Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T13:22:41.137Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The art of rock relief in ancient Arabia: new evidence from the Jawf Province

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2018

Guillaume Charloux Open the ORCID record for Guillaume Charloux [Opens in a new window] ,
Hussain al-Khalifah ,
Thamer al-Malki ,
Romain Mensan  and
Ronald Schwerdtner
Guillaume Charloux*
Affiliation:
CNRS—UMR 8167, Orient et Méditerranée, 27 rue Paul Bert, 94204 Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Hussain al-Khalifah
Affiliation:
Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Directorate of the Jawf Province, King Fahad Street, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
Thamer al-Malki
Affiliation:
Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Researcher Effects and Museums, PO Box 66680, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia
Romain Mensan
Affiliation:
CNRS—UMR 5608 TRACES, Université Toulouse—Jean Jaurès, 5 allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France
Ronald Schwerdtner
Affiliation:
Independent researcher, Herbéviller, France
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The relative scarcity of ancient Arabian rock reliefs has been a significant barrier to understanding the development, function and socio-cultural context of such art. The recently discovered ‘Camel Site’ in northern Arabia depicts, for the first time, life-sized camelids and equids carved in low- and high-relief. Analysis and stylistic comparison of the art suggest a distinct Arabian tradition, which perhaps drew upon Nabataean and Parthian influences. That this isolated and seemingly uninhabitable site attracted highly skilled rock-carvers is striking testimony to its importance for surrounding populations. Perhaps serving as a boundary marker or a place of veneration, the Camel Site offers important new evidence for the evolution of Arabian rock art.

Keywords

ArabiaJawf ProvinceSakâkâNabataeanrock art
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 92 , Issue 361 , February 2018 , pp. 165 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, R., Parr, P., Ibrahim, M. & al-Mughannum, A.S.. 1977. Preliminary report on the first phase of the Comprehensive Survey Program. Atlal 1: 21–40.Google Scholar
Alamy.com. 2017. Available at http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-prehistoric-rock-carving-camel-desert-wadi-rum-jordan-78010055.html (accessed 18 October 2017).Google Scholar
Antonini, S. 2012. South Arabian art: art history in pre-Islamic Yemen (Orient et Méditerranée 10). Paris: De Boccard.Google Scholar
Arbach, M., Charloux, G., Dridi, H., Gajda, I., âl-Murayh, S.M., Robin, C., al-Sa’îd, S., Schiettecatte, J. & Tayrân, S.. 2015. Results of four seasons of survey in the Province of Najrân (Saudi Arabia)—2007–2010, in ABADY (volume XIV). Wiesbaden: Reichter.Google Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. 2002. The dating of rock art: a critique. Journal of Archaeological Science 29: 1213–33. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2001.0711 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bednarik, R.G. & Khan, M.. 2005. Scientific studies of Saudi Arabian rock art. Rock Art Research 22: 49–81. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2001.0711 Google Scholar
Beech, M., Mashkour, M., Huels, M. & Zazzo, A.. 2009. Prehistoric camels in south-eastern Arabia: the discovery of a new site in Abu Dhabi's western region, United Arab Emirates. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 39: 17–30.Google Scholar
Bellwald, U. & Ruben, I.. 2003. The Petra Siq: Nabataean hydrology uncovered. Amman: Petra National Trust.Google Scholar
Bessac, J.-C. 2007. Le travail de la pierre à Pétra. Paris: Cultures France—Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations.Google Scholar
Charloux, G., Bouchaud, C., Durand, C., Monchot, H. & Thomas, A.. 2016. Banqueting in a northern Arabian oasis: a Nabataean triclinium at Dûmat al-Jandal, Saudi Arabia. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 375: 13–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12044 Google Scholar
Charloux, G., Cotty, M. & Thomas, A.. 2014. Nabataean or not? The ancient necropolis of Dumat. First stage: a reassessment of al-Dayel's excavations. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25: 186–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12044 Google Scholar
Chippindale, C. & Taçon, P.S.C.. 1998. The archaeology of rock art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Glueck, N. 1944. Wâdî Sirḥân in North Arabia. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 96: 7–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmanşah, Ö. 2015. Stone worlds: technologies of rock carving and place-making in Anatolian landscapes, in Knapp, A.B. & Dommelen, P.A.R. van (ed.) The Cambridge prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean: 379–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Harrigan, P. 2012. Discovery at al-Magar Saudi. Aramco World 63: 2–9.Google Scholar
Hausleiter, A., Schaudig, H., Baier, S., Dayel (al-), A., Hâ’iti (al-), K., Hâ’iti (al-), M., Râshîdi (al-), N. & Rowaisân (al-), S.. Forthcoming. A new rock relief with cuneiform inscription of King Nabonidus from al-Ḥā’iṭ. Atlal.Google Scholar
Hilbert, Y.H. & Crassard, R.. In press. Prehistoric survey of the Al-Jawf Quadrangle, northern Saudi Arabia, in Charloux, G. & Loreto, R. (ed.) Dûma 4. The 2013 report of the Saudi-Italian-French project in Dûmat al-Jandal. Riyâdh: SCTH.Google Scholar
Inizan, M.-L. & Rachad, M.. 2007. Art rupestre et peuplements préhistoriques au Yémen. Sanaa: CEFAS. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.cefas.1553 Google Scholar
Jaussen, A. & Savignac, R.. 1997. Mission archéologique en Arabie. Atlas. Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale.Google Scholar
Jennings, R., Shipton, C., al-Omari, A., Alsharekh, A., Crassard, R., Groucutt, H. & Petraglia, M.D.. 2013. Rock art landscapes beside the Jubbah palaeolake, Saudi Arabia. Antiquity 87: 666–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00049383 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joukowsky, M.S. 2007. Petra Great Temple: Brown University excavations in Jordan at the Petra Great Temple, 1993–2007. Providence (RI): Brown University Petra Excavation Fund.Google Scholar
Keyser, J.D. 2001. Relative dating methods, in Whitley, D.S. (ed.) Handbook of rock art research: 116–38. Walnut Creek (CA): Altamira.Google Scholar
Khan, M. 2007. Rock art of Saudi Arabia across twelve thousand years. Riyadh: Ministry of Education, Deputy Ministry of Antiquities & Museums.Google Scholar
Knauf, E.A. 1998. Götter nach Petra Tragen, in Hübner, U., Knauf, E.A. & Wenning, R. (ed.) Nach Petra und ins Königreich der Nabatäer: Notizen von Reisegefährten. Für Manfred Lindner zum 80. Geburstag (Bonner Biblische Beiträge 118): 92–101. Bodenheim: Philo.Google Scholar
Lindner, M., Gunsam, E., Just, I., Schmid, A. & Schreyer, E.. 1984. New explorations of the Deir-Plateau (Petra) 1982/1983. Annual of the Department of Antiquities 28: 163–81.Google Scholar
Loreto, R. 2012. The Saudi-Italian-French archaeological project at Dûmat al-Jandal (ancient Adummatu). A first relative chronological sequence for Dûmat al-Jandal. architecture and pottery. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42: 165–82.Google Scholar
Mashkour, M. 2009. Les animaux à Hatra. Dossiers d'archéologie 334: 40–45.Google Scholar
McKenzie, J. 1990. The architecture of Petra. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Monchot, H. 2014. Camels in Saudi oasis during the last two millennia; the examples of Dûmat al-Jandal (Al-Jawf Province) and al-Yamâma (Riyadh Province). Anthropozoologica 49: 195–206. https://doi.org/10.5252/az2014n2a03.Google Scholar
Monchot, H. 2016. Faunal material, in Charloux, G. & Loreto, R. (ed) Dūma 2: the 2011 report of the Saudi-Italian-French archaeological project in Dūmat al-Jandal: 231–54. Riyadh: Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.Google Scholar
Monchot, H. & Poliakoff, C.. 2016. La faune dans la roche: de l'iconographie rupestre aux restes osseux entre Dûmat al-Jandal et Najrân (Arabie Saoudite). Routes de l'Orient (Hors-Série 2): 74–93.Google Scholar
Muaikel (al-), K.I. 1994. Study of the archaeology of the Jawf Region, Saudi Arabia. Riyadh: King Fahd National Library.Google Scholar
Muaikel (al-), K.I. 1997. Wâdî al-Sirhân fî ’asr mâqabl al-islâm fî daw al-iktishâfât al-athâriyya. Journal of King Saud University 9: 513–36.Google Scholar
Musil, A. 1907. Arabia Petraea II. Edom. Wien: A. Hölder.Google Scholar
Nabatea.net. 2015. Available at http://nabataea.net/write3.html (accessed 18 October 2017).Google Scholar
Nehmé, L. 2012. Atlas archéologique et épigraphique de Pétra. Fascicule 1, Be Bāb as-sīq au Wādī al-Farasah (Epigraphie & archéologie 1). Paris: Académie des Inscriptions et belles-lettres.Google Scholar
Nehmé, L., Bessac, J.-C., Braun, J.-P. & Dentzer-Feydy, J.. 2015. Les tombeaux nabatéens de Hégra. Paris: Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres.Google Scholar
Olsen, S.L. 2017. Insight on the ancient Arabian horse from north Arabian petroglyphs. Arabian Humanities. Available at: http://cy.revues.org/3282 (accessed 18 October 2017).Google Scholar
Orr-Ewing, H.J. 1927. The lion and the Cavern of Bones at Petra. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 59: 155–57. https://doi.org/10.1179/peq.1927.59.3.155 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parr, P.J., Zarins, J., Ibrahim, M., Waechter, J., Garrard, A., Clarke, C., Bidmead, M. & al-Badr, H.. 1978. Preliminary report on the second phase of the Northern Province survey 1397/1977. Atlal 2: 29–50.Google Scholar
Râshid, S. bin ʻ Abd al-ʻAzîz (ed.). 2003. Âthar Mintaqat Tabûk (Silsilat Âthâr Al-Mamlakah Al-ʻArabîyah Al-Saʻûdîyah 7). Riyâd: Wizârat al-Maʻârif, Wakâlat al-Âthâr wa-al-Matâhif.Google Scholar
Salihi, W.I.A. 1998. The camel-rider's stele and related sculpture from Hatra. Iraq 60: 103–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sartre, M. 2001. D'Alexandre à Zénobie: histoire du Levant antique (IVe siècle av. J.-C.-IIIe siècle ap. J.-C. Paris: Fayard.Google Scholar
Schiettecatte, J. & Zouache, A.. 2017. The horse in Arabia and the Arabian horse: origins, myths and realities. Arabian humanities. Available at: http://cy.revues.org/3282 (accessed 18 October 2017).Google Scholar
Schmid, S.G. 2007. La distribution de la céramique nabatéenne et l'organisation du commerce nabatéen de longue distance. Topoi (supplement 8): 61–91.Google Scholar
Schmidt, E.F. 1953. Persepolis (Oriental Institute Publications 68). Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Staubli, T. 1991. Das Image der Nomaden im alten Israel und in der Ikonographie seiner sesshaften Nachbarn (Orbis biblicus et orientalis 107). Freiburg & Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Google Scholar
Tanabe, K. 1986. Sculptures of Palmyra 1 (Memoirs of the Ancient Orient Museum 1). Tokyo: Ancient Orient Museum.Google Scholar
Theeb [Dhuyayb] (al-), S. ibn ‘ Abd al-Rahman . 2010. Mudawwanat al-nuqush al-Nabatiyah fi al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabiyah al-Sa‘udiyah. Riyadh: Darat al-Malik ‘Abd al-‘Aziz.Google Scholar
Thilo, U. 1958. Die Ortsnamen in der altarabischen Poesie: ein Beitrag zur vor- und frühislamischen Dichtung und zur historischen Topographie Nordarabiens. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.Google Scholar
Traunecker, C. 1987. Une pratique de magie populaire dans les temples de Karnak, in Roccati, A. & Siliotti, A. (ed.) La Magia in Egitto ai tempi dei Faraoni: 221–42. Modena: Panini.Google Scholar
Uepermann, H.-P. & Uepermann, M.. 2002. The appearance of the domestic camel in south-east Arabia. Journal of Oman Studies 12: 235–60.Google Scholar
Vanden Berghe, L. 1983. Reliefs rupestres de l'Iran ancient. Bruxelles: Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire.Google Scholar
Vila, E. 2006. Data on equids from late fourth- and third-millennium sites in northern Syria, in Mashkour, M. (ed.) Equids in time and space: papers in honour of Véra Eisenmann: 101–23. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Vila, E. 2014. L’âne domestique en Syrie: réflexions sur les données nouvelles de Mari, in Butterlin, P., Margueron, J.C., Muller, B., al-Maqdissi, M., Beyer, D. & Cavigneaux, A. (ed.) Mari, ni Est, ni Ouest (Syria Supplément 2): 425–36. Beyrouth: Institut français du Proche-Orient.Google Scholar
Wallace, C.A., Dini, S.M. & Farasani (al-), A.A.. 1997. Explanatory notes to the geological map of the Al Jawf Quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Geoscience Map GM-128C, scale 1:250,000, sheet 29D. Riyadh: Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Google Scholar
Winnett, F.V. & Reed, W.L.. 1970. Ancient records from north Arabia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Woods, A. 2015. Relief, in Hartwig, M.K. (ed.) A companion to ancient Egyptian art: 219–48. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Ziolkowski, M.C. 2007. Rock on art: petroglyph sites in the United Arab Emirates. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 18: 208–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2007.00262.x Google Scholar