RIYADH: Recent studies published on the Mustatil structures, meaning rectangle, in northwest Arabia suggest that the Neolithic people in the late 6th millennium B.C. conducted a complex set of social, cultural and religious rituals, the Royal Commission for AlUla said on Tuesday.
The Mustatils likely saw sacrifices of domestic animals, revealing the Bedouin nature of the community. They were possibly created to encourage social cohesion, and used as markers to identify land occupation, the RCU said in a release.
Over 1,600 Mustatils have been identified in the northern Arabian Peninsula through aerial surveys. These structures are characterized by low stone walls and open design.
The latest studies on the Mustatils have been peer reviewed, including one conducted by Archeorient Laboratory and Lyon 2 University in France. The findings are featured in the book published last month “Revealing Cultural Landscapes in North-West Arabia” written by Dr. Awel Abu-Azizeh and edited by a team led by Dr. Rebecca Foote, director of archaeology and cultural heritage at the RCU.
Abu-Azizeh’s study on the “Horn Chamber” in a Mustatil in the northeast of AlUla, which dates to between 5300 and 5000 B.C., revealed that it is smaller than in most Mustatils. The chamber has given archaeologists a greater understanding of the region’s collective rituals and domesticated animals.
An article by Dr. Melissa Kennedy of Australia’s University of Sydney, published in PLOS ONE magazine last March, focused on a Mustatil located in a valley east of AlUla, and excavations showed a chamber similar to those identified in Abu-Azizeh’s study, which dates to between 5200 and 5000 B.C.
The studies come amid the RCU preparing to organize the AlUla World Archeology Summit from Sept. 13 to 15, an international event aimed at promoting the preservation of cultural heritage.
