Bronze age city unearthed beneath Saudi Arabian oasis
Archaeologists have made an extraordinary discovery in Saudi Arabia. Under the Khaybar oasis in the Madinah province, they have identified traces of an ancient Bronze Age city that existed around 2400 B.C. This find, known as al-Natah, is one of the first pieces of evidence of urbanization in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
Khaybar, an oasis in the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula, is an extremely fertile area surrounded by vast deserts. Archaeologists discovered building structures with solid foundations capable of supporting at least one-story and even two-story houses here.
These traces indicate a relatively advanced form of urban settlement at a time when most of the region was still dominated by pastoral communities. Research has shown that from 2400 B.C. to around 1300 B.C., al-Natah developed as a small urban settlement. It spanned about 1.6 hectares and had approximately 500 residents.
The traces of the settlement suggest that the city had a clearly organized structure – a central district surrounded by a protective wall and a residential area, illustrating the shift from nomadic to a settled lifestyle.
On the outskirts of the city, scientists found a cluster of graves forming a sort of necropolis. Metal objects, including axes and daggers, were discovered in the graves, along with semi-precious stone ornaments like agate, indicating that the inhabitants of al-Natah possessed craft skills and engaged in trade with other communities.
The variety in the burials suggests the existence of social stratification, offering further evidence of the gradual evolution of this place from a pastoral settlement to a more complex urban community.
Significance of the discovery for studies on early urbanization
Archaeologists believe that northwestern Arabia during the Bronze Age was inhabited by nomadic pastoral groups, which were already integrated into extensive trade networks.
Compared to neighbouring oasis centres, we suggest that northwestern Arabia during the Bronze Age was dominated by pastoral groups, which were already part of far-reaching trade networks, the scientists wrote in an article published in the journal PLoS ONE.
These trade networks may have been the precursor to the later "incense route," through which spices, incense, and myrrh from southern Arabia reached the Mediterranean region.
Researchers emphasize that the discovery of al-Natah provides evidence for the first time of the existence of small fortified cities in northwestern Arabia during the Bronze Age, raising new questions about the development of local urbanization.
