Archaeologists have revealed a vast fortification structure around a desert oasis in northwestern Arabia that dates back to around 4,000 years ago.
A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports found that Saudi Arabia’s Khaybar oasis was entirely enclosed by a rampart in pre-Islamic times.
The oasis is one of the natural wonders of northwestern Saudi Arabia and supports an abundance of native plant and animal life.
Using field surveys and remote sensing data combined with architectural studies, the scientists from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Royal Commission for AlUla have revealed that the rampart was originally around 9 miles long, although less than half of it is preserved today.
While the Khaybar oasis clearly belonged to a network of walled oases in northwestern Arabia, the discovery of the rampart raises questions about why it was built, as well as the nature of the populations who constructed the fortifications.
“The purpose was probably mainly protective” and designed to delimit an agricultural area and sedentary population," CNRS researcher Guillaume Charloux, an author of the paper, told Newsweek.
The original article contains 458 words, the summary contains 183 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Archaeologists have revealed a vast fortification structure around a desert oasis in northwestern Arabia that dates back to around 4,000 years ago.
A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports found that Saudi Arabia’s Khaybar oasis was entirely enclosed by a rampart in pre-Islamic times.
The oasis is one of the natural wonders of northwestern Saudi Arabia and supports an abundance of native plant and animal life.
Using field surveys and remote sensing data combined with architectural studies, the scientists from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Royal Commission for AlUla have revealed that the rampart was originally around 9 miles long, although less than half of it is preserved today.
While the Khaybar oasis clearly belonged to a network of walled oases in northwestern Arabia, the discovery of the rampart raises questions about why it was built, as well as the nature of the populations who constructed the fortifications.
“The purpose was probably mainly protective” and designed to delimit an agricultural area and sedentary population," CNRS researcher Guillaume Charloux, an author of the paper, told Newsweek.
The original article contains 458 words, the summary contains 183 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!