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AlUla is an oasis town in northwestern Saudi Arabia with a deep historic past as a major stepping stone for the traders who brought frankincense and myrrh north into Egypt and the Levant. Implementing its policy of economic diversification, the Saudi Government has charged the Royal Commission for AlUla to found and sponsor the first AlUla World Archaeology Summit, a forum for archaeologists to gather and share their thoughts and plans on key issues in the future of the discipline. I was fortunate indeed, a couple of months ago, to receive a surprise invitation to attend the Summit, and accepted without hesitation. The theme was particularly relevant: ‘Past, present and future in the archaeology and heritage of mobile communities’. Embedded in the meeting was a second theme: the impact of climate change.
The 150 or so delegates flew into Riyadh from just about every corner of the archaeological world, and we were taken by private charter aircraft to AlUla Airport where I, at least, was to experience my first views of arid desert scenery that took me right back to my first viewing of Lawrence of Arabia. As we closed in on AlUla, so the valleys turned dark green with extensive date-palm plantations. Half an hour after settling into our luxurious accommodation, we were taken on the first site visit to Qurh, an ancient city that was prominent on the pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca. En route, we were able to see its successor, old AlUla, a concentration of mud-brick houses and shops criss-crossed by narrow lanes only abandoned in the late 20th century, and very reminiscent of the Iron Age towns I have revealed in Thailand.
The meeting got under way the following morning with a quite breathtaking surprise. We were driven across a rocky desert landscape until, turning a corner, we had our first sight of Maraya, the largest building covered entirely by mirrors in the world. Indeed, one hardly notices it at first, because it simply reflects the desert scenery all round, but it soon takes on all the qualities of a mirage. The first day involved the opening of the symposium by the Vice President of Culture Dr Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, followed by a series of invited papers concentrating on the archaeology of mobile communities. A recurrent theme was the relevance of lessons from the past for future strategies, as the mobility of vast numbers of people is stimulated by climate change and political instability. Prior to the coffee break, we were introduced to an exhibition of items from the Naples National Museum, and I took the opportunity to look at these. There was an original complete marble statue of the Emperor Trajan, and the unusually close proximity made it possible to admire the intricacy of his armour. Alongside, there were two sinister bronze helmets found complete in the Pompeii gladiators’ base. Returning to more papers, I entered a steep learning curve on the prehistoric construction of ‘kites’ in the AlUla area. These are long stone walls that confine herds of gazelles, where they are induced to stampede into a corral to be despatched by the local hunters. There are lots of these kites, and they are huge constructions. And, naturally, mobility was a local theme given the nodal position of AlUla oasis on several major trading and pilgrimage routes.
Sands of time
Each afternoon, we visited an archaeological site. For me, the highlight was the World Heritage Site of Hegra. Here, the Nabataeans built a spectacular city, their elite tombs being cut into the living rock. Dating to at least the mid 1st millennium BC, we were able to explore their water cisterns, canals, and tomb façades, all recalling the Nabataean capital of Petra to the north. One of these tombs contained an inscription, setting out how it was intended for the founding mother and her descendants forever. Excavations showed its longevity, as 80 burials were identified, covering many generations. The site museum showed a reconstruction of her face, based on her skull. An interesting late addition to Hegra came when the region was incorporated into the Roman Empire and a fort was constructed there. Our visit ended with first raindrops, then a mighty and sudden wind that whipped up a regular sandstorm. The sky darkened and the sun appeared briefly as a white disc veiled by clouds. Thankfully, this was not the night when we were taken for dinner to a remote desert valley where we enjoyed a typically Bedouin feast, seated on richly decorated carpets and cushions. The food was delectable and the dark sky was filled with stars as we all relaxed in the warm night air.
The second day was taken up with workshops. We had a choice between the impact of conflict and war on mobile communities; climate change, natural disasters, and mobility patterns; and the role of indigenous communities and their involvement in cultural heritage sites. I had chosen climate change, because this phenomenon and its impact has been central to my research on the rise of early states in Southeast Asia, followed by the abandonment of Angkor in the 15th century as the climate badly affected the complex integrated water distribution system. One of the great benefits of this sort of workshop was being able to touch base and learn from other instances of climate change, in this case, for example, from Africa’s Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe.
We were given two choices for an extended field trip the following day: one to Khaybar and the other to Tayma. I chose Tayma, where a recently discovered inscription by Ramesses III emphasised the importance of this oasis settlement in the trade between Arabia and Egypt. However, the rain and storm that had hit at Hegra also damaged the access road, so the trip was cancelled. Even so, we were given an immediate alternative: a site visit to Dadan. Here was another oasis city of the 1st millennium BC, occupied by the Liyhanites. With irrigation, it was possible to engage in intensive agriculture, an attraction to the trading caravans that crossed the broad expanses of desert with their spices en route from southern Arabia to the Levant, Egypt, and the Mediterranean world. This trade was under the control of the Minaeans, whose capital was located to the south. They sustained a community at Dadan, and seemed to get on harmoniously with the Liyhanites.
Here, in a dramatically rocky landscape, we first visited the rock-cut tombs of the leaders. These were dug deep into the mountainside, and their entrances were often embellished with lion statues symbolising the high status of those interred within. We then went to the extensive residential area to see the cut-stone houses and temple walls and foundations. This visit integrated with an earlier trip to Jabal Ikmah, a remarkable place where the rock surfaces are literally covered in Lihyanite inscriptions that describe political relations with other trading kingdoms, as well as the rituals enacted at Dadan. There were also engravings of humans and animals, including that ship of the desert, the camel. During this visit, we were given the opportunity to pick up hammer and chisels, and do our own inscribing on a suitably flat piece of rock.
One of the most valuable aspects of this summit was the chance to meet fellow archaeologists from so many parts of the world. On one bus trip, I sat next to Dr Mahdi Alzoubi from Jordan, an expert epigrapher, who described how he found and translated an inscription that described how a man named Jesus had been crucified. Dr Emma Haitengi came to the meeting from the University of Namibia. As it happened, I had been working on a paper interpreting red-ochre burials, and she described to me how the Himba women of Namibia cover themselves in a mix of ochre and butter to protect themselves from the sun. Professor Nadia El Cheikh flew in from war-torn Beirut, and I learned a great deal more about the turbulence there from her than from watching any news programme. Inevitably, one went to Saudi Arabia with expectations. It was my first ever stay in the Middle East, and I had no experience of living in a country with a reputation for suppressing women’s rights to participate. I was pleasantly surprised. Some women wore a veil through choice, but many did not, and described to me their new found freedoms as the country finds its own ways forward. Diversification away from reliance on oil is well under way, and the strong linkages between archaeology and tourism were evident throughout the meeting. The infrastructure at AlUla is outstanding: fine roads, excellent hotels and restaurants, and fascinating places to explore. Further summits and symposia will now take place each year, and one can apply to register for the planned 2025 summit. Don’t hesitate, it is a unique archaeological experience.
Charles Higham is a Professor at Otago University in New Zealand, and an authority on Cambodia's Angkor civilisation and Ban Non Wat in Thailand.
