New evidence for Neolithic occupation in north-west Arabia: Standing Stone Circles on the Harrat ‘Uwayrid

Recent archaeological investigations in AlUla County have provided the first detailed chrono-cultural evidence for long-term Neolithic domestic occupation in this archaeologically unknown region of north-west Arabia. This paper presents the preliminary findings drawn from multi-scalar datasets collected through extensive aerial and ground surveys, and the excavations of ‘monumental’ architectural installations, named in this study as ‘Standing Stone Circles’. These structures were individual dwellings, constructed in concentrations of varying numbers with associated domestic installations, such as hearths. The Standing Stone Cicle sites presented in this paper demonstrate a scale of Neolithic occupation not previously recognized in Saudi Arabia. These structures provide evidence of ongoing occupation throughout the 6th and 5th millennia BCE, concurrent with a general florescence of human activity across north-west Arabia. The faunal remains indicate a mixed subsistence economy, dominated by domesticates but supplemented by wild species. Broader considerations of the Neolithic economy, and models of pastoralism and mobility, are made possible on the basis of this, and the associated assemblages of stone artefacts and small finds. The data provided in this article offers a general picture of the Neolithic period in AlUla, addressing the significant geographical and temporal gaps within the archaeological knowledge of north-west Arabia. The identification of diagnostic Late Neolithic Levantine projectile point types, in conjunction with architectural parallels with the Levant, provides further insight into the origins of neolithization in north-west Arabia.