Life-sized Neolithic camel sculptures in Arabia: A scientific assessment of the craftsmanship and age of the Camel Site reliefs

The life-sized, naturalistic reliefs at the Camel Site in northern Arabia have been severely damaged by erosion. This, coupled with substantial destruction of the surrounding archaeological landscape, has made a chronological assessment of the site difficult. To overcome these problems, we combined results from a wide range of methods, including analysis of surviving tool marks, assessment of weathering and erosion patterns, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and luminescence dating of fallen fragments. In addition, test excavations identified a homogenous lithic assemblage and faunal remains that were sampled for radiocarbon dating. Our results show that the reliefs were carved with stone tools and that the creation of the reliefs, as well as the main period of activity at the site, date to the Neolithic. Neolithic arrowheads and radiocarbon dates attest occupation between 5200 and 5600 BCE. This is consistent with measurements of the areal density of manganese and iron in the rock varnish. The site was likely in use over a longer period and reliefs were re-worked when erosion began to obscure detailed features. By 1000 BCE, erosion was advanced enough to cause first panels to fall, in a process that continues until today. The Camel Site is likely home to the oldest surviving large-scale (naturalistic) animal reliefs in the world.We wish to thank HRH Prince Badr b. Abdullah b. Mohammed b. Farhan Al-Saud, Ministry of Culture, and to HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the former President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) for giving us permission to carry out research at the Camel Site, and we also wish to thank his Excellency Prince Faisal bin Nawwaf bin AbdulAziz al-Saud, governor of the Jawf Province for the support of his administration. We also thank Mr Rustom al-Kubaisi, vice-president of the former SCTH, and the General Director for Archaeological Excavations at the Heritage Commission Dr Abdullah al-Zahrani and his assistants especially Saud M. al-Tamimi. Local support in Jawf province was provided by Mr. Yasser al-Ali and Mr. Ahmed al-Qaeed (SCTH now Heritage Commission). We thank Wael Abu-Azizeh for providing comparative data with lithic assemblages from the Levant; RC thanks CEFREPA Kuwait for funding part of this research. YHH’s work leading to this publication was supported by the PRIME programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). AMA acknowledges the support of the Research Center at the College of Tourism & Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We also thank Mathew Stewart for constructive comments on an initial draft of the manuscript. Fieldwork and research were funded by a grant from the Gerda Henkel Foundation (Grant No AZ 43_V_18, to MG and GC), the CNRS (to GC), Labex Resmed ANR-10- LABX-72 / ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02 (to GC), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French embassy in Riyadh (to GC), the CEFAS (to RC and GC), the Dahlem Research School at Freie Universität Berlin (to MG), the Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Program of King Saud University (to MOA and AA), and the Max Planck Society (to MG and MOA)