studies have shown how they hunted and
gathered for ritual, and now we have fresh insight into the fabric
of their daily lives. With 12 current surveys, excavations and
specialist projects and nine completed, RCU looks forward to
learning more about north-west Arabia's rich cultural landscape as
we create a global hub of archaeological research and
conservation."
The team's analysis of animal remains found at the Standing
Stone Circles indicates a mixed subsistence economy, dominated by
domestic species, such as goats and sheep, but supplemented by wild
species, such as gazelles and birds. The significant reliance on
herding would have given inhabitants the flexibility and resilience
to respond to environment and resource variability including
weather, water and vegetation.
Arrowheads analysed by the team are of type and form analogous
with the arrowhead types found in southern and eastern Jordan. Among other evidence, this provides
the clearest evidence that the populations of the two areas
interacted, though the nature of this interaction is not yet
apparent.
Smaller items found at the sites also provide clues to a more
interconnected region during this period. For example, the
team found gastropod and bivalve shells, which were often pierced
with a single hole and possibly used as beads. The genus of the
shells matches those in the Red Sea, 120 kilometres to the west,
suggesting a connection with the coast during the Neolithic.
Other discoveries include jewellery items such as sandstone and
limestone rings or bracelets, as well as pendants. The team also
unearthed an ochre-red sandstone crayon, which could have been used
for drawing.
"The connected but discrete nature of the Neolithic in AlUla is
becoming apparent," the researchers write.
The study's co-authors include Yousef
AlBalawi, an AlUla community member who provided
ethnographic insights. Students from Saudi universities including
King Saud University and the University of Hail also assisted.
The full report can be read at HERE
An image gallery, including an evidence-based sketch of what a
Standing Stone Circle might have looked like, can be viewed and
downloaded at HERE.
About the Royal Commission for AlUla
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal
decree in July 2017 to preserve and
develop AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural
significance in north-west Saudi
Arabia. RCU's long-term plan outlines a responsible,
sustainable, and sensitive approach to urban and economic
development that preserves the area's natural and historic heritage
while establishing AlUla as a desirable location to live, work, and
visit. This encompasses a broad range of initiatives across
archaeology, tourism, culture, education, and the arts, reflecting
a commitment to meeting the economic diversification, local
community empowerment, and heritage preservation priorities of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision
2030 programme.
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