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Heritage Commission Unveils Secrets of Stone Rectangles in Hail

Heritage Commission Unveils Secrets of Stone Rectangles in Hail
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Heritage Commission Unveils Secrets of Stone Rectangles in Hail

Heritage Commission Unveils Secrets of Stone Rectangles in Hail

The Heritage Commission has revealed the results of a recent scientific study published in the journal The Holocene, as part of the Green Arabia Project, which focuses on studying the history of human expansion and migration in the Arabian Peninsula during prehistoric times, SPA reported.
The study relies on precise spatial analysis, based on archaeological surveys and excavations conducted in 2021 at the study sites to uncover the reasons that led Neolithic inhabitants in northwestern Arabia to choose the locations of the stone mustatils (which means rectangles in Arabic) in the Hail Region for settlement.
The Heritage Commission conducted the study in cooperation with several local and international institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, the University of Tübingen in Germany, the University of Cologne in Germany, King's College London, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, King Saud University, Griffith University in Australia, the University of Queensland in Australia, the Smithsonian Institution in the US, and the University of Malta.
The stone rectangles are massive archaeological structures dating back to between 5400 and 4200 BC. They are located at the periphery of the Nafud Desert, atop hilltops at elevations ranging from 880 to 950 meters, which offer wide views of the surrounding landscapes, indicating that the selection of these sites was not random.
The proximity to water sources and raw materials further emphasizes the deliberate choice of these locations.
The study reveals the existence of significant scattered clusters of these stone rectangles, suggesting specific patterns of movement, and migration of the peoples of that era.
It also indicates that the size and distribution of these rectangles suggest that they were used for various purposes, including religious rituals, social practices, and as markers of territorial ownership.
Experimental studies showed that constructing these stone rectangles was not overly difficult. A small group of people could build a rectangle 177 meters long in a few weeks. Larger rectangles may have taken months to construct, but the process was faster when community members worked together. The rectangles give an inkling into the organizational skills and cooperation prevalent in those societies.
According to the commission, the findings provide a new context for understanding the stone rectangles. Applying this type of spatial analysis could lead to the documentation of other types of stone structures, which would contribute to a deeper understanding of the organization and establishment of Neolithic communities in northwestern Saudi Arabia, it said.

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Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
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Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP

The historic Baron Hotel in Syria's Aleppo is dilapidated and damaged by years of war but still standing and ready for a revival, much like the city itself.

Aleppo's old city, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, was ravaged by the conflict that erupted after a government crackdown on protests in 2011.

Between 2012 and 2016, it became a battleground between Syria's military and opposition factions.

The army of now-ousted president Bashar al-Assad shelled opposition fighters from the ground and struck them from the air, supported by Russian firepower.
Opposition groups, meanwhile, used mortars and artisanal rockets, as the fighting turned ancient streets into sniper alleys.

During the four years of fighting before the government recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied.

Now, after Assad's fall following a lightning opposition offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, residents are looking forward to reconstruction.

"Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of the edifices in the old city, monuments of the old city of Aleppo, were devastated to ground zero," said Georges Edleby, a tour guide in the city for 35 years.

"Hopefully there will be a day that we see them again restored."

The ancient souks where Aleppo's famed olive oil soap is piled up in stacks for sale has been reduced in many places to little more than rubble.

- 'Hope for a better life' -

Aleppo's medieval citadel, however, remains relatively intact.

Opposition fighters, one with a rose slipped into the barrel of his gun, stood guard outside the ancient ramparts, which Syria's army turned into a stronghold during the war.

Most of the damage in the citadel was caused by a 2023 earthquake, locals say.

Below in the old city, a few alleys of the souk -- once the largest in the world with 4,000 stalls -- have reopened after being restored, including with Saudi financial aid.

Jamal Habbal, 66, has spent all his life under the stone vaults of the old city and reopened his macrame and rope shop there a year ago.

"We have so many memories here. It was a big market that was vibrant and lively. Girls used to come to buy items for their trousseaus. They could find everything," he told AFP.

"And then suddenly, the crisis," he said, reluctant to even say the word war.

"We had to leave. I returned in 2018, but it's still difficult," he added, speaking in a dark and largely deserted alley.

Fadel Fadel has also reopened his shop offering souvenirs, soap and mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes.

"It was completely destroyed here," said the 51-year-old.

He is hoping to see Aleppo returned to its status as a "center of commerce, industry and tourism."

"We hope for a better life."

- Museum ready to reopen -

Outside, dusty streets wind between ruins that await reconstruction and revival.

The Baron Hotel once welcomed Agatha Christie, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and France's Charles de Gaulle.

Visitors flocked to see the somewhat faded glory of its rooms, as well as its terrace and the unpaid bar bill belonging to one Lawrence of Arabia.

But now, several broken windows adorned with shutters hanging from a single hinge offer a view into a deserted building covered in dust.

The hotel's future is uncertain.

Its last owner, Armen Mazloumian, has passed away. He told AFP back in 2014 that he felt the hotel's glory days were behind it and it would "never be what it once was again".

Nearby, however, the National Museum of Aleppo is readying to reopen. Its courtyard was hit in shelling but its building and collection were spared.

Director Ahmed Othman said the museum "took lessons from the experience of our neighbours," including institutions in Iraq and Lebanon.

"We took the necessary measures to protect our collections," he said.

"The statues that were too heavy to move were encased in concrete and the smaller pieces were moved to safe places."

Treasures that trace nine millennia of history and the birth of writing in nearby Mesopotamia have been preserved unharmed as a result.

"We did many things in order to protect the museum as a whole," said Othman