Saudi Arabia Unveils Ancient Treasures

In 1998, a group of Saudi Arabian archaeologists discovered an impressive royal tomb near the town of Thaj, a town in northeastern Saudi Arabia. The tomb, dated to the first century CE, contained the remains of a young girl, whose body was adorned with gold, rubies, and pearls, including a magnificent gold funerary mask. The tomb also included an array of funerary objects with Hellenistic motifs.

Archaeologists suggest that the tomb discovery may be among other finds, yet to be discovered, that will confirm the location of legendary Gerrha, a lost city that was recorded anciently as among the wealthiest centers of the ancient world. Between 3,300 and 1,300 BCE, the city grew rich in trade from ships carrying goods from southeast Asia and Oman to Mesopotamia.

The funerary mask is today only one among a series of over three hundred artifacts that will be exhibited at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., beginning on November 17, 2012. Drawing on recently discovered archaeological material never before seen in North America, the collection includes prehistoric tools; vessels in ceramic, stone, glass and bronze; inscriptions, seals, and tablets in a variety of media; bone, shell, gold, precious stone, silver jewelry; stele; funerary objects; figural sculpture in stone, bronze, ceramics, ranging in size from miniature to monumental; incense burners, lamps and other household items; fresco; coins; inscribed tombstones; silk and textiles; and bas-relief and architectural sculpture. It is expected to be, in upscale museum-style, a virtual tour de force for expelling popular notions that Saudi Arabia was historically a desert no-mans land for culture and civilization.

Said Daniel Potts, professor of Middle Eastern archeology at the University of Sydney,  “It is fantastic to show the world what a wealth of archeological treasures exists in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia remains the least explored and obviously the largest piece of the puzzle that is ancient Arabia. This exhibition should do a great deal to encourage scholars to look more seriously at the region.”*

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Fragment with the head of a man, ist-2^nd century C.E.. Found at Qaryat al-Faw. Courtesy Arhtur M. Sackler Gallery

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Gold funerary mask found at Thaj, Tell al-Zayer, Saudi Arabia. Courtesy Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

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This bronze head was originally part of a life-sized statue. 1st century BCE-2nd century CE.  Found at  Qaryat al-Faw, Saudi Arabia. Courtesy Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

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The exhibit features finds bearing on three major periods of Saudi history. The first showcases evidence for the cities, towns and trade stops that grew wealthy along the caravan routes of the great Incense Road, when the highly prized commodities of frankincense and myrrh supplied the temples and courts of the ancient Near East from Egypt to Persia, including the Greco-Roman world of the Mediterranean. The second relates how the region changed with the coming of Islam, when new routes led pilgrims from Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and beyond to Mecca. The final tells the story of the birth of Saudi Arabia, including the history of the country’s archaeology through photographs, travel books, maps and other objects.

The special exhibit, Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is open and free to the public. Additional information about the archaeology of Saudi Arabia and the exhibit can be obtained at http://www.roadsofarabia.com/. A detailed feature article about the recent archaeological discoveries will be published in the December issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine.

*comment to author and reporter Richard Covington for Saudi Aramco World, Roads of Arabia, Saudi Aramco World, Issue March/April 2011.

*Republished with permission from Popular Archaeology