Not surprising, since KSA was a fertile land with rivers and water all over the place, that is where ancient civilisations dwelled for thousands of years.. very interesting discovery..
Much of KSA/Arabia remains fertile. In fact the fertile areas of KSA/Arabia are comparable in size to France. Yes, it is no surprise at all considering the key strategic location of Arabia and the fact that Arabia is the second longest inhabited region on earth after East Africa/Horn of Africa to mention a few key points. As for rivers, there are 1000's of wadis in KSA and Arabia (non-permanent rivers) to this very day.
Next page:
Saudi Arabia discovers 9,000 year-old civilization
Reuters Staff
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is excavating a new archeological site that will show horses were domesticated 9,000 years ago in the Arabian peninsula, the country’s antiquities expert said Wednesday.
The discovery of the civilization, named al-Maqar after the site’s location, will challenge the theory that the domestication of animals took place 5,500 years ago in Central Asia, said Ali al-Ghabban, Vice-President of Antiquities and Museums at the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities.
“This discovery will change our knowledge concerning the domestication of horses and the evolution of culture in the late Neolithic period,” Ghabban told a news conference in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.
“The Maqar Civilization is a very advanced civilization of the Neolithic period. This site shows us clearly, the roots of the domestication of horses 9,000 years ago.”
The site also includes remains of mummified skeletons, arrowheads, scrapers, grain grinders, tools for spinning and weaving, and other tools that are evidence of a civilization that is skilled in handicrafts.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is trying to diversify its economy away from oil and hopes to increase its tourism.
Last year the SCTA launched exhibitions in Barcelona’s CaixaForum museum and Paris’s Louvre museum showcasing historic findings of the Arabian Peninsula.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...0-year-old-civilization-idUSTRE77N5TL20110824
Archaeological finds reflect Saudi Arabia’s rich heritage
Sultan Al-Sughair | Published — Monday 29 August 2016
TREASURE TROVE: The archaeological sites in the Eastern Province represent different periods dating back to the Stone Age.
DAMMAM: Recent archaeological findings in the Eastern Province show that the area was home to a civilization more than 7,000 years ago.
These discoveries by Saudi and international teams, under the supervision of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), highlight the cultural and historical heritage of the Kingdom.
The findings also reflect on the Eastern Province’s important role in the commercial dealings between the peoples of ancient civilizations.
Surveys conducted so far show that there are more than 300 archaeological sites in the region, representing different periods dating back to the Stone Age.
The discovery of many historical monuments highlights the civilization and the traditional architecture of the area.
Al-Rakah district, one of the archaeological sites in Dammam, contains an ancient village dating back to the period of early Islam. It has about 20 houses, in addition to rooms and residential units, including pieces of pottery and porcelain, glass, steatite and metal pieces that belong to the first and second centuries of the Islamic era.
The Thaj ancient city, about 80 km west of Jubail, is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Eastern Province. Most historians believe that Thaj was built in the period of the Greeks, following the conquest of Alexander in 330 B.C.
The most important discovery in the city was Thaj’s gold treasure that includes remains of a girl on a wooden bed, with three gold bands on her head. In addition, she wore three gold necklaces, one of which is 38.5 cm long, decorated with rubies, turquoise and pearls. The second one is made of 18 pearls hung by a golden thread, while the third necklace is 22.5 cm in length.
The discovery reflects the multicultural aspect of the Thaj civilization, most notably the technical side of the precious metals industry.
Human habitation on Tarout Island goes back to pre-5,000 BC era. It is considered one of the most ancient sites that were inhabited by humans on the Arabian Peninsula.
The most important collection found on Tarout was a golden statue representing Ashtaroot, a female deity. The statue was found placed on the ground in one of the palm groves. Besides, there are many other statues, copper and pottery vessels and traditional weapons that were found there and are now being displayed in Riyadh Museum.
The island played a significant role in trade in the entire Gulf region. It was a central point for trade between Mesopotamia and along the coastal areas in the east of the Arabian Peninsula. Its strong relationships with many of the urbanized areas along the region were well known.
President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage Prince Sultan bin Salman said the archaeological finds confirm the prime position people of the peninsula enjoyed among the nations of the world in religious, political, economic and cultural spheres in ancient times.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/977031/saudi-arabia
Some ancient artifacts found by hunters recently.
Video:
Amazing. I can spot Arabian Jewish, Christian and ancient pre-Abrahamic Semitic pagan religious symbols.
Private individuals, as soon as they start digging, appear to find treasures all over KSA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does this finger prove our ancestors left Africa earlier than believed? 90,000-year-old human bone discovered in Saudi Arabia
- The bone is the middle section of the middle finger, measuring 1.2 inches
- It was found near to the northwestern city of Tayma in Saudi Arabia
- It could be the oldest trace of human life in the Arabian Peninsula
- This could prove that humans ventured out of Africa earlier than believed
By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:58 GMT, 19 August 2016 | UPDATED: 17:11 GMT, 19 August 2016
Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia believe they have discovered the Middle East’s oldest human bone during an excavation.
The bone is the middle section of the middle finger of a human that scientists claim lived 90,000-years-ago.
If this estimate is correct, it would make the bone the oldest trace of human life in the Arabian Peninsula and predate the time when humans are thought to have migrated out of Africa to spread around the world.
Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia believe they have discovered the Middle East’s oldest human bone during an excavation. The bone is the middle section of the middle finger of a human who was thought to live 90,000 years ago
According to London-based newspaper, Asharg Al-Awsat, the discovery is 'considered an important achievement for the Saudi researchers who participated in these missions and one of the most important outcomes of Prince Sultan’s support and care for the archaeology sector in the Kingdom.'
The researches claim this is the old human bone found in the Middle East.
The bone found in Saudi Arabia is not the oldest in the world, however. The most ancient human bone, thought to belong to an early species of human, is a jaw bone found in Ethiopia in 2015.
It is dated to 2.8 million years ago, and predates all other fossils in the lineage by 400,000 years.
The finding comes from a joint project between archaeologists from the University of Oxford and Saudi researchers, as part of the Green Arabia Project. They found the bone at the Taas al-Ghadha site near to the northwestern Saudi city of Tayma
The oldest bone from an early species of human is a jaw bone found in Ethiopia in 2015. It is dated to 2.8 million years ago, and predates other fossils in the lineage by 400,000 years
Saudi and British archaeologists dig up 90,000-year-old middle finger
Project jointly run between Riyadh and Oxford University dates human habitation of Saudi desert back 325,000 years
Scientists have also studied ancient rock art in the deserts of modern-day Saudi Arabia as part of the joint venture (Palaeodeserts Project)
Archaeologists have discovered the oldest human bone ever found in Saudi Arabia, digging up part of a middle finger dating back 90,000 years.
The discovery was part of a joint project begun in 2012 by scientists from Saudi Arabia and the UK’s Oxford University.
The discovery was announced late on Wednesday by the head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Ali Ghabban.
“The Green Arabia project has studied sites at ancient lakes in the Nafud desert,” Ghabban said, referring to an area in the north of the Arabian Peninsula.
Ghabban said that excavations at the Taas al-Ghadha site, close to the northwestern city of Tayma, suggested human habitation stretching back up to 325,000 years.
The bone that was discovered during the dig is the middle part of a middle finger belonging to a human being who lived some 90,000 years ago, making it the oldest physical trace of human habitation discovered in the area.
Al-Arabiya, a state-owned Saudi newspaper, reported in its English edition that the bone was the “world’s oldest”.
However, the oldest bone belonging to a member of the Homo genus, the lineage that ultimately led to modern human beings, is a jaw bone discovered in Ethiopia last March that is believed to be around 2.8 million years old.
The Green Arabia project, established in April 2012 and set to conclude next year, looks at how the various phases of climate change over millennia in the area that is now Saudi Arabia have affected human settlement and migration patterns.
Oxford University is a “key partner” of the state-run Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, according to the project’s promotional material.
The venture, whose full name is Green Arabia, The Palaeodeserts Project, has also looked at ancient rock art found in Saudi Arabia as well as fossils from vertebrates that lived around 700,000 years ago.
Another recent (last month as well) discovery:
Mosque from Early Islam Discovered in Saudi Arabia
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT
August 18, 2016
Riyadh-Antiquities found in Al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia highlight an important civilization dating back to the Stone Age. Therefore, the joint French-Saudi mission for archeological exploration maintains its works in a number of governorates mainly Al-Yamamah site to reveal the history of the region and the old civilizations that settled in it.
The mission that has 18 members of Saudi and French scientists and experts in archeological excavation has discovered at the Yamamah site in Kharj many architectural antiquities of a huge mosque that existed in the early Islamic era in between first and fifth centuries hegira. The mosque was composed of three roofed halls, two mihrabs, and open body hall. There are indicators that it may be the third biggest mosque in the Arabian Peninsula after the two holy mosques.
The survey made by the mission also comprised Bana settlement in addition to five other Islamic sites distributed on many areas lining between Riyadh and al-Dawasir valley.
The Old Stone Age
Results of exploration process have shown many sites that refer to the Old Stone Age for the first time in this region. Fractions of old pottery and glassy utensils were also discovered.
These utensils are likely to be from the Abbasside era and may have been used in the last phase before Islam and till the fifth century hegira.
Researchers found antiquities that refer to early Islam like pottery utensils and a bunch of bracelets made of glass paste.
At Ain al-Delai site in the western side of Kharj, archeologists have found 5,000-year-old traces of human settlement that may refer to the first millennium B.C., in addition to a 56-centimeter-long silver sword.
The mission also discovered a number of old farms and architectural establishments that go back to the fifth century hegira.
Mawan Mountain and Ain Farzan
The mission of archeologists moved to the mountains surrounding Kharj to implement a filed survey for sites from the Stone Age. The area included Mawan Valley and Ain Farzan, where they discovered sites that refer to the old Stone Age.
The mission will continue its work this year looking for sites from the Bronze Age in Ain Al-Delai region to complete the work that begun in 2013, along with the excavation process in the newly discovered mosque.
The Saudi-French mission is working according to the agreement inked between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and the French authorities in September 2011.
His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz, the chairman of the Saudi authority, recently met with the Saudi-French team which is carrying out the archeological excavation work at the Yamamah historical site in Kharj. His Highness praised the efforts of the mission aiming at offering the Saudi people the opportunity to learn more about their country’s heritage and the old civilizations that settled in it before them.
Dr. Abdulaziz al-Ghazi, archeology professor at King Saud’s University and head of the Saudi team in the mission, considered that this mission is the first-of-its-kind in the country and that its work will continue over the next five years, which will pave way to the discovery of more sites.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A quite famous statue of the pagan God Ishtar from the Sumerian (neighboring area) period was found on Tarout Island in KSA. A farmer found it. Dilmun, Magan and other civilizations in Eastern Arabia were very close to neighboring Sumer or even in some fields extensions of each other. Many historians and experts believe that Sumerians themselves came from neighboring Eastern Arabia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Arabia#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer
Article in Arabic about the finding. Amazing what kind of heritage that you can find in our part of the world. We are talking about a statue that is almost 5000 years old.
http://www.alsharq.net.sa/2014/05/04/1134854
When words, facts and photos speak for themselves.
Extremely interesting discovery.
Saudi-French team discovers Stone Age sites in Tabuk
ARAB NEWS | Published — Friday 13 October 2017
The joint Saudi-French team found ancient artifacts and a large number of rock-and-animal drawings which date back to the Stone Age. (SPA)
TABUK: Saudi international missions operating in the
Tabuk region under the supervision of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH)
have discovered a large number of tools, engravings and architectural units in three sites in the region.
These discoveries date back to different civilizations beginning from the Stone Age until the Islamic Era.
The specialized teams said that these sites need further study and excavation. Tabuk region was a conduit for ancient trade routes.
There are rock and animal drawings at Kilwa site, northeast of Tabuk. The Kilwa site is located inside the Al-Tabik Reserve. The joint Saudi-French team found ancient artifacts and a large number of rock-and-animal drawings which date back to the Stone Age.
The Kilwa historical site and the surrounding area are important archaeological sites, because these sites contain distinguished archaeological units.
Thus, many stages of civilization can be distinguished from prehistoric times to historical periods and pre-Islamic periods in addition to the Islamic period.
The stone drawings in the region of Kilwa are among the most ancient places in the Arabian Peninsula and could date back to 7,000 BC to 9,000 BC.
In the valleys and pastoral areas between the Tabuk and Jouf regions,
a Saudi-Japanese team recorded 30 sites dating back to various periods and ages of the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, Iron Age and sites of Islamic times.
Under the supervision of the SCTH, there are more than 30 missions and scientific teams specialized in research and archaeological exploration.
These teams include Saudi scientists and others from the world’s top universities and the most prestigious research centers from countries including France, Italy, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and others.
The Kingdom will hold the first forum specialized in archaeology. It is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, which will be held in Riyadh under the auspices of King Salman from Safar 18-20, 1439 AH.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1176846/saudi-arabia