Saudi eyes cultural renaissance through archaeology

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‍While a royal purge in Saudi Arabia has drawn much international attention in the last 10 days for its potential political and economic fallout, Riyadh meanwhile also held two key cultural events over the last week and is hosting a prominent Christian patriarch from Lebanon in a sign that the winds of change are sweeping through the social, cultural and religious scaffolding of this ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

Long insulated from the non-Muslim world, Saudi Arabia signaled its willingness to set aside its deep-rooted religious aversion to dig into the pre-Islamic history of the kingdom a few years ago by opening up some of the ancient, and hitherto unknown, archaeological sites for exploration.

Saudi Arabia opened up some of its ancient, and hitherto unknown, archaeological sites for exploration a few years ago. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

Last week, it hosted a three-day international archaeology convention to throw light on some of the most significant discoveries from these sites, which experts feel may alter the perception of the region’s history.

Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia also hosted the first women’s basketball tournament in line with its efforts to grant more freedom to women, who are otherwise bound by fundamental religious codes that bar them from travelling without a male guardian and prohibit most forms of entertainment. Earlier in September, the controversial driving ban on women was revoked through a royal decree, which will take effect next June.

In yet another sign of religious tolerance, the kingdom on Monday welcomed Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, one of the most prominent Christian figures in the Middle East.

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (left) is greeted by Thamer Al-Sabhan, the Saudi Minister of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs, upon his arrival in Riyadh on November 13, 2017. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

It is the first official visit by a Maronite Patriarch to the kingdom. It is also the first trip to Riyadh by a senior Lebanese official since the start of a crisis sparked by Saad al-Hariri's resignation as Lebanese prime minister on November 4 from the Saudi capital.

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Rahi will meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and also Hariri, who remains in the kingdom following his resignation amid speculations that the former Lebanese prime minister is under effective house arrest.

“Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rahi’s visit stresses the kingdom’s approach for peaceful coexistence, closeness and openness to all the components of the Arabic peoples,” said Thamer Al-Sabhan, Saudi Minister of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs.

Embracing a pre-Islamic past

This statue of a headless king discovered in Al Ula (4th-3rd century BCE) in northwest Saudi Arabia is one of the most significant discoveries made in the kingdom so far, according to renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

This new approach to openness is highlighted best through Saudi Arabia’s latest archaeological findings that allow the Muslim kingdom to embrace its pre-Islamic history.

At the November 7-9 Saudi Archaeology Conference, a statement from King Salman was read out by the Governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal al Bandar, which said that “the kingdom was proud of the cultural renaissance taking place in the country,” according to a press release from the Center for International Communication (CIC), Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information.

“We are all aware that archaeology and cultural heritage are an important part of our identity and history, and that they are the foundation of our future,” King Salman said. The kingdom is keen on preserving the archaeological and historical sites as “it considers them to be the key components of our Arab and Islamic identity,” the king added in the speech delivered on his behalf during the official opening of the event.

It was revealed at the convention that 20 archaeological sites, some dating back to the pre-Islamic era, have been discovered in Saudi Arabia, stretching in the region between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

This 350,000-year-old elephant tusk found at the bottom of a dry lake in Saudi Arabia's northern Taima province indicates that the area was once lush. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

In a significant discovery, researchers and scientists uncovered 10,000 ancient lake and river beds across the Arabian Peninsula. Human bones and stone tools used by the early inhabitants of the region were found near some of the lake beds and are estimated to be at least 90,000 years old.

“The find indicates that the Arabian Peninsula was once a lush place, especially those areas,” said Dr. Ali Al Ghabban, Vice President of the convention’s organizer, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities National Heritage (SCTH).

“The region was not a desert as we see it today. There was vegetation and it had a damp climate, which is evident from the fact that these animals used to roam this area,” he added while revealing that among the recent discoveries was a 350,000-year-old elephant tusk found at the bottom of a dry lake in Saudi Arabia’s northern Taima province.

Archaeologists have discovered fossils of other animals and mammals such as crocodiles and seahorses that could not have survived in a dry climate.

Startling discoveries

Dr. Ali Al Ghabban, Vice President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), sheds light on ancient Arabic rock inscriptions, dating back to 470 CE, found in Najran, in southwest Saudi Arabia at the Saudi Archaeology Convention in Riyadh. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

Other startling discoveries include a 17th-century ship found at the depths of 45 meters in the Red Sea. Heaps of pottery and jars, bearing resemblance to those used by pilgrims in Mecca, have also been found nearby. “These were discovered by a joint Saudi-Italian team,” Ghabban said. “In the eastern part of the country, we have found pearls that are about 7,000 years old,” he added.

The latest finds also include “a 1,000-year-old gold dinar, as well as six Fatimid coins, glass bottles with inscriptions dating back to the reign of the Caliph Al-Mustansir (1036-1094 CE), decorative beads and part of a red agate pottery at the Rajajil site – located on a sandstone terrace about 20km south of the center of Sakakah, the capital of Al-Jouf province,” according to the ministry press release.

Archaeological excavations also confirmed that Rajajil, often described as the Stonehenge of Arabia, was a burial site. However, its real importance is perhaps its “role in the transition of lifestyles from nomadism to sedentarism induced by climate changes on the Arabian Peninsula,” Ghabban elucidated.

In the Al-Hajjar area, archaeologists found 17 tombs bearing the names of 14 sculptors who worked in Madain Saleh, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia.

The most important discoveries cited at the convention also include a mosque near Jebel Haleet, built in the style of Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Madinah, as well as an ancient industrial city near the Haleet site.

Links with ancient Egypt?

Egyptian archaelogist Zahi Hawass attended the Saudi Archaeology Convention held in Riyadh from November 7-9, 2017. /Photo by the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

Prominent Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass who attended the Riyadh convention expressed astonishment at the discoveries in Saudi Arabia, saying that he “never imagined that Saudi Arabia contained such a huge amount of archaeological treasures." The former antiquities minister of Egypt felt that “the Saudi people need to develop an understanding of the country’s ancient heritage.”

Impressed by the archaeological work being carried out in Saudi Arabia, Hawass revealed that a seal bearing the name of Ramses II of Egypt has been discovered in the kingdom. “It shows that there were trade relations between the new Kingdom in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula,” he said.

“We need to do more excavations, because if something of Ramses II can be found here, there is every possibility of finding something even more important and interesting. In my opinion, Egypt and Saudi Arabia should collaborate on exploring this country,” Hawass added.

First women's basketball tournament

Teams taking part in Saudi Arabia's first women’s basketball tournament, the Mazda Cup, held at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on November 11, 2017. /Photo courtesy of Sulafa Sami Kurdi via the Center for International Communication, Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile the all-women Mazda Cup, attended by an estimated 3,000 women, was held at King Abdullah Sports City in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Saturday. Organized with the support of General Sports Authority (GSA) and the Ministry of Health, the tournament brought together local women’s basketball teams to raise awareness about breast cancer.

“It is a historical event, as it is first such event to have taken place in the kingdom where women got an opportunity to participate in a professional sport tournament in this country,” Nora Al Jundi, an organizer, was quoted as saying in a press release circulated by the CIC.

“It was exciting to see the teams being cheered loudly by spectators. Now we are keen to see what happens next. Each day, we are realizing that we have much more scope to contribute to the country than what we used to do. This is our time, a time we must seize to succeed,” she said.

Another organizer Dina Arif, the creator of the Doodle for a Cause initiative on breast cancer, revealed that the entire stadium was run by women for the six-hour duration of the event. “From technicians and DJs to security and referees – they were all women,” she said.

Sports for women in Saudi Arabia are on the rise, with Riyadh gearing up to host the first Saudi Women’s Masters professional squash tournament this month.

Last month Princess Reema bint Bandar was appointed as the head of a Saudi sports federation becoming the first woman to occupy such a post in yet another sign of reform and part of the Vision 2030 strategy that mandates increased participation of women in public life.

Only time will tell if the recent developments in Saudi Arabia succeed in setting the foundation for a cultural renaissance leading to a social transformation or they are a fleeting distraction from the ongoing political upheaval within the kingdom.

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