As Saudi continues to pioneer exploration of its land and ancient history, it is also emerging as a world leader in rock art preservation.

Across the Kingdom, weathered rocks stand amidst striking landscapes as storytellers of ages past.

Among these wonders, landmarks like Elephant Rock, Al Naslaa, and Edge of the World draw visitors worldwide, charming them with their ancient beauty and cultural significance. But it's not just the formations themselves that captivate; it's the artistry etched into their surfaces.

Petroglyphs adorn many of the Kingdom’s rocky outcrops, offering glimpses into ancient civilisations that once thrived here. Indeed, the Arabian Peninsula has been inhabited for thousands of years, bearing evidence of early human presence dating back to the Paleolithic era.

For those looking to uncover Saudi’s geological marvels, here are six notable locations to begin your journey:

Rock Art

Location: Hail Region

Some 90km north-west of Hail is an extensive tapestry of petroglyphs and inscriptions. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is said to house the richest rock art complexes in Saudi and the region. Spanning nearly 10,000 years of human history, these sites weave together tales of ancient civilisations, standing as the pinnacle of the Kingdom’s rock art.

Neolithic hunters in the Hail province were tall, slender and likely wore headdresses, giving their heads a stovepipe appearance, according to the Arabian Rock Art Heritage.

The subtle reshaping of the local environment due to desertification since the mid-Holocene adds depth to the artwork and inscriptions adorning these rocks.

Jubbah

Location: Hail Region

The remnant of an ancient lake, Jubbah is the best known of two regions near Hail, famed for neolithic rock art.

The other is Shywaymis, but it’s Jebel um Sanman or ‘Two Camel Hump Mountain’ where some of the best rock art in Saudi Arabia can be found. The petroglyphs there give insights into the people who lived there, the hairstyles, habits and activities of both men and women. They show pastoral nomads hunting with bows and spears and with dogs.

Lady Anne Blunt, daughter of Lord Byron and her husband were the first westerners to see them when they stopped at Jubah in 1879 on their way to purchase Arabian horses in Hail.

Writing in Saudi Aramco World, Juris Zarins, an archaeologist who worked in the Jubbah area for 20 years, said: “Pound for pound and piece for piece, in terms of rock art concentration and importance, Jubbah is the number one or number two site in the whole of the Middle East. It rivals anything in North Africa. With the art going back at least to the Pottery Neolithic periods 7000 to 9000 years ago, and with a paleo-environment and geology showing traces of human activity extending into the Middle Palaeolithic period, it is a treasure trove for answering questions about the Middle East.”

Hegra or Al-Hijr, or Mada'in Salih

Location: AlUla

AlUla was an important trading post on the frankincense route, linking Saudi Arabia to Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, with one road leading to Babylon and another to Petra and Syria. Its vertical sandstone cliffs are one of the richest petroglyph regions with hunting scenes including ibex, camels, horses and other species. At Al Sinya, near AlUla, an unusual carving depicts three lions and a domestic bull.

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Just 22km away stands Hegra, where the Nabataean people skilfully carved tombs into the Quweira outcrops. The 111 tomb facades are a testament to the masons of their time and are reminiscent of the Nabataean capital of Petra in Jordan. This tribe raised sheep, camels and goats in the desert between 1 BCE and 74 CE. They also controlled much of the spice trade in an area that has been an UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.

Al Naslaa Rock Formation

*Image (l) via Arabian Rock Art Hertiage and (r) via UNESCO*

*Image (l) via Arabian Rock Art Hertiage and (r) via UNESCO*

Location: Tayma

Perched atop small pedestals, Al Naslaa is a geological marvel shrouded in mystery and wonder. Its split appearance, delicately balanced on either side of a narrow gap, showcases remarkable symmetry sculpted by wind erosion and chemical weathering. Adorned with petroglyphs on its south-east face, this twin sandstone formation offers a window into ancient narratives etched in stone.

Chariots depicted at Tayma, 220 km south east of Tabuk, dating from 1500 – 200 BCE are similar to ones drawn by the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians and Greeks, however they are often unrealistic, leading to speculation that the artists in the Arabian desert were not that familiar with horses, which were rare until the days of the cavalry in 800 BCE.

Tayma was once the residence of the Babylonian King, Nabonidus in the 6th century BCE. It was also an oasis that attracted human habitation and a trading post on the incense route.

Musayqirah Petroglyphs or 'Graffiti Rocks'

Location: Riyadh Province

The Musayqirah Petroglyphs, also known as Graffiti Rocks, are about 110km from Riyadh, dating from the Neolithic period, after 3000 BC. They depict hunters, camels, horses and an impressive family of ostriches. Hyena-like animals and animals with long horns were also drawn by these ancient settlers before they could write, giving a fascinating insight into their daily lives.

The rock of Musayqirah is one of the very rare known places in Riyadh Province where carvings of water-buffaloes (also called aurochs) can be seen, and it is believed this proves that there was previously a humid climate in this part of Saudi Arabia.

Funerary Avenues

Location: North-west Saudi

Stretching around 170km, the Kingdom’s 4,500-year-old funerary avenues boast pendant-shaped stone tombs lining their paths. Despite there being limited understanding of the rituals that were conducted along these avenues, the entire network – carved naturally by foot and animal traffic – is said to have served as conduits connecting communities, and likely played a significant role in commemorating the deceased.

The announcement that the pendant shaped tombs had been found was made in 2021, and the passages indicate that a sophisticated social network was in place 4,500 years ago with people interdependent on each other and living in harmony with nature.

Researcher and historian, Dr Eid Al-Yahya said that the graves, pointed towards the sky, were an important symbol for the Mesopotamian and Nile civilizations. He said that according to researchers for the German Max Planck Institute, the last decades of the savannah era in the Arabian Peninsula dated back 6,500 years ago. When this area became a desert, its people moved to lands with rivers and transmitted their culture as well, including cuneiform, one of the oldest forms of writing, which can be found on most of the graves.

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