Digital restoration of the rampart network from the northern area of the Khaybar walled sanctuary 4,000 years earlier. Credit: Khaybar Longue Dur ée Archaeological Project, M. Bussy & & G. Charloux
Sedentary neighborhoods resided in the sanctuaries of the North Arabian Desert throughout the fourth and 3rd centuries BCE. Scientists from CNRS and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) just recently revealed a stronghold surrounding the Khaybar Oasis, marking it as one of the earliest recognized structures of its kind from this age.
This brand-new walled sanctuary is, in addition to that of Tayma, among the 2 biggest in SaudiArabia While a variety of walled sanctuaries going back to the Bronze Age had actually currently been recorded, this significant discovery sheds brand-new light on human profession in north-western Arabia, and supplies a much better grasp of regional social intricacy throughout the pre-Islamic duration.
Analysis of the Fortification
Cross- referencing field studies and remote picking up information with architectural research studies, the group approximated the initial measurements of the strongholds at 14.5 kilometers in length, in between 1.70 and 2.40 meters in density, and roughly 5 meters in height. Preserved today over a little less than half of its initial length (41%, 5.9 km and 74 bastions), this gigantic building confined a rural and inactive area of almost 1,100 hectares. The stronghold’s date of building and construction is approximated in between 2250 and 1950 BCE, on the basis of radiocarbon dating of samples gathered throughout excavations.
While the research study validates that the Khaybar Oasis plainly came from a network of walled sanctuaries in north-western Arabia, the discovery of this rampart likewise raises concerns relating to why it was constructed along with the nature of the populations that constructed it, in specific their relations with populations outside the sanctuary.
This historical discovery leads the way for significant advances in comprehending the ancient, pre-Islamic, and Islamic past of the north-western Arabian Peninsula.
Reference: “The ramparts of Khaybar. Multiproxy investigation for reconstructing a Bronze Age walled oasis in Northwest Arabia” by Guillaume Charloux, Shadi Shabo, Guillaume Chung-To, Bruno Depreux, Fran çois Guermont, Kévin Guadagnini, Thomas Terrasse, Myl ène Bussy, Saifi Alshilali, Diaa Albukaai, Rémy Crassard and Munirah AlMushawh, 10 January 2024, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
DOI: 10.1016/ j.jasrep.2023104355
