Saudi Arabia - Madâ'in Sâlih

The Nabataean site of Hegra, modern al-Hijr, known among scholars and tourists as Madâ’in Sâlih, is located in the Saudi Arabian Hijâz, between Tabûk and Medina. It forms an archaeological park which is protected by a fence and which covers 3615 acres. The city proper, which was surrounded by a mudbrick wall, lies roughly in the middle of this area. The necropoles, which contain both monumental and ordinary tombs, are carved in the cliffs of the sandstone hills which surrround the central, flat, area. The vast majority of the sanctuaries, all rock cut, are distributed in the Jabal Ithlib, northeast of the site, at the entrance of which opens the large triclinium called the Dîwân. Finally, the oasis, the most visible part of which consists of 130 wells, lies mainly north and west of the site. The Madâ’in Sâlih Archaeological Project has achieved, in December 2005, a five year exploration programme the aim of which was a study of the site through all the means which can be placed under the heading survey, such as interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images, ordinary ground and geophysical survey, topographic survey, architectural analysis, etc. This includes a thorough reexamination of all the rock-cut monuments, from betyls to tombs, a study of the natural potential of the site in terms of water and agriculture, a survey, using differential magnetometry, of the urban centre area and a reexamination of the epigraphic evidence. Monographs devoted respectively to the necropoles, to the sanctuaries and to the urban space in general are in preparation. A new, excavation, project, placed under the direction of Laïla Nehmé et de François Villeneuve, has been submitted to the Saudi Deputy Ministry for Antiquities and Museums in July 2006.