Thousands of years ago, ancient artists climbed tall rock outcrops near the southern region of Saudi Arabia's Nafud desert and carved dozen reliefs and sculptures of life-size camels and donkeys into a rock formation.

Exploring the Ancient Rock Art

The artwork depicts a dozen life-size wild camels, an extinct animal which once roamed this region of the Arabian Peninsula thousands of years ago. The site, named Sahout, had been recognized by other archeologists for some time, but this is the first time that camel carvings are noticed on the outcropping.

The sculptures were first examined in 2016 and 2017 by a researcher from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) along with members of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. The carvings were done in three rocky spurs, and though erosion has taken a heavy toll on the pieces, the research team was still able to discern many of the monumental artworks.

This year, researcher Maria Guagnin from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany led another team of experts to study these mysterious carvings. At first, it was difficult to find it because the location was not precise and the landscape was not easy to navigate.

Locating the outcropping in the sand dunes was not the only challenge encountered by Guagnin's team. The carvings have newer etchings that overlap the camels, so the work is surrounded by another layer of mystery as to which culture created them and when.

The outcroppings contain a dense cluster of rock arts that are probably made from various time periods, Guagnin explained. It was observed that the carvings were done in different phases and are stylistically different.

Adding to the challenge of studying the artworks is the fact that most of the carvings were made inside crevices. Because of this, researchers find it difficult to access them to obtain samples for radiocarbon dating.

Experts were still able to conduct radiocarbon dating of two trenches and two hearths nearby. The result of the investigation revealed that the site was repeatedly occupied between the Pleistocene and Middle Holocene period. This suggests that the life-size sculptures could date back 8,000 years.

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Story Behind the Carvings

The analysis made by Guagnin and her team unveiled some insights regarding the formation of the rock art. It was believed that the work took about 10 to 15 days to complete, during the time when the stone tools used needed to be resharpened and replaced frequently.

The tools were made from a type of rock called chert, which was obtained from at least 15 kilometers away, and a rigging which would have been used in holding whoever made the carving.

Experts from the Max Planck Institute also theorized that the carvings might have been created as part of a communal effort involving an annual gathering. References to the mating season were included in the camel relief, suggesting that they might be connected to the yearly cycle of seasons.

During the time when the carvings were made, the site was mostly grassland with some lakes and trees where local people hunted equids and wild camels. This means that it was formed at a period in history when the climate in the Arabian Peninsula was cooler and wetter than it is today. However, the exact use of the site, such as its potential significance as a place of worship, still remains a mystery.

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Check out more news and information on Rock Carvings in Science Times.