Islamabad, Nov 3: Bronze Age Archaeological Town Discovered at Khaybar Oasis
Archaeologists have found a Bronze Age village in the Khaybar Oasis, northwest of the Kingdom, according to a report released by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
Today, RCU conducted a press conference at the Saudi Press Agency conference center in Riyadh to make the announcement.
The discovery demonstrates the Kingdom’s dedication to preserving its historical
And cultural legacy as well as its wish to share knowledge and insights with the global community
And raise awareness of the shared human heritage.
It also emphasizes how important it is to fortify international ties in order to preserve this rich legacy for years to come.
The discovery, made as part of the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project under the direction
of Dr. Guillaume Charloux, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research,
and Dr. Munirah AlMushawh, an archaeological survey manager at RCU,
demonstrates the region’s transition from a nomadic pastoral life to a settled urban life during the second half of the third millennium BC.
The idea that pastoral and nomadic societies dominated the socioeconomic model in northwest Arabia throughout the early and middle Bronze Ages is called into question by this paradigm shift.
According to the study, areas like Khaybar were important urban hubs that sustained community stability over time, especially after agriculture was introduced.
For nomadic populations, they also functioned as hubs for trade and business. This urban design’s advent has a major impact on the region’s socioeconomic paradigm.
While there were many nomadic pastoral settlements in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula during the
Bronze Age, the area also contained several interconnected walled oases that surrounded fortified cities such as Tayma.
Al-Natah, the discovered town, demonstrates how residential and burial areas were distinct within cities and forts.
From 2400 to 2000 BC until 1500 and 1300 BC, 500 people lived on the 2.6-hectare site.
The Khaybar Oasis was protected by a stone wall that stretched 15 kilometers in length.
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Agency
for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) worked together with the Royal Commission for AlUla to carry out the study.
In order to further establish AlUla as a top destination for cultural heritage,
the commission’s Department of Archaeology, Collections, and Conservation oversees one of the biggest archaeological research projects in the world.
The discovery was aided by Khaybar local and historian Saifi Alshilali in addition to Charloux and AlMushawh.
The new findings add to several studies that began in 2018 and explore the history of ancient AlUla and Khaybar, including the use of stone circles as dwellings,
the construction of massive stone structures known as mustatils, stone traps, and lengthy funeral routes that connected villages and pastures.
Collectively, these studies demonstrate that Bronze Age societies in the northwest Arabian Peninsula were more developed and interconnected than previously believed.
