Saudi Arabia has introduced landmark archaeological discoveries that reveal among the earliest recognized human settlements on the Arabian Peninsula, relationship again so far as 11,000 years.
The findings mirror the Kingdom’s dedication to advancing archaeological analysis and sharing discoveries that broaden world understanding of human historical past.
Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Tradition and Chairman of the Heritage Fee Board of Administrators, confirmed the documentation of the oldest recognized settlement on the Masyoun website, northwest of Tabuk.
Saudi archaeological discoveries
Excavations led by the Heritage Fee, in partnership with Japan’s Kanazawa College and in collaboration with NEOM, present that the settlement dates to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic interval, between 11,000 and 10,300 years in the past.
The location was first recorded within the Nationwide Antiquities Register in 1978, however renewed fieldwork since December 2022 established its significance because the earliest recognized settlement on the Arabian Peninsula.
4 excavation seasons concluded in Might 2024 uncovered semi-circular stone constructions used as residences, storage areas, passageways, and fireplace pits.
Stone instruments reminiscent of arrowheads, knives, and grinding stones have been discovered, alongside ornamental gadgets made out of amazonite, quartz, and shells, highlighting subsistence actions and craftsmanship.
In the meantime, one other main discovery was made at Umm Jirsan cave, north of Madinah. The Heritage Fee, working with King Saud College, the Saudi Geological Survey, and Germany’s Max Planck Institute, revealed proof of human habitation relationship again between 7,000 and 10,000 years.
Umm Jirsan is the longest recognized lava tube within the Arabian Peninsula, stretching 1,350m with a top of 12m and a width of about 45m.
Analysis recognized traces of habitation from the Neolithic interval, together with animal bones relationship to 4,100 BC, human skulls estimated at round 6,000 BC, stone instruments, natural stays, and rock artwork depicting herding and searching.
Each discoveries show the deep historic roots of settlement in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
In addition they underscore the Heritage Fee’s mission to broaden information of historic communities in keeping with Imaginative and prescient 2030, whereas positioning Saudi Arabia as a hub for cultural and archaeological analysis.
