The Undertaking

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The rock tomb is only one of the monuments in The Territory of the Nabataeans

A team of researchers is conducting The First in-depth archaeological investigation of a portion of Saudi Arabia , in an attempt to light on a mysterious civilization that once lived here. The Nabatean culture Left Behind sophisticated stone monuments, but Many sites remain unexplored.

The rock-strewn deserts of Al Ula , Saudi Arabia are known for their pitch-black skies, which will allow stargazers to easily study the heavenly bodies without the problem of light pollution.

But the region is still attractive for archaeologists.

A long-lost culture, such as the Nabatean civilization inhabited the area from about 100 BC and remained for 200 years.

While the Nabatean Kingdom as to the amazing city of Petra in Jordan, you made Hegra-dominated (modern Mada'in Saleh) in Al Ula , their second capital.

Now, the archaeologists, the planning, the implementation of The First in-depth survey a piece of land here, which is about the size of Belgium.

The large, international team of More Than 60 experts has begun an initial two-year project to capture The Core -area of approximately 3,300 square kilometres in the North-Western Saudi Arabia .

This is the First Time that such a large area, the more or less scientifically unexplored Territory has been systematically examined.

The sophisticated Nabataean culture inhabited Arabia and the Levant in ancient times The Nabataeans The Nabataeans were carried out in their capital city of Petra in Jordan

excavations in and around Mada'in Saleh and other recognized Nabatean sites for some time by a group of Saudi archaeologists, including Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, a lecturer at The King Saud University in Riyadh.

"focus I had on the previous Dedanite and Lihyanite civilizations," he explains. "Now that The Royal Commission is involved for Al Ula , it develops more opportunities for a deeper understanding of how early societies. "

the participation of The Royal Commission ensures that cutting-edge technology at the disposal of the archaeologists in The Field .

While the Google Earth and the trained eye can often natural to distinguish disasters and man-made features, it is equipped Light Aircraft with special cameras that provide The Most detailed images of the area - including the Al Ula , wadi, and the opening out of valleys. These unknown archaeological features are able to capture so far.

According to Rebecca, The American archaeologist Foote, responsible for the collection of The Royal Commission for Al-Ula, the current efforts are concentrated on the excavation, as a systematic survey of this magnitude requires time and resources, the only now available. to discover

archaeologists from the measurement of the Al Ula , wadi, previously unknown archaeological features

she believes that the scope of the Statute is characterized Saudi Arabia on the Ancient History .

"much is known about The First to the third Millennium BC, and we are well-informed about Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia," she admitted.

"Yet comparatively little is known about the Arabian Peninsula in ancient times have been discovered. Just as our results have implications for the understanding of the Ancient History , we do not yet know. But it is likely to shape The World views of earlier periods. "

Foote spent Many years in Petra, the Ancient City in Jordan is The Most famous monument left by the Nabatean civilization. She says aerial archaeology is the key to discover the culture, funerary architecture, menhirs, and other unusual places that take years, is to investigate.

"about The technology now a reliable and comprehensive overview," she explains. "Nothing like this has been done before on this scale. "

While the previous French-led excavations, a loosely controlled incense-trading resulted in running network, on the West side of Arabia and by Al Ula , Rebecca Foote, it is important to build on it and learn more about The Role water played in the area's Prosperity .

Many civilizations have inhabited the area and their tracks

leave it commented: "We can guess that you had a successful agriculture, but there was a tax on incense? How have you managed your water?"

With the hydrology of the start of the study, the answers should start coming in thanks in part to The Work of the aerial archaeology team, which helps locating specific places.

the fly at between two and three thousand meters, the integrated survey group, under the direction of Oxford Archaeology Jamie Quartermaine already below the half of the expected 11,500 pages. Often known as a preventive surveys, this work is usually carried out in order to ensure that no future construction will come in the vicinity of archaeological sites.

"We have learned from the mistakes of other countries and we take the time, to avoid damage here," he says. "As accessible to the public, is planned for The Future , does not mean that a free for All . "

The survey also helps, answers for specialists in areas such as rock art. "Even five years ago, GPS was just not accurate enough," Jamie Quartermaine explained. "Today , we are exposed to various methods of photography, including drones, cameras, under The Body of small aircraft and cutting-edge aerial ortho-photography. "

Provides a custom image every two to three seconds, the thousands of images to measure true Distances - have been adjusted for topographic relief. Specialist software combines these in a high resolution for a detailed model of the landscape.

The cameras have a 45-degree angle and so far found, burial sites, Bronze Age burial objects, landscapes, and burial structures. In addition, drones with cameras in the same bracket. "This allows us to consider not only the horizontal level, but to some extent the vertical," he continues. "We are warned, as the probability of rock art in certain places. "

The Final Phase of The survey sends a specialist team members, such as rock art expert, Maria Guagnin, in the use walk. After it is created five years in the North of Arabia, Maria is impressed by the huge database that covers All periods.

Amr Almadani is working with The Royal Commission for Al-Ula, which ensure a systematic overview of the range

"For the First Time , we look at every aspect of the archaeological landscape", she emphasizes. "Our knowledge of the prehistoric distribution of the animal species is largely dependent on the location of the excavated archaeological, and paleontological sites.

"Many of the birds were assumed to be species, not from the Arabian Peninsula, but rock art panels have been shown otherwise. "

The Presence of previously documented species of mammals in the Al-Ula provides new information on the distribution, as well as the habitat types and vegetation that were available in prehistoric landscapes.

animal representations also help with dating. It is considered unlikely that, for example, horses or camels with riders on hand, before the year 1200 before Christ.

Domesticated cattle, sheep and goats were introduced and on the Arabian Peninsula between about 6,800 and 6200 BC. They were domesticated in the Levant and brought back to Saudi Arabia . This provides a means of dating rock-art, because before this date, it is unlikely that domesticated animals were in the area.

The large amount of information collected, use of the Al-Ula international team is likely to sites such as Petra, including insightful probably on the routes between Petra and Mada'in Salih (Hegra).

Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani has been excavating for some years at Dedan, a site holding evidence of a civilization that pre-dates the Nabataeans. He says that the scope of The Work is such that it takes generations to come up with the results: "What makes this work so important to The World is that you have an account not only of Mada'in Saleh and Petra but earlier civilizations, which is largely unknown to us. "

One of Abdulrahman roles is the training of students from The King Saud University in Riyadh, which has a small Outpost in Al Ula .

"she is one of The Most extensive surveys and subsequent excavations," he says. "The students of Today may even discoveries that we cannot even imagine Today . "

history, archaeology, photography, saudi arabia

Source of news: bbc.com