First known digital and physical reconstruction of a Nabataean woman displayed at Hegra Welcome Centre in AlUla

A team of archaeologists, academics, and specialists in the fields of forensic science and model-making has completed the first known digital and physical reconstruction of a Nabataean woman discovered at Hegra. The Nabataean woman, known as Hinat, is thought to have been a prominent woman who died around the first century BC and lay for over 2,000 years in a Hegra tomb.

The reconstruction of Hinat is now being displayed at the Hegra Welcome Centre in AlUla. Hegra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once a vibrant city for this north Arabian kingdom which dominated the historic Incense Road.

Hinat’s return comes in the 15th year since Hegra was inscribed as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia. UNESCO’s citation at the time said the site “bears outstanding witness to important cultural exchanges in architecture, decoration, language use, and the caravan trade.”

In addition to the Hinat reconstruction, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) expects many more important advances in the coming years as the painstaking work of archaeology across the AlUla area diligently uncovers the secrets of the past. AlUla has at its heart an oasis and valley that has hosted successive communities and civilizations from its earliest occupants to its residents today.

An important hub on epic routes of trade – including invaluable incense, spices, and other luxury commodities – it has vestiges from virtually every major period from prehistory to the present day including the site of Hegra, a significant city of the Nabataean Kingdom.

By the first century BC, Hegra under the Nabataeans had eclipsed nearby Dadan as the key stopping point on trade routes linking southern Arabia to Egypt and the Mediterranean. The Mada’in Saleh Archaeological Project began its archaeological work at the Hegra site in 2002.

Hinat, as she is affectionately known by the archaeologists who discovered her, was excavated from one of Hegra’s monumental tombs in 2008. Excavations of the tomb revealed around 80 individuals interred there, and the pathology suggests at least some were blood relations.

The majority was disarticulated but Hinat’s skeleton was near complete. The inscription on the tomb reads: “This is the tomb that Hinat, daughter of Wahbu, made for herself and her children and descendants forever”. This inscription emphasizes the importance of women in Nabataean Hegra society, who owned property and had the financial means to commission their own tombs.

Mada’in Saleh Archaeological Project Co-Director Laïla Nehmé and project anthropologist Nathalie Delhopital led the selection of an appropriate skull, with sufficient preservation to ensure adequate information for successful reconstruction.

A one-day scientific roundtable event, drawing together leading experts on Hegra, the Nabataeans, and the archaeology of AlUla, saw a lively discussion around the likely appearance of Hinat, her potential status in society, and what she may have worn. This established the scientific boundaries and guidance for the accuracy and character of the reconstruction and resulted in the writing of a profile with reference imagery for clothing, hair, and jewelry. They were joined by a multidisciplinary production team, bringing together expertise in forensic anthropology and reconstruction, and physical model-making.

RCU-supported archaeological research and conservation teams continue to shed new light on the history of the region and lay the intellectual foundation of the Kingdoms Institute, a hub of archaeological knowledge being established at AlUla. The ‘Living Museum’ of these discoveries can be explored in person in AlUla and online at livingmuseum.com.

RCU was established in July 2017 to preserve and develop AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in northwest Saudi Arabia. the RCU’s long-term plan outlines a responsible, sustainable, and sensitive approach to urban and economic development that preserves the area’s natural and historic heritage while establishing AlUla as a desirable location to live, work, and visit.