Ancient Oasis: 345 Stone Circles Revealed as 7,000-Year-Old Dwellings in Saudi Arabia
Researchers might have found homes built with stones, used by Neolithic populations from the 6th and 5th millennia B.C, according to a recent study. Archaeologists recently unearthed 345 stone structures in Saudi Arabia, with the help of aerial surveillance techniques, Popular Mechanics reported.
"These structures were individual dwellings, constructed in concentrations of varying numbers with associated domestic installations, such as hearths," the research team behind the find, who published their study in the Levant, explained. "The standing stone circle sites presented in this paper demonstrate a scale of Neolithic occupation not previously recognized in Saudi Arabia."
The dwelling looked like stone circles from above to the researchers, Popular Mechanics reported. They were located in the Harrat al ‘Uwayrid lava field. Most of these circles had diameters ranging from 13 to 26 feet. In accordance with dating techniques applied by the researchers, the stone dwelling was found to be around 7,000 years old.
Experts found several stone walls and at least one doorway, in the stone structures, as per the study. The team behind the project claims that these circles might have also had roofs back in the day. These roofs may have been built either with additional stones or by organic matter.
"Globally, early domestic architecture was always round, and rectangular houses only appear in the later Neolithic," Jane McMahon, an honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia and lead author of the paper, Live Science reported.
Further excavations in the area, led archaeologists to find the remains of many stone tools made of basalt, Live Science reported. In five of the circles, researchers found nearly 500 pounds (225 kilograms) of stone tools or debris, as per the study. The team also unearthed the remains of bones from sheep, goats, and cows.
The team also discovered several seashells, originating from the Red Sea, which is located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) to the west, according to the study. The researchers believe, that the sea shells indicated that society during those times, was slowly shifting towards trade and becoming "concurrent with mobility."
The items excavated from the circles implied that if not all, most of the circles were used as a domestic structure, according to the team. Moreover, the circles were also similar-looking to excavated ancient homes found in Jordan.
Stone structures like those found at Stonehenge are usually related to ritualistic purposes in the popular imagination, but researchers over the years have found much evidence of ancient homes being circular in shape.
7,000 years ago, when these stone circles were in use, another form of stone structure was prevalent, which came to be known as a mustatil, Live Science reported. The objective behind a mustatil's creation was ritualistic in nature.
Considering the fact, that both of these structures were contemporary of each other, the team believes that it is "likely that these two megalithic structure types are aspects of a single cultural entity."
Gary Rollefson, a professor emeritus of anthropology at Whitman College and San Diego State University who was not involved in the research, believes that the group who created these structures descended from people who lived in Jordan and Syria about 500 years earlier, Live Science reported. The reason being that the architecture found in this area, is similar to those found in Jordan and Syria, in those times.