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Northwestern Arabia– the area in between Mecca and Aqaba– throughout the Bronze Age was dotted with interconnected significant walled sanctuaries focused around little strengthened towns such as the recently-discovered town of al-Natah in Khaybar Oasis, the Saudi Arabian province of Medinah.
3D virtual restoration of the Bronze Age town of al-Natah. Image credit: Charloux et aldoi: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0309963/ AFALULA-RCU-CNRS.
The advancement of big metropolitan settlements was a significant action in the advancement of human civilization.
This procedure of urbanization has actually shown tough to study in northwestern Arabia, due in part to an absence of unspoiled historical sites in the area compared to much better comprehended locations such as the Levant and Mesopotamia.
In current years, nevertheless, excavations have actually revealed extraordinary websites in northwestern Arabia that offer insights into the early phases of urbanization.
In a brand-new research study, CNRS archaeologist Guillaume Charloux and associates concentrated on the Bronze Age town of al-Natah, inhabited from around 2400-1500 BCE.
The town covered roughly 1.5 hectares, consisting of a main district and neighboring domestic district surrounded by protective ramparts.
According to the scientists, al-Natah was home to around 500 homeowners.
Its size and company resembles other websites of comparable age in northwestern Arabia, however these websites are smaller sized and less socio-politically intricate than modern websites in the Levant and Mesopotamia.
The researchers recommend that al-Natah represents a state of ‘low urbanization,’ a transitional phase in between mobile pastoralism and complex metropolitan settlements.
Historical proof up until now shows that northwestern Arabia was dotted with little strengthened towns throughout the Early-Middle Bronze Age, at a time when other areas displayed later phases of urbanization.
Additional excavations throughout Arabia will supply more information about the timing of this shift and the accompanying modifications in social structure and architecture.
“For the very first time in northwestern Arabia, a little Bronze Age town (c. 2400-1300 BCE) linked to a large network of ramparts has actually been found by archaeologists, raising concerns about the early advancement of regional urbanism,” the authors stated.
Their paper was released online October 30, 2024 in the journal PLoS ONE
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G. Charloux et al2024. A Bronze Age town in the Khaybar walled sanctuary: Debating early urbanization in Northwestern Arabia. PLoS ONE 19 (10 ): e0309963; doi: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0309963
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