Prominent archaeological discoveries in Saudi Arabia during 2022
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is filled with many religious and historical tourist attractions, since pre-Islamic times.
The Kingdom has now become one of the most famous countries that possess a large number of distinctive monuments and historical sites, especially in the year 2022
The state is interested in showing all its landmarks, monuments, distinct tourist cities, and knowledgeable discoveries
Saudi Arabia funds scientific research and excavation teams, which places it at the top of countries that finance and encourage scientific and archaeological discoveries.
Through this report, LEADERS MENA magazine shows the most significant scientific & archaeological discoveries in Saudi Arabia during 2022.
Prominent scientific & archaeological discoveries in 2022: –
The discovery of extinct fossil sites from 80 million years ago in the governorates of Duba and Umluj
The Saudi Geological Survey announced on 1/6/2022 the historic discovery of extinct fossil sites 80 million years ago in the governorates of Duba and Umluj in the Kingdom. These sites contain the remains of marine animals.
A specialized team from the authority discovered the remains of extinct marine animals in the governorates of Duba and Umluj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ages of these animals range between 16 and 80 million years.
Those explored sites contain fossils of different types of vertebrates and invertebrates, and the remains of plants that lived in shallow marine and coastal environments, dating back to the middle and modern geological life “Cretaceous-Miocene”.
Some of these fossils belong to marine reptiles that were found buried in the sediments of the late Cretaceous period. These reptiles have been identified as sea turtles, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs.
Mosasaurs are marine reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic Era, characterized by a huge cylindrical bodies like crocodiles.
It differs from plesiosaurs, as it is distinguished by the small size of its skulls, the elongation of its necks, and the slenderness of its flat bodies.
Fossil samples were also extracted from the sediments of the Eocene “45 million years ago”, from which thoracic vertebrae of extinct marine mammals belonging to mermaids or something similar to a marine dugong were known.
How many turtles and crocodile limbs were discovered that lived in coastal areas when the Tethys Sea covered most of the Arabian Peninsula?
This period of geological history is estimated at 20 million years before the opening of the Red Sea and the separation of the Arabian plate from the African one.
Discovery of gas fields in the central and eastern regions, Rub al Khali, and the northern borders
Saudi Arabia announced on 27/2/2022 that (Aramco) was able to discover several natural gas fields in the central region, the Empty Quarter, the northern border region, and the eastern region.
The “Shadun” natural gas field was discovered in the central region, 180 kilometers southeast of the city of Riyadh.
The Shehab natural gas field was also discovered in the Empty Quarter, 70 kilometers southwest of the Shaybah field.
The “Al-Shorfa” natural gas field was also discovered in the Empty Quarter, 120 km southwest of the Shaybah field.
The unconventional “Umm Khansar” natural gas field was also discovered in the northern border region, 71 kilometers southeast of the city of Arar.
The “Samna” unconventional natural gas field was also discovered in the eastern region, south of the Ghawar field, 211 kilometers southwest of the city of Dhahran.
New archaeological discoveries in the Farasan Islands
The Saudi Heritage Authority announced on 4/8/2022 discoveries in archaeological sites in the Farasan Islands, located about 40 km from the city of Jizan.
This comes against the background of the research and excavation work of a joint Saudi-French scientific team in cooperation with the University of Paris I
As a result, several architectural phenomena and artifacts dating back to the second and third centuries AD were discovered.
This comes as part of the Commission’s scientific efforts in the field of surveying and excavating heritage sites in the Kingdom. These sites are preserving them, and benefiting from them as a cultural and economic resource.
The scientific team’s work revealed the presence of rare pieces, including a folded Roman shield made of copper alloys, and another of the type “Lorica squamata”.
An agate inscription of a famous Roman figure in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire, “Ginos”, was also discovered.
These archaeological discoveries confirm the cultural depth of the Farasan Islands, the importance of the Kingdom, and its strategic location as a center for different civilizations.
The Heritage Authority continues its unremitting efforts to manage the components of cultural heritage, protect and preserve cultural sites, and benefit from them in sustainable development
The discovery of mysterious “funerary corridors” that reveal a 4500-year-old road network
The people who lived in the ancient northwest of the Arabian Peninsula built long “funerary corridors”, according to what was revealed by the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate, in cooperation with the University of Western Australia (UWA) on 19/1/2022.
These paths are surrounded by thousands of burial monuments that link oases and pastures. These monuments indicate a high degree of social and economic connection between the inhabitants of the region in the third millennium BC.
The “funeral passages” indicate the existence of a well-developed social network 4,500 years ago, which extended across vast areas of the Arabian Peninsula.
The research findings reflect many aspects of life in the Neolithic to Bronze Age period in northwestern Arabia
Discovery of new gold and copper ore sites in Medina
The Saudi Geological Survey, represented by the Mineral Survey and Exploration Center in the Kingdom’s mineral deposits project, announced on 15/9/2022 the discovery of gold and copper deposit sites in the Medina region.
The discoveries were represented by the presence of gold ore within the boundaries of Aba Al-Raha, “Dir’ Umm Al-Barrak, Hijaz Region” in Medina
This discovery is considered an extremely significant event in that region, and it constitutes a natural extension of the Nakasib suture on the other side of the Red Sea in the Arab-Nubian Shield.
The discovery of 4 copper ore sites in the strait in Wadi Al-Fara points to the potential for special copper deposits from the mineral chalcocite (Cu2S).
Secondary copper carbonate minerals such as malachite and azurite have been found in the quartz veins within the rock outcrops of the block sulphides.
The Saudi Heritage Authority has registered 67 new archaeological sites
The Saudi Heritage Authority registered and documented 67 new archaeological sites in the National Register of Antiquities on 4/12/2022, which includes several archaeological and historical sites.
This has brought the total number of registered sites to 8,531 throughout the Kingdom, according to the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.
The northern border region had the largest share of the sites, which numbered 15 sites, followed by the Tabuk region with 13 sites, then Hail with 10 sites, and Al-Jawf with 9 sites.
Al-Qassim also harvested 5 sites, Riyadh 4 sites, the same in Asir, 3 in Medina and Al-Baha, and finally one in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region.
Digital maps.
The Heritage Authority works to discover archaeological and historical sites in the Kingdom, register them officially in the National Register of Antiquities, and then project them onto digital maps.
Al- Faw Archaeological Area.
The Heritage Authority announced on 26/6/2022 the discovery of more secrets of the Al- Faw Archaeological Area.
The site is located on the outskirts of the Empty Quarter, 100 kilometers south of Wadi Al-Dawasir, on the modern road linking the cities of Wadi Al-Dawasir and Najran.
This archaeological discovery was made by a Saudi scientific team and international experts
The team used state-of-the-art archaeological survey techniques, including high-quality aerial photographic and drone surveys using ground control points.
They used topographic surveying, light detection and ranging surveying, ground penetrating radar, laser scanning, and geophysical surveying.
The survey resulted in many archaeological discoveries, the most prominent of which was the discovery of an area for practicing worship rites for the residents of Al-Faw on the rocky façade of the outskirts of the Tuwaiq Mountains known as “Khashm Qarya”.
The remains of a temple built of stones were found, and in it were found the remains of a table for offering offerings
Many devotional inscriptions were also found scattered around the place, and this discovery adds more information about the religious organizations of the ancient city of Fao.
Remains of human settlements dating back to the Neolithic period 8,000 years ago were discovered.
More than 2,807 tombs spread across the site were documented and classified into six groups representing different periods.
Several agricultural areas were also discovered, which are believed to have been agricultural fields used to grow several crops that contribute to securing the lives of the city’s residents.
A group of rock drawings and writings were discovered that were carved on the rocky facade of the edge of Mount Tuwaiq, “Mount Khashm Village”.
The rock drawings tell of many daily scenes of hunting, traveling, and fighting.
Discovering the remains of 17 hunting cheetahs in Dahl in the north of the Kingdom
The National Center for Wildlife Development announced on 17/8/2022 the discovery of the bodies of 17 hunting cheetahs in a dahoul in the north of the Kingdom. These bodies included mummies that preserved all their details.
The center stressed the importance of this discovery because it provides very rare samples of the leopard hunter, which was widespread in the Arabian Peninsula, after a series of follow-ups, research, and investigations.
The hunter cheetah has been considered extinct in the Arabian Peninsula for more than 50 years, and specimens preserved in museums or research centers are extremely rare.
The samples are the only physical evidence of his presence in the Kingdom.
The samples indicated that it was spreading in groups in the north of the Kingdom.
The center’s researchers will be able to determine the time of its death. They will extract its DNA and genetic makeup, identify the species and compare it with the genetic sequence of the cheetahs currently in the center.
This disclosure provides abundant information of significant value in the breeding and resettlement program and corrects much uncertain information
“Al-Ula Commission” announces the discovery of a huge Lihyan statue
The Royal Commission for Al-Ula announced on 9/21/2022, the discovery of one of the huge Lihyan statues, whose weight exceeds a ton and its length is 2.2 meters.
She indicated that to ensure the preservation of the statue, it was moved from its location following the most recent international practices. This was done in cooperation with the most qualified specialists in conservation and restoration.
The authority added that the preservation and restoration process included training Saudi cadres and transferring professional knowledge to them. This included field training on strengthening the statue and preparing it for transportation.
One of the statues, which also dates back to the Lihyanian period, was displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris during the same month.
