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...In the past decade, satellite data and fossil finds have suggested that the Arabian Peninsula was not always an arid desert. Periods when the region contained lakes and lush greenery might have drawn people and animals there from Africa, according to the study's authors... in 2018, Stewart and his colleagues described an 88,000-year-old finger bone from the Saudi Arabian desert2 — one of the oldest human fossils found outside of Africa. And in 2020, they described footprints on a lake shore dating back around 120,000 years...The researchers turned to caves under Harrat Khaybar, a vast basalt plain pocked with volcanic...

Globally in 2022, there were an estimated 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths across 85 countries. Today, the majority of the disease is concentrated on the continent of Africa, which carries a disproportionately high share of cases. But it is also a serious and persistent threat in other areas—especially Southeast Asia, which has the second highest estimated malaria burden after Africa. A new study, however, shows that was not the case for people living in ancient Asia. DNA analysis has revealed that ancient Eastern Arabia people developed resistance to malaria following the appearance of agriculture in the region...

Archaeologists have found a massive ancient fortification enclosing the Khaybar Oasis in the North Arabian Desert. It is one of the two largest fortifications in Saudi Arabia.Oases in the region have been settled by human populations for 4,000–5,000 years. An oasis is a small patch of vegetation in the desert. Fed by sources of freshwater such as underground rivers and high water tables mean these areas can become vibrant, lush sanctuaries for plant and animal life.Human-built aquifers and channels can help irrigate these areas making them suitable for long-term settlement...Fortifications at Khaybar once stretched for 14.5 km and were between...

A series of declassified satellite images from the Cold War era have revealed hundreds of undiscovered Roman forts in Iraq and Syria. A total of 396 new sites have been identified from the images taken in the 1960s and 1970s, with the findings, published in the journal Antiquity, changing the perception of how the region functioned. A previous 1934 aerial survey, conducted by French explorer Antoine Poidebard, recorded 116 Roman forts across the region. They were previously thought to form a defensive line against incursions from Arabia and Persia along the Roman Empire’s eastern flank. The latest findings, however, suggest...

The Neolithic period of northern Arabia is known in part from the monumental stone structures and accompanying cave art, as well as the remains of hearths indicating temporary settlement. But there is much we do not know about the character and timing of settlement before the spread of animal pastoralism (c. 6000 BC).Researchers have recently discovered new, enigmatic carvings that shed light on this ancient history.Five panels totaling nine large life-size specimens have so far been identified. The camels have frequently had other camels carved over them or had their features and proportions improved, which suggests the site was used...

Archaeologists have identified three undiscovered Roman fortified camps across northern Arabia.The University of Oxford school of archaeology made the discovery in a remote sensing survey, using satellite imagery.It said it could be evidence of an "undocumented military campaign" across south east Jordan into Saudi Arabia.Dr Michael Fradley, who led the research, said: "We are almost certain they were built by the Roman army.In the report, published in the journal Antiquity, he explained his conclusion was based on the "typical playing card shape of the enclosures with opposing entrances along each side".Dr Fradley added that the westernmost camp was significantly larger...

Before the emergence of Islam in the early seventh century, Arabia was home to a different monotheistic faith. Centuries before Muhammad, some ancient Arabian tribes seem to have adopted Christianity. While the arrival of Christianity in Arabia has been known through literary sources written by outsiders, such as the famous Bible scholar and translator St. Jerome, recent discoveries present evidence of Christianity from pre-Islamic Arabia itself. The vast swaths of desert east of the Jordan River reveal thousands of ancient inscriptions, some of which bear crosses and use Christian terminology.The Harra—the rocky basalt desert found in southern Syria, northeastern Jordan,...

Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a raft of deals with Saudi officials during a three-day visit to Riyadh as Beijing seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances. The two countries reaffirmed the significance of stability in global oil markets and the Saudi role in that, a joint statement said on Friday, the third day of Xi's visit to the Gulf kingdom. "The People's Republic of China welcomed the Kingdom’s role as a supporter of the balance and stability in the world oil markets, and as...

By analyzing thousands of declassified images from Cold War-era U2 spy missions, scientists have discovered archaeological features like prehistoric hunting traps, 3,000-year-old irrigation canals, and hidden 60-year-old marsh villages. They also created an online tool that allows other researchers to identify and access the photos for the first time.

After the revolt of Bar Kokhba against the Roman Empire (132-135 C.E.), the Judea province was renamed Syria Palaestina by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to detach the Judean province from Jewish identity. In recent history, the area called Palestine includes the territories of the present-day Israel and Jordan (see the map). From 1517 to 1917 most of this area remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, in 1917, the British army occupied Jerusalem. On November 2, 1917, the British foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration for "the establishment in Palestine of a...

Archaeologists at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology have used satellite imagery to identify and map over 350 monumental hunting structures known as ‘kites’ across northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq – most of which had never been previously documented...Termed kites by early aircraft pilots, these structures consist of low stone walls making up a head enclosure and a number of guiding walls, sometimes kilometres long. They are believed to have been used to guide game such as gazelles into an area where they could be captured or killed...Kites cannot be observed easily from the ground, however the advent...

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, called President Biden's planned visit to Saudi Arabia "heartbreaking" and "disappointing." Driving the news: Biden, who once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah," is set to meet with the crown prince on Friday, a move that Cengiz described as "a huge backing down" in an AP interview. "It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency over principles and values," Cengiz said. Cengiz also said that Biden should urge Saudi Arabia, which she said is a "terrible ally," to embrace a...

Extreme dry conditions contributed to the decline of the ancient South Arabian kingdom of Himyar... the droughts left behind a region in disarray, thereby creating the conditions on the Arabian peninsula that made possible the spread of the newly emerging religion of Islam.On the plateaus of Yemen, traces of the Himyarite Kingdom can still be found today: terraced fields and dams formed part of a particularly sophisticated irrigation system, transforming the semi-desert into fertile fields. Himyar was an established part of South Arabia for several centuries.However, despite its former strength, during the sixth century AD the kingdom entered into a...

For a long time, scientists had assumed a gradual expansion of African people through Sinai into both Europe and Asia. Then, bizarrely, it became clear from both genetics and archaeology that Europe was peopled later (after 40,000 years ago) than Australia (before 50,000 years ago). Meanwhile, the geneticists were beginning to insist that many Africans and all non-Africans shared closely related DNA sequences that originated only after about 70,000-60,000 years ago in Africa. So a new idea was born, sometimes called the "beachcomber express," in which the first ex-Africans were seashore dwellers who spread rapidly around the coast of the...

Come along with an international team of researchers as they unlock an ancient paradox in the desert oasis of Alula.Follow their journey – from legendary heritage sites such as Alula Old Town to mysterious mustatils – in the Discovery Channel Documentary Architects of Ancient Arabia.

Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of Homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo, and elephants bigger than any species seen today The people may have hunted the large mammals but they did not stay long, using the watering hole as a waypoint on a longer journey. This detailed scene was reconstructed by researchers in a new study published in Science Advances on Thursday, following the discovery of ancient human and animal footprints in the Nefud Desert that shed new light...

These are unique and rare stone axes from the Stone AgeA Saudi scientific team from the Heritage Authority discovered stone tools used by the inhabitants of Assyrian civilization in the Paleolithic period that date back to 2,00,000 years. The Heritage Authority said in a press statement that the discovered stone tools from the Shuaib Al-Adgham area, located east of the Al-Qassim region, are stone axes from the Middle Paleolithic period. These are unique and rare stone axes that were characterised by the high precision in manufacturing that these human groups used in their daily life. The abundance of stone tools...

The mustatils are giant stone monuments that are about 7,000-year- old. The Arabic name ‘mustatils,’ means rectangle. These vast structures made of stone piled into rectangles, are some of the oldest large-scale structures in the world. Mustalis were previously recognized from satellite imagery and as they were often covered by younger structures, it had been speculated that they might be ancient, perhaps extending back to the Neolithic. Recent studies reveal new, interesting information that may shed light on the purpose of these massive stone monuments. Dr. Huw Groucutt from the Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, the Science of Human...

Watch: Saudi man takes a ride on an endangered whale shark in the Red Sea Gulf News identified the daredevil man as Abu Badi, and said he was accompanied on the boat by some of his friends. One of them can be heard shouting, "Careful, it can swallow you." By: Trends Desk | New Delhi | Published: August 22, 2020 1:20:47 pm whale shark, man rides on whale shark, saudi man rides on whale shark, man sits on whale shark, odd news, saudi arabia news, viral videos, indian express, Breathtaking video clip showed a Saudi citizen is shown jumping on...

Stone fluted points dating back some 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, were discovered on archaeological sites in Manayzah, Yemen and Ad-Dahariz, Oman. Spearheads and arrowheads were found among these distinctive and technologically advanced projectile points. Until now, the prehistoric technique of fluting had been uncovered only on 13,000 to 10,000-year-old Native American sites. According to a study led by an international team of archaeologists from the CNRS (1), Inrap, Ohio State University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, the difference in age and geographic location implies there is no connection between the populations who made...