The discovery of life-sized camel images carved into a large rock outcropping in an inhospitable area of Saudi Arabia has largely confounded researchers.
The discovery of life-sized camel images carved into a large rock outcropping in an inhospitable area of Saudi Arabia has largely confounded researchers. Located in the Al Jawf province, the site contains roughly a dozen depictions believed to date back about 2,000 years. Gleaning more information about the people who created the works and why they did so has proven highly challenging. The carvings show very little similarity to other reliefs in the region. Further, no tools were found at the site and whatever tool marks may have once existed on the sculptures themselves have weathered away. According to a release from the National Center for Scientific Research, which participated in the study, the age estimate was made through a "comparison with a relief at [Jordan]" which led "the researchers to believe the sculptures were completed in the first centuries BC or AD." "Its desert setting and proximity to caravan routes suggest Camel Site—ill suited for permanent settlement—was a stopover where travelers could rest or a site of worship," the release also notes.
