Results from the aerial archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, al‑ʿUlā (AlUla) and Khaybar Projects: 2018–2021
Keywords:
al‑ʿUlā (AlUla), Khaybar, Saudi Arabia, Middle Holocene, stone structuresAbstract
A vital preliminary to the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has been to document the rich archaeological heritage of al‑ʿUlā. To accomplish this, RCU established an extensive landscape survey with the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – al‑ʿUlā (AAKSAU) project tasked in early 2018 to record the county’s vast hinterland. In early 2019, the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Khaybar (AAKSAK) project was created to survey Khaybar County, when parts of the region were placed under RCU’s remit. These two projects undertaken by the University of Western Australia utilize remote sensing, aerial archaeology by helicopter, ground survey, and targeted excavation to document and record the extensive and exceptional archaeological remains of the al‑ʿUlā hinterland and parts of Khaybar.
This paper presents the results of the AAKSAU and AAKSAK projects, which have so far documented more than 20,000 sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the present. This paper also outlines the first results from the targeted excavation programme, which has explored several Neolithic mustatil and domestic dwellings, as well as the monumental Bronze Age funerary structures that traverse both regions.
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