Standing Stone Circles: Unearthing Saudi Arabia’s Ancient Secrets
In 2018, on my very first day in the field in Saudi Arabia, we stumbled upon something extraordinary—a new archaeological structure, unlike anything documented before. To the best of our knowledge, no archaeologist had studied it, and we had more questions than answers.
What was this structure? How old could it be? And, perhaps most importantly, what should we even call it? At the time, we had no clear answers.
Over the next six years, from 2018 to 2024, our team conducted extensive surveys across the AlUla region, mapping dozens of these enigmatic sites. Excavations revealed fascinating details: stone arrangements carefully positioned on the landscape, signs of deliberate construction, and hints that these structures were not just functional, but ceremonial.
After careful analysis, we gave them a name: Standing Stone Circles. Radiocarbon dating and contextual evidence suggest they were built between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago, placing them in a remarkable chapter of human prehistory. These circles offer a glimpse into the social and ritual practices of early communities in the Arabian Peninsula—people who left no written records but who shaped the land in ways that still resonate today.
From their placement in the desert to their alignment and construction, the Standing Stone Circles invite us to reconsider our understanding of early human ingenuity, community, and ritual life in Arabia.
🎥 Watch the full episode below to explore the discovery of the Standing Stone Circles and the fascinating stories they tell about ancient life in AlUla:
