Bir Hima Rock Petroglyphs and Inscriptions

History

Ancient history of human occupation of this habitat is credited to its resources of wild life, water and the limestone terrain. Its rich heritage of rock petroglyphs caught the attention of Saudi Arabia's Department of Antiquities only after 1976 when Jubba and other sites were investigated. One of the expedition members investigating this art form found a site west of the ancient wells of Bir Hima where he recorded 250 images.

Findings

Bir Hima, which is an ancient Palaeolithic and Neolithic site, lies north of Najran, categorized as a Lower Palaeolithic or Oldowan site. Apart from petroglyphs, carving tools used for this art work (in the form of chopper or pebble tools) were also found here, made of such materials as quartzite, andesite and flint. The images appear to have been inscribed with Bronze. The petroglyphs noted, when initially found in the 1950s, consisted of daggers and swords, bows with arrows tipped with transverse arrowheads, sickle swords and throw-sticks. These depictions were interpreted as symbolic of spiritual animism.

Bir Hima, as part of Najran, is a treasure trove of petroglyphs, eclipsed only by those found in the Jubba region. Here, 100 sites have been identified. In the Najran area, as many as 6,400 human and animal illustrations, which include more than 1,800 camels and 1,300 human depictions, have been recorded. A number of articulated camel fragments were excavated at site 217-44. While its engravings are probably much earlier than those of Hunters Palette, the Bir Hima warrior, armed with bow, is almost identical to the men on the Hunters Palette. Thousands of inscriptions have also been found, in various scripts including the al-musnad alphabet, Aramaic-Nabatean, Thamudic and other South Arabian, Greek, and Islamic. One of the most well-known inscriptions found from this site is Ja 1028, which informs the understanding of the massacre of the Christian community of Najran.

Gallery

| File:Inscription_of_The_Dancers7.jpg | Inscription of The Dancers | File:Hima_Cultural_Area_Overview2.jpg | Hima Cultural Area Overview | File:Inscriptions_of_Al-Mauaqea_mountain2.jpg | Inscriptions of Al-Mauaqea mountain | File:Inscriptions_of_Minshaf6.jpg | Inscriptions of Minshaf | File:Inscription_of_Shasaa1.jpg | Inscription of Shasaa | File:Inscriptions_of_Hima_mountain2.jpg | Inscriptions of Hima mountain

References

References

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