1. First results of the 2020 and 2021 seasons of the Saudi-French Archaeological and Epigraphic Mission to Najrān in the area of HḤimā (Najrān, Saudi Arabia).
- Author
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LISCHI, SILVIA, HAQUET, JÉRÔME-FRANÇOIS, HILBERT, YAMANDÚ HIERONIMUS, and PRIOLETTA, ALESSIA
- Subjects
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HUMAN settlements , *ARCHAEOLOGICAL finds , *MIDDLE Paleolithic Period , *ROCK art (Archaeology) , *PETROGLYPHS , *ARCHAEOLOGICAL museums & collections , *ARCHAEOLOGICAL surveying , *ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations - Abstract
Since 2007 the Saudi-French Archaeological and Epigraphic Mission to Najrān (MAFSN) has been surveying the area of Ḥimā (north-east of Najrān); during these explorations, thousands of graffiti and rock art sites were recorded. In the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the MAFSN launched systematic archaeological surveys, test pits, and small-scale excavations, paying particular attention to the structures scattered throughout the plain and near the rocky outcrops. Here we report on the results of both these fieldwork seasons with a preliminary typology of the archaeological structures and a collection of archaeological finds. This is the first outcome of a wider and medium-term project that aims to draw a complete archaeological map of the area by combining field and remote-sensing data collection methods. Additionally, survey was conducted aiming at the identification of prehistoric sites around the Ḥimā region, which yielded a small number of prehistoric lithic scatters. Based on the technological and typological characteristics of the finds, an attribution to the earliest human occupations of the area, namely Lower and Middle Palaeolithic, is suggested. The spatial distribution of the archaeological structures will be compared with that of the rock carvings to identify possible correlations and to study the history of human settlement in the Ḥimā region in historical times up to the first centuries of Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023