Preliminary results of the first season of investigations of a palatial complex in the World Heritage Site of At-Turaif (al-Ṭurayf) District in Diriyah (al-Dirʿiyya) (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Keywords:
Palaces, Building Archaeology, Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Najd Architecture, First Saudi StateAbstract
The preliminary results of the first archaeological season in the World Heritage Site of At Turaif (al-Ṭurayf) District in Diriya (Dirʿiyya) is shedding light on the nature of several buildings in the south-eastern side of its unrestored area.
At-Turaif is one of the historical districts of Diriyah, situated on a plateau north-west of Riyadh. It became the centre of the administrative power of the House of Al-Saud in 1766 and was destroyed by the Ottomans in 1818. The site includes houses, defensive structures, mosques, and palatial complexes built in the Najdi architectural style.
This study focuses on the interpretation of the nature of the architectural features of a previously unstudied complex — Complex B — which was mentioned in the literature as an ‘Unnamed Palace’. However, based on the results of the excavations, only two of the building units of this complex can be interpreted as palatial structures. The comparison of their characteristics with other palaces in At-Turaif and with residential units in another complex of the project area, Complex C, seems to support this interpretation.
With an integrated archaeology-conservation approach and through building archaeology, our investigation covers the study of the layout of Complex B, the construction sequence of the buildings, as well as their relationship with the surrounding environment and topography.
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Archaeopress Publishing, Oxford, UK
