2,000-year-old Ancient Camel Sculpture Found in Northern Saudi Desert

An ancient sculpted rock, depicting camelids (even-toed ungulate mammals) and equids (a mammal of the horse family), has been found in the northern Saudi 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, the Saudi Centre for International Communications said on Saturday.

The 2,000-year-old site was discovered by a Franco-Saudi research team in an isolated area, in a private property.

The study was conducted by researchers from 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 during this period, said that “these findings, in a sector that remains virtually unexplored, are truly unique.”

This article has been adapted from its original source.