부산대학교 도서관

Archaeologically, only little is known of the prehistoric, ancient, and medieval periods of central Arabia, the Riyadh Province in particular. And yet, as one of the few watered areas in the Najd, it has played a significant role in the political, economic, and religious history of the Peninsula. In order to throw new light on this region, in 2011 a French-Saudi archaeological mission started work in the Kharj oasis, surveying the area. Several types of site have been located: middle Palaeolithic workshops, Bronze Age necropoleis, and late antique/early Islamic settlements and irrigation systems. The main results of this survey are presented here, focusing on two sites: al-Kharj 22, a middle Palaeolithic site, and the late antique/early Islamic site of al-Yamāma, which was one of the major settlements in central Arabia for almost half a millennium (fifth-twelfth centuries) and was occupied until the eighteenth century.