2,000-year-old camel sculpture found in remote Saudi desert
riyadh — Ancient sculpted bedrock depicting camelids and equids has been found in northern Saudi Arabian province of Al Jawf. Although the camel has been a common motif in the artworks of the region for millennia, the latest discovery is “unprecedented” in its scale.
In a press statement, the Centre for International Communication of the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information said the 2,000-year-old site was discovered by a Franco-Saudi research team in an isolated area, enclosed within a private property.
The study was conducted by researchers based at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France and their counterparts at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), who explored the site in 2016 and 2017.
Guillaume Charloux of the CNRS Orient & Méditerranée joint research unit, who surveyed the site, said “these findings, in a sector that remains virtually unexplored, are truly unique,” according to CNRS website.
Located eight kilometres north of the city of Sakaka, the three rocky outcrops making up what is now known as “Camel Site” exhibit lowand high-relief realistic representations of at least 11 dromedaries and two donkeys or mules.
Dr Hussain Abu Al Hassan, vicepresident of Saudi Cultural and Tourism Authority, said the site was another evidence that the region attracted highly skilled sculptors.
“Obviously, the work of skilled carvers who respected proportions, the twelve naturalistic panels and reliefs depict animals without loads, in active postures and in a natural setting. Diverging from the two-dimensional and schematic official Arab tradition, they could be influenced by the craftsmanship of the then neighbouring Nabataean and Parthian populations,” CNRS said.
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