4,400-Year-Old Settlement Discovered in Western Saudi Arabia

 

A groundbreaking discovery has been made in western Saudi Arabia, where a 4,400-year-old settlement site has been unearthed by a research team led by Guillaume Charloux of the French National Center for Scientific Research. The settlement, known as al-Natah, consists of a central district, a residential area, and monumental protective ramparts that stretch about nine miles in length. These features are characteristic of Bronze Age settlements in the region, which were generally smaller than those found in Mesopotamia and Egypt. According to Charloux, these were small towns connected to larger networks of ramparts surrounding local oases.

The settlement of al-Natah, estimated to have housed around 500 people starting around 2400 B.C., offers fascinating insights into early urbanization in north-western Arabia. Among the significant finds are at least 50 dwellings made of earthen materials, pottery, and grinding stones, along with trace evidence of cereal crops. The central area of the town featured two buildings that may have served administrative purposes, and a necropolis with tall, circular tombs was found to the west.

While the reason for al-Natah’s abandonment between 1500 and 1300 B.C. remains unclear, Charloux and his team suggest that the settlement’s rise and fall reflect increasing social complexity in the region, which developed later than the urbanization seen in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This discovery sheds new light on the development of Bronze Age societies in the Arabian Peninsula. What do you think might have led to the abandonment of such a well-established settlement?