عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Al-Jouf in Saudi Arabia: Site of Earliest Life-Sized Animal Carvings Uncovered so Far

The research results found that a deal of great effort had gone into making the animal carvings. SPA
The research results found that a deal of great effort had gone into making the animal carvings. SPA
TT
TT

Al-Jouf in Saudi Arabia: Site of Earliest Life-Sized Animal Carvings Uncovered so Far

The research results found that a deal of great effort had gone into making the animal carvings. SPA
The research results found that a deal of great effort had gone into making the animal carvings. SPA

A team of archaeologists found that the camel carvings in Al-Jouf in Saudi Arabia are likely to be the oldest life-sized animal carvings ever discovered, according to a Journal of Archaeological Science study.

The study found that the “camel site,” which includes 21 carvings (17 of them of camels, two of equids, and another that has not been discerned), could be home to the world’s oldest life-sized carvings of animals. The researchers’ results also found that they go back to the Neolithic era and were made between 5200 and 5600 AD.

The method used to carve them differs from that prevalent elsewhere in the Kingdom. They are three-dimensional and appear life-like. The carvings on the site also demonstrated that remarkable rock art production had existed at the time, and remains of animal bones were also discovered.

Discovering the date in which carvings were made is considered among the biggest challenges facing researchers. The team used an array of methods to determine the date of the carvings with high precision, examining tool marks, weathering and erosion patterns, analysis involving fluorescence luminescence, and radiocarbon. The team of researchers included scientists from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage/ Saudi Heritage Authority, the King Saud University, France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Max Planck Institute and the Free University of Berlin.

The research results found that a deal of great effort had gone into making the animal carvings, that it was probably a group effort and that they were made at different times.

There are indications that the carvings had been re-engraved and re-shaped, with new engravings being made to replace segments that had been damaged with time. Parts of the carvings that had fallen off were put back on in their place.

The results also found that the carvings took their eventual form over three stages, and they are: the engraving process, which went on for a long period; that was followed by a period in which no human activity was made, and the site was deserted; finally, in the third and last stage, when they got damaged because of natural causes.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Forecasters through the US issued warnings that another round of winter weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages.
In California, where a person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more precipitation while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. Thousands in the Pacific Northwest remained without power after multiple days in the dark.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the state's Sierra Nevada for Saturday through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph). Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday.
The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.
A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and strong winds, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.
Deadly 'bomb cyclone’ on West Coast Earlier this week, two people died when the storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of thousands lost power, mostly in the Seattle area, before strong winds moved through Northern California. A rapidly intensifying “ bomb cyclone ” that hit the West Coast on Tuesday brought fierce winds that resulted in home and vehicle damage.
Rescue crews in Guerneville, California, recovered a body inside a vehicle bobbing in floodwaters around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Dillion said, noting the deceased was presumed to be a victim of the storm but an autopsy had not yet been conducted.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain by Friday evening, the National Weather Service in the Bay Area reported. Vineyards in nearby Windsor, California, were flooded on Saturday.
Tens of thousands without power in Seattle area Some 80,000 people in the Seattle area were still without electricity after this season’s strongest atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land.
The power came back in the afternoon at Katie Skipper’s home in North Bend, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Seattle, after being out since Tuesday. She was tired from taking cold showers, warming herself with a wood stove and using a generator to run the refrigerator, but Skipper said those inconveniences paled in comparison to the damage other people suffered, such as from fallen trees.
“That’s really sad and scary,” she said.
Northeast gets needed precipitation Another storm brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Less than 80,000 customers in 10 counties lost power.
Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts preparing to open their slopes in the weeks ahead.