The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) announced Monday that archeologists have unearthed a village, on a plot of land owned by Saudi Aramco in Rakat Al-Khobar, which dates back to the early Islamic era. The village appears at this stage to consist of 20 houses with several rooms. Items recovered include earthenware, glassware, stone and metal utensils and implements. It is estimated the items date back to the first and second Hijri century. The houses have rooms which were used as places to prepare molasses from dates. A pair of scissors, implements used for medical purposes, wells and ovens were found in the houses. Speaking Monday at the location of the find in Khobar, Dr. Ali Ibrahim Al-Ghabban, Deputy President of Antiquities and Museums in the SCTA, explained that the discovery had taken place years ago, but had only now been made available to the public. “The village was discovered 33 years ago and was registered by the commission on Feb. 2, 1997. The site where the ancient village was discovered is now owned by Saudi Aramco. After coordination with the company, search and excavation operations were carried out, which took several months. Then we coordinated activities with the relevant authorities to protect the area and make it an archeological site for all to see.” Al-Ghabban said the original inhabitants of the site could probably be from the Abdul Qays tribe. He said the way the housing units had been built, so close to each other, indicated that the people were from one family or one tribe. He said the village represents a model of housing in those ancient times. The site is about 1,000 meters from the sea and the construction is highly developed, with perpendicular walls, forming 90-degree corners. The plastering of the walls was also done carefully, he said. Meanwhile, Al-Ghabban disclosed that five museums will be set up, in Dammam, Tabuk, Al-Baha, Hail and Abha. He said the SCTA was working on 20 other sites at present where excavations are being carried out. Preparations are under way to open some archeological sites to the public. An example of this is Bait Al-Bai'ah. There are over 10,000 archeological sites in the Kingdom, he said.
