Petroglyphs, "Library of the Lihyanites", Jebel Ekmah, Al Ula. December 2017
Lihyanite Open Air Library
On our very "full of serendipity" tour of Al Ula after visiting Madain Saleh [see: Madain Saleh] we were suddenly attuned to the fact that Al Ula had lots of things hiding in its nooks and crannies [see: Lion Tombs]. We noticed a roadside historical marker that AQ translated as "Jebel Ekmah, the Library". Worth a look, we drove off the main road to a parking area seemingly in the middle of nowhere. As with other archeological sites in Al Ula ,we had no background information and genuinely no idea what we were stopping to see. We parked near a cliff face and walked a trail toward a cleft in the mountain. Suddenly we started to see some signage and looked up to notice weather-worn writing on some of the great, flat stone faces surrounding us. We were in "the library".
As the photo indicates, some of the stone was very dark on the surface, but if etched broke through to a lighter layer below. Thus, some of the petroglyphs and writings stood out very clearly. In a land where things are often defaced, everything was virtually pristine. Maybe no one ever cared enough to climb up and "grafitti-ize" them? Whatever the case, there were hundreds of these glyphs and images in this narrow slit in the mountain. They were all dating from the Lihyanite/Nabatean Age which meant some were definitely in excess of 2,000 years old. Brothers aQ and I were stunned to find the site since none of us had even heard about it. They were some of the best petroglyphs I have seen anywhere in the world.
The description "library" was probably just the easiest moniker for the place. Based on the explanations on site (assuming they were accurate), the place was more like an archive of laws and deeds of ownership. It would be hard to disagree with a law or a deed that was LITERALLY written in stone! These were the open-air records of the city of Dadan, capital of the Lihyanites. As with other things we discovered in the Al Ula Oasis, the petroglyphs were only partially understood due to the dearth of knowledge about the Lihyanites. If the Saudis fully excavate the region, Al Ula and ancient Hegra could rank up there with other Middle Eastern "mega" archeological sites in Jordan (Petra & Jerash), Turkey (Ephesus), and Egypt (Luxor and Giza). Fingers crossed that Saudi Arabia develops the place responsibly!!
For those into "Indiana Jonesing", go soon while the place still might retain an air of edginess.