RECONNAISSANCE ARCHAEOLOGY OF JABAL DHAYLAN, RED SEA, SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Jabal Dhaylan is a small, isolated mountain on the coastal plain of the Red Sea surrounded by tens of kilome-ters of featureless sand. The mountain is composed of granitic rocks that were partially covered by limestone reefs during the opening of the Red Sea. The limestone is locally mineralized with deposits of high grade zinc that have attracted geologists since 1968. In the course of evaluating the deposits in 2005-2006, the author encountered many archaeological features, including petroglyphs containing tribal symbols (wusum), rock art depicting animal and human forms, burial cairns, and grinding stones. The finds also include a Paleolithic rock quarry with Levallois style cores, and evidence of silver smelting dating back to 3800 BC, based on dates obtained on a fragment of crucible (cupule) by thermoluminescence. A second period of mining that correlates with the expansion of the Arab empire in the late 7th century was identified from fragments of charcoal, which returned Carbon-14 dates of 692, 670, and 633 AD. It was determined that silver was not found at the mining location; it is probable that galena and calamine were extracted as trade items, possibly for medicinal applica-tions. The tribal symbols were found to be the same symbols used by the Bedouins living in the area today. Family members who left the local clan in the distant past were traced to southern Spain, based on tribal symbols found on a stone stela near Cordoba. Historic accounts suggest this family entered Spain as part of the Arab conquest in 712 AD and settled there. The purpose of this report is to record what was observed for the archaeological record, and to connect these observations to present-day people and historical facts where possible. This paper describes what was found in the course of geologic work at Jabal Dhaylan; an exhaustive survey of archaeological sites was not undertaken and additional features are likely to be present.