Roads of Arabia

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THE KINGDOM
OF SAUDI ARABIA
AND ITS HERITAGE
Ali I. Al-Ghabban
First official measures in favour of archaeology
Aware of the importance of the country’s archaeological heritage, the Council of Ministers
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided in 1383 H./1963 to found a department devoted
to the discipline as part of the Ministry of Education. In 1392 H./1972 a royal decree
approved the creation of a Supreme Council of Antiquity in charge of outlining the department’s
main activities and overseeing its operations. The adoption of ambitious development
plans in the early 1390 H./1970s enabled the council to enlarge its scope of action,
compiling a register of archaeological sites, taking steps to ensure their preservation and creating
new museums. The initial results of this immense undertaking were published in 1395
H./1975 in a book entitled An Introduction to Saudi Arabian Antiquities. 1 This bilingual
book, in Arabic and English, was the first such work devoted to the topic.
(preceding pages)
Dune, photograph by Humberto da Silveira
(opposite)
Rock-cut tomb, Mada’in Saleh
The Department of Antiquities and Museums
In 1396 H./1976 the department introduced a long-term action plan to carry out topographical
surveys throughout the territory and create a National Museum in Riyadh. One
of its main missions was to publish Annals of Archeological studies (Atlal: The Journal of
Saudi Arabian Archeology). The first edition, issued in 1397 H./1977, presented the findings
of the surveys and other research carried out at several sites. Atlal is now in its twentieth
edition.
In just over forty years, more than ten thousand archaeological sites were identified in
the kingdom’s various regions and provinces. The largest of these include al-Ula, Mada’in
Saleh, Tayma, al-Jawf, Thaj, Dahran, Hofuf and Najran, in addition to other sites in the
regions of Riyadh, al-Qassim, Jizan and Mecca. Excavations and probes have been carried
out, in particular in Qaryat al-Faw and al-Rabadha, based on the topographical surveys conducted
under the patronage of the Department of Antiquities and Museums of King Saud
University, which has played a key role in the development of archaeological research in the
1. Al-Rashid 1975.
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