Al-Kharj II: Report on two excavation seasons in the oasis of al-Kharj: 2013 and 2015 — Saudi Arabia

Al-Kharj II: Report on two excavation seasons in the oasis of al-Kharj: 2013 and 2015 — Saudi Arabia

Sous la direction de Jérémie Schiettecatte et Abd al-Aziz al-Ghazi

The volume AL-KHARJ II presents the results of the French-Saudi archaeological mission in the Al-Kharj oasis, Saudi Arabia, obtained during the third and fourth field seasons (2013, 2015). This research aims to elucidate the settlement dynamics and the environmental context in which they occurred in a key region of Central Arabia, from prehistory to the Islamic period.

The geomorphological studies (Chapter 1) conducted around the paleolake of Al-Hayāthim confirm significant climatic fluctuations, correlated with sporadic human occupations.

Surveys and excavations in the Rufāʿ graben (Chapter 2) led to the discovery of a series of Middle Paleolithic sites, including a stratified site, Umm al-Shaʿal (AK-31). The dominant industries (Nubian-type Levallois) support the hypothesis of an early dispersal of Homo sapiens in Central Arabia, within a then more humid environment.

The Bronze Age necropolis of ʿAyn al-Ḍilaʿ 1 (Chapter 3), the largest in the oasis, comprises over 3,000 tombs of various types. Five tombs were excavated, revealing primary burials from the Early Bronze Age and the reuse of tombs during the Iron Age.

A significant portion of the volume is dedicated to the site of Al-Yamāma (Chapters 4–6), identified as the medieval city of Jaww al-Khiḍrima. The excavation of the great mosque and its immediate surroundings reveals the presence, beneath a mosque dated to the 16th–18th centuries, of one of the earliest mosques in the Arabian Peninsula documented in an archaeological context (late 7th–early 8th century CE). Pre-Islamic domestic occupation of the area (4th–3rd century BCE) confirms the long-term settlement of the site and sheds light on the emergence of the first sedentary establishments in the region. A similar chronological sequence is evidenced in a more southern test pit of the Al-Yamāma site (Chapter 6).

The archaeobotanical (Chapter 7) and zooarchaeological (Chapter 8) analyses conducted at Al-Yamāma provide insights into an oasis economy that emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE and remained relatively conservative over the long term.

Complementing the elements presented in a previous volume (AL-KHARJ I), these discoveries illuminate a region that remains, to this day, one of the least studied in the Arabian Peninsula.

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Éditeur : Centre français de recherche de la péninsule Arabique

Lieu d’édition : Kuwait

Publication sur OpenEdition Books : 23 juillet 2026

ISBN numérique : 978-9921-0-4848-3

DOI : 10.4000/16m39 

Collection : Histoire et société de la péninsule Arabique

Année d’édition : 2026

Nombre de pages : 388

Foreword

List of Figures

List of Tables

Jérémie Schiettecatte

Introduction

The Oasis of al-Kharj

Antoine Chabrol, Michèle Dinies et Éric Fouache

Chapter 1: Holocene environmental studies in the region of al-Kharj

Rémy Crassard et Yamandú Hieronymus Hilbert

Chapter 2: Middle Palaeolithic sites from the Rufāʿ graben

Jérémie Schiettecatte, Anaïs Chevalier, Laetitia Munduteguy et al.

Chapter 3: The Bronze Age necropolis of ʿAyn al-Dilaʿ 1

The Site of al-Yamama

Jérémie Schiettecatte, Pierre Siméon et Alexia Rosak

Chapter 4: Al-Yamāma (Area N6): the Great Mosque (Buildings 1 and 3) and its immediate surroundings

Elodie Wermuth

Chapter 5: Al-Yamāma (Area N6): burial S.P.094.1

Julien Cuny et Jérémie Schiettecatte

Chapter 6: Al-Yamāma (Area K17): Sounding 4

Charlène Bouchaud

Chapter 7: Al-Yamāma: archaeobotanical study

Hervé Monchot

Chapter 8: Al-Yamāma: archaeozoological study

Bruno Gavazzi

Chapter 9: Al-Yamāma: magnetic cartography

^Appendices

Appendices 1–2 – Al-Kharj 2013 and 2015 team members and field workers

Appendix 3 – ʿAyn al-Dilaʿ 1: structures

Appendix 4 – ʿAyn al-Dilaʿ 1: stratigraphic units (Uf)

Appendix 5 – ʿAyn al-Dilaʿ 1: artefacts

Appendix 6 – ʿAyn al-Dilaʿ 1: recorded human bones

Appendix 7 – Al-Yamāma: Buildings 1 and 3: structures

Appendix 8 – Al-Yamāma: Buildings 1 and 3: stratigraphic units (Uf)

Appendix 9 – Al-Yamāma: Buildings 1 and 3: artefacts

Appendix 10 – Al-Yamāma (area K17): Sounding 4: structures

Appendix 11 –Al-Yamāma (area K17): Sounding 4: stratigraphic units (Uf)

Appendix 12 – Al-Yamāma (area K17): Sounding 4: artefacts

List of references

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