![]() Firstly, it is certain that there was a large, thriving population during the Neolithic period-a population that, just like contemporary communities in the Levant and Mesopotamia, were building large-scale monumental structures. What this tells us about early human life in the Arabian Peninsula is not entirely clear, but it does offer some clues. To document more than 1,000 monumental ritual structures dating back 7,000 years is truly extraordinary, as is exploring the possibility that a relatively cohesive religious ideology was held over such a vast area.” This is unparalleled anywhere and is very exciting. ![]() So we now know that these structures form part of the world’s earliest large-scale ritual landscape. ![]() “This appears to have revolved around the sacrifice and ritual offering of faunal elements, particularly skulls and horns. “Both our excavations and those of our colleagues indicate that these structures had a ritual function,” says Thomas. These remains, which were deposited around a large upright stone in the center of the chamber, have been interpreted as “offerings.” Located east of AlUla, this particular structure included a central chamber inside the head wall, within which the remains of cattle, sheep, goats, and gazelle were discovered. Central to this hypothesis is an undisturbed mustatil that the group began excavating in 2019. Thomas and his team believe the mustatils were built for ritual purposes, possibly functioning as an early type of temple or shrine. As for outlining their key features, we have certainly done that and have managed to offer some clear evidence as to their function.” I am sure there are mustatils we have missed in our remote sensing, but I think we have found the majority of them. “Our main objectives were to identify the geographical extent of the mustatil phenomenon, to outline their key architectural features and to provide dating and functional context,” says Thomas. An additional 39 mustatils were ground-surveyed, with old-fashioned archaeological research such as field-walking and excavation helping to reveal key features that were not visible through remote-sensing analysis. In total, over 350 mustatils were photographed from the air and a further 641 identified through remote sensing. This was done using Agisoft Metashape software. The team then employed a technique known as photogrammetry, which involves taking hundreds of photographs of archaeological structures and reconstructing them into an accurate and measurable 3D model. Drones were then used to survey the ground and to create accurate orthophotos (large-scale photomosaics). For the former, the team utilized publicly available satellite imagery from Google Earth and Bing Maps to locate most of the mustatils. Much of this was determined by the use of remote sensing and drones. In some instances, there are also associated features such as interlocking circular cells and orthostats (upright stones or slabs). In most cases, the head wall includes a single rectangular or ovoid chamber at its center, while the key feature of the base wall is a narrow entranceway. Roughly rectangular in shape, they are characterized by an open, elongated courtyard that is enclosed by head, base, and parallel side walls. Now, thanks to fieldwork carried out over four seasons in AlUla and Khaybar, which are both north of Medina, the architectural complexity of these structures has been revealed for the first time. Until relatively recently, mustatils were largely ignored by archaeologists, partly because of their remoteness. “Nowhere else in the world have we discovered monumental ritual structures covering over 200,000 square kilometers.” “Although we were captivated by the mustatil from the beginning, as we started documenting hundreds of them we began to realize just how unique they were,” says Hugh Thomas, a senior research fellow at UWA and director of its Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia projects.
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