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Squinting in the Saudi desert, Hussain al-Khalifah points at his unprecedented archaeological discovery – camels carved on russet-hued rocky spurs that could shed new light on the evolution of rock art.
Around a dozen humped sculptures, some of them damaged from erosion and vandalism, possibly around 2,000 years old, were recently found in a private property along a desert crossing in the northern province of Al-Jouf.
Chiseled on three rocky spurs, the sculptures, which also depict equids, or hoofed mammals, show a level of artistic skill unseen in other rock art forms in the Saudi desert.
They could help unravel the mysteries of ancient life in the Arabian peninsula.
"They are a work of artistry and creativity," Khalifah said, giving AFP a tour of the desolate area in Al-Jouf, now well known in archaeological circles as "the camel site".
A Saudi man walks at the site of an archaeological discovery in the northwestern province of Al-Jouf with a carved sculpture of a camel's legs seen in the foreground.
Khalifah, part of a Franco-Saudi research team that explored the site in 2016 and 2017, said he accidentally discovered the carvings some years ago when a local friend told him about a "camel-shaped mountain".
"Instead when I visited the area, I found camels were carved in the mountain outcrops. This is truly unique," he said.
Camels – for centuries venerated as the "ship of the desert" – are a familiar motif in artworks from the kingdom.
But the three dimensional engravings in Al-Jouf, some featuring only part of a camel's body such as the hooves, differ from those discovered at other Saudi sites.
The site of an archaeological discovery of ancient rock art in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Al-Jouf province.
Many are perched high on the outcrops and would have required ropes or scaffolding.
One engraving in particular stands out – a camel facing what appears to be a donkey, mule or horse, animals that have rarely been represented in the region's rock art.
"The three dimensional carvings show great skill in their level of naturalism and their sheer size," Maria Guagnin, from the Germany-based Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, told AFP.
"This may potentially change our understanding of prehistoric population dynamics and cultural traits."
But the site is shrouded in mystery, with little information on who created the carvings or the tools they used.
Khalifah said the closest may be the Nabateans, a nomadic Arab tribe known for founding the city of Petra in modern-day Jordan that was carved out of sandstone desert cliffs.
(AFP)
