Marking the sacral landscape of a north Arabian oasis: a sixth-millennium BC monumental stone platform and surrounding burials

O Munoz, M Cotty, G Charloux, C Bouchaud…�- Antiquity, 2020 - cambridge.org
O Munoz, M Cotty, G Charloux, C Bouchaud, H Monchot, C Marquaire, A Zazzo, R Crassard
Antiquity, 2020cambridge.org
Prehistoric stone structures are prominent and well-studied in the Levantine desert margins.
In northern Arabia, however, such structures have received less attention. This article
presents the results of investigations of a 35m-long stone platform, first constructed in the
mid sixth millennium BC, overlooking the oasis of D�mat al-Jandal in northern Saudi Arabia.
Excavation of the platform has yielded bioarchaeological and cultural remains, along with
evidence for several phases of construction and intermittent use down to the first millennium�…
Prehistoric stone structures are prominent and well-studied in the Levantine desert margins. In northern Arabia, however, such structures have received less attention. This article presents the results of investigations of a 35m-long stone platform, first constructed in the mid sixth millennium BC, overlooking the oasis of D�mat al-Jandal in northern Saudi Arabia. Excavation of the platform has yielded bioarchaeological and cultural remains, along with evidence for several phases of construction and intermittent use down to the first millennium BC. Analysis of the platform and nearby tombs highlights the persistent funerary and ritual use of this area over millennia, illuminating nomadic pastoralist lifeways in prehistoric Arabia.
Cambridge University Press