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A team of archaeologists discovered the remains of giant forts dating back to the Bronze Age, about four thousand years ago, that once surrounded the Khaybar Oasis in western Saudi Arabia.
According to researchers, these forts are the largest structures discovered so far, and their discovery will contribute to a better understanding of the details of the social life of the first settled societies in the region.
Details of this discovery, made by researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research and the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate, will be published in the February issue of patrol Journal of Archaeological Sciences.
Fortified oases
In an environment where past and present meet, the Khaybar Oasis in northwestern Saudi Arabia revealed some of its ancient secrets dating back thousands of years. They are giant walls dating back 4,000 years, which may rewrite the history of ancient societies in the region.
And according to statement Published on the website of the French Center for Scientific Research, researchers compared field surveys and remote sensing data to estimate the original dimensions of the Khaybar Oasis fortifications. The results showed that the walls extend over a length of more than 14.5 kilometers and reach a height of about 5 meters, while their thickness ranged between 1.7 and 2.4 meters.
But most of these walls have disappeared today, and only 5.9 kilometers of them remain, with the remains of 74 forts. The team determined the era of the construction of these forts using radiocarbon dating and found that it falls between 2250 and 1950 BC. Its construction architecture reveals the ingenuity of its design and the precision of its implementation by the ancient inhabitants of the region.
Regarding the motives for establishing these walls, which surround a vast area of more than 110 hectares that include residential and agricultural areas, researchers believe that they may be for multiple purposes, such as protecting the oasis from external threats, demonstrating power, or demarcating regional borders for administrative or economic reasons.
Analysis of these structures reveals evidence of the military strategies adopted by the population at that time to defend themselves and some of their social practices, and also shows a complex society capable of protecting its resources and managing them efficiently.
Forts reveal the beginning of population settlement in the region
Previous studies highlighted the presence of ancient fortified oases in other regions of the Arabian Peninsula, such as the Taima and Al-Qarya regions, and revealed that the Taima oasis – for example – was surrounded in ancient times by high walls extending up to about 19 kilometers.
Researchers believe that the forts appeared when the Bedouin population gradually began to settle, for reasons that may be due to climatic conditions that became drier in the region about 4,200 years ago.
Researchers classified the Khaybar Oasis among the largest fortified oases in Saudi Arabia. Through their strategic location in the north of the Arabian Desert, these oases formed real green islands in a desert environment, and vital centers for stable communities in which basic resources such as water and fertile land were available, which allowed the development of agricultural activity.
These fortifications – say the study’s authors – testify to an organized and complex society capable of carrying out large-scale construction projects, and also indicate the existence of close relationships with other groups or civilizations in the region.
As a center of life, Khaybar needed to protect and manage its valuable resources, and this Bronze Age oasis defense system highlights the urban expansion in northwestern Arabia that continued to develop during subsequent eras.
According to the researchers, the discovery stimulates the expansion of research to include other sites in the region with the aim of better understanding ancient Arab civilizations, which will enable the revelation of previously unknown aspects of ancient Arab history and culture.
It also highlights the importance of the Arabian Peninsula in global history as it is not only a transit region, but also a region of settlement and innovation.
