The art of rock relief in ancient Arabia: new evidence from the Jawf Province

Abstract

Abstract

Archaeometric studies on the petroglyphs and rock varnish at Kilwa and Sakaka, northern Saudi Arabia

“…Even more remarkable in their style of execution are the haut‐relief camel images from the Sakaka CS, with their very detailed and naturalistic representation (Charloux et al, 2018). One of these animals, CS1‐1, has N Mn nearly identical (92% ± 6%; Fig.…”

“…The Camel Site (CS; 30.0227°N, 40.2876°E, 570 masl) consists of a group of small sandstone spurs of the Wasia Group located about 8 km north-east of Sakaka (Charloux et al, 2018). On the faces of these spurs are low-relief engravings of near-life-size dromedaries and equids.…”

“…A large amount of work was carried out in the Sakaka–Dumat al‐Jandal area starting in 2009 by the Saudi–Italian–French Archaeological Project, with important finds spanning the Palaeolithic to the Nabatean periods (Charloux, 2018; Charloux & Loreto, 2011, 2013; Loreto & Charloux, 2013), including the discovery of the Camel Site (Charloux et al, 2018). This project included an epigraphic survey of the region, which yielded a large number of ANA (Safaitic, Hismaic, MSH, etc.…”

Traceological analysis of lithics from the Camel Site, al-Jawf, Saudi Arabia: an experimental approach to identifying mineral processing activities using silcrete tools

“…The al-Jawf province and the immediate surroundings of the Camel Site have undergone surveys and are the subject of different archaeological missions operating in northwestern Saudi Arabia since the second half of the twentieth century (Adams et al, 1977;Parr et al, 1978, for a list see Charloux 2018). The oldest human occupations of the region are attributed to the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic, with some rare occurrences of Upper Palaeolithic materials found throughout the plateaus flanking the Wadi Sirhan fault and even within the fringes of the northern Nafud (Hilbert et al 2017;Hilbert and Crassard 2020).…”

“…The Camel Site (DAJ155) is characterised by three sandstone spurs that present a series of façades of different magnitudes at varying altitudes upon which zoomorphic reliefs of naturalistic proportions have been carved (Fig. 1); predominantly camels and occasionally wild equids are shown in realistic anatomical proportions with great attention to detail (Charloux et al 2018;Guagnin et al 2021). A recent literature review of the still burgeoning field of Arabian rock art study has identified over 50 sites located across the Arabian Peninsula, from Najrân in southern Saudi Arabia, up to Petra in Jordan, that present large-sized camel depictions (Charloux et al 2020).…”