Discovery of immense fortifications dating back 4,000 years in northwestern Arabia

JANUARY 10, 2024
by CNRS



Digital reconstruction of the rampart network from the northern section of the Khaybar walled oasis 4,000 years ago. Credit: Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project, M. Bussy & G. Charloux

The North Arabian Desert oases were inhabited by sedentary populations in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. A fortification enclosing the Khaybar Oasis—one of the longest known going back to this period—has just been revealed by a team of scientists from the CNRS and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).

A study describing this work is published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

This new walled oasis is, along with that of Tayma, one of the two largest in Saudi Arabia. While a number of walled oases dating back to the Bronze Age had already been documented, this major discovery sheds new light on human occupation in northwestern Arabia, and provides a better grasp of local social complexity during the pre-Islamic period.

Cross-referencing field surveys and remote sensing data with architectural studies, the team estimated the original dimensions of the fortifications at 14.5 kilometers in length, between 1.70 and 2.40 meters in thickness, and approximately 5 meters in height.

More:
https://phys.org/news/2024-01-discovery-immense-fortifications-dating-years.html