ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

A recently published archaeological study revealed the discovery of a network of walled oases in northwest Saudia Arabia, believed to be protective structures for settlements in the region dating back several millennia.

Originally published in the journal Antiquity, these discoveries shed light on socioeconomic development in the region in ancient times. The discovery reveals thriving communities within these oases, characterized by developed settlements, livestock, and crops.

Within these oases, thriving communities with water sources, livestock including goats and sheep, as well as crops including fruits and cereals, as well as date palms dating back to 2000 BC. The outer walls surrounding these areas suggested wealth and power, providing protection.

The walls were also seen as significant investments by locals, not only for their construction, but also for their maintenance and modification over time to meet their needs.

The walled oases found in Tayma, Qurayyah, Dumat al-Jandal, Hait, Huwayyit, and Khaybar were representative of social and political hierarchy and control, with a governing political body managing and overseeing the construction and further maintenance of the walls. Without these walls, caravan kingdoms in Arabia were protected from raids by tribal entities.


The walled oasis of al-Ayn reconstructed on Google Earth (A), and aerial views of the rampart (B) with abutted bastion (C) and inner masonry (D)
The walled oasis of al-Ayn reconstructed on Google Earth (A), and aerial views of the rampart (B) with abutted bastion (C) and inner masonry (D) (credit: G. Charloux)

“The recent identification of a walled oases complex in northwest Saudi Arabia signals a radical shift in our understanding of the socioeconomic evolution of this vast, largely unexplored region,” the study authors wrote.

Walled Oases began as early as 3000 BC

Evidence suggests the walled oasis phenomenon began around 3000 BC at Tayma and Qurayyah and spread to the Harrat Khaybar region by the end of the third millennium BC. The practice continued through the Iron Age, and even into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Though continued excavation is necessary to learn more about the roles of these specific walled cities deep in the Saudi Arabian desert, it provides a surface-level model of how desert communities have adapted throughout centuries to environmental and socio-political changes, and how they may have been visited by travelers to and from ancient Israel and its neighbors for generations.