​The proud iconic figures of the ancient kingdoms of Dedan

During antiquity the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula was at the crossroads of the caravan trade between Yemen and the empires of Egypt, the Levant, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Although the rich oases were coveted by these empires, this area enjoyed a certain autonomy until the Roman conquest in 106 CE. Thanks to control of the wealth brought by the trade of frankincense and spices in the land that corresponds roughly to the modern Provinces of Tabuk, Madinah, and Al-Jawf, some oases grew to the point of becoming independent kingdoms. The most famous oases of the 1st millennium BCE are Tayma, Dumat Al-Jandal, and Dedan, where excavations on extensive archeological sites have revealed the existence of large fortified cities.

These kingdoms developed their own culture including a specific language and alphabet, that resulted in a mix of Arabian traditions and strong influences from the surrounding empires.

In the ancient oasis Dedan, close to today's city of Al-Ula in Madinah Province, a kingdom flourished from at least the 6th century until the 2nd century BCE. There, the kings of Dedan and later Lihyan reigned over a territory that spread at its apogee from the city of Iathrib (today's Madinah) to the Levant.

Some of these tombs featured interior installations: hollows were carved in the walls or the ground. There are also ordinary individual graves cut in the base of the Jebel Ath-Thumayid, whereas others bear inscriptions giving their owners’ identities; on the slope of the Jebel, some areas were marked out to prepare for future tombs. Remains of bones, shrouds and pieces of wood from the coffins have been found in these graves.

An inscription on one of these two tombs indicates that it belonged to a member of the Minaic community of Dedan that originated from Ma'in in today's Yemen. The Minaic were the most important trade partners for Dedan and even had a small colony living in the ancient oasis. The other lion tomb dates back to the late Lihyanite period.

How to visit the Lion Tombs of Dedan

The Lion Tombs are accessible from the archeological site of Dedan that is indicated on Google Maps under the name of the modern location, Khuraybah. The entrance is from the Ha'il road (75) east of the junction with the 375 that goes through the city of Al-Ula. The location of the Lion Tombs is also available on Google Maps.

​​Since 2018 this sites can be visited only in the frame of the Winter at Tantora festival, you will find ​more information about it on the dedicated website.

Reaching the Lion Tombs involves climbing stairs up fifty meters where the tombs were cut in the cliffs. The reward is twofold: the close view of the lion sculptures and the sight over the oasis.

The modern city of an ancient oasis

One of the oldest kingdoms of Arabia

The rich past carved into rock

When two petroglyph sites in Ha'il Province - Jubbah and Shuwaymis - were listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 2015, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was finally recognized among countries hosting major pieces of ancient rock art. What is still to be acknowledged is that the country is home of hundreds of thousands of old carvings, including in the Province of Riyadh.

Two sites are particularly famous close to the capital that expatriates have simply named Graffiti Rock 1 and Graffiti Rock 2. The first one is visible from the Makkah Highway, just an hour's drive from Riyadh, close to the settlement of Musayqirah that gave it a local name. There is even a third name, as it is sometimes mentioned under the Arabic Qaryat Al-Asba.

The study of Saudi Arabian rock art is quite recent therefore the date of the carvings is still debated and many questions are yet to be answered (the reason why I remain cautious with the information provided in this article). But it appears quite clearly that Graffiti Rock 1 saw people carving on its walls through a wide span of time, probably from the Neolithic era (10 000 to 3 000 BCE) until recent times.