Groundbreaking findings on the long-term occupation sites in north-west Arabia during the Neolithic period

Breakthrough discoveries on the long-term Neolithic occupancy sites in northwest Arabia have been made by an international team funded by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). With the analysis of these distinctive houses, dubbed Standing Stone Circles, fresh insights into the settled lifestyle of the area in the 6th and 5th millennia BCE have been revealed.

Overseeing these constructions are double rows of upright stone slabs that create rings 4 to 8 metres in diameter, potentially supporting animal-skin roofs. The discovery, headed by University of Sydney archaeologist Jane McMahon, was published in the peer-reviewed Levant journal on July 2. After conducting 52 surveys and 11 in-depth excavations, the researchers looked at 431 of these circles in the Harrat Uwayrid in AlUla County.

Among the discoveries are a variety of animal bones that point to a diversified economy, arrowheads that connect to Jordan, and shells that imply coastal ties. The knowledge of the region's early civilizations has advanced significantly as a result of this study.