Archaeologists have discovered mysterious round stone structures in Saudi Arabia, the age of which is estimated at 7 thousand years. They were found thanks to aerial photography. In total, researchers discovered 345 such structures, of which 8 have already been excavated. Presumably, they served as homes for ancient people. In addition to the buildings, archaeologists also found many stone tools and bones of domestic animals. Most likely, archaeologists managed to find an ancient settlement of people who may have migrated from Jordan.
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of 7,000-year-old stone round houses. Photo source: tandfonline.com
Stone round houses of ancient people
The structures discovered in Saudi Arabia are stone circles with a diameter of 4 to 8 meters. Each such circle has at least one stone in the center. Some of them also have remains of stone walls and one doorway. The authors of the work report this in the journal Levant. According to researchers, these structures also had a roof made of stone or organic materials.
People usually associate round stone structures with ritual ceremonies. One of the most famous ancient ritual monuments is Stonehenge. However, sometimes they were even made of wood, like Seahenge. However, few people know that ancient residential buildings in the vast majority of cases also had a round shape, not only in the Middle East, but throughout the rest of the world.
Perhaps this is what the stone houses of ancient people looked like. Photo source: livescience.com
Why did scientists decide that these circles are houses? This, as mentioned above, is evidenced by the artifacts discovered next to them, that is, ancient household items. In addition, archaeologists previously discovered similar houses in Jordan. Therefore, if not all, then at least many round structures also served as housing for ancient people.
But the structure, which performed a ritual function, had a rectangular shape. Archaeologists discovered it among stone circles. Such buildings are called mustatil, which means “rectangle” in Arabic. Usually these buildings had exclusively ritual purposes, for example, livestock were sacrificed there. According to researchers, the simultaneous use of mustatils and round buildings suggests that the two types of megalithic structures are aspects of one cultural formation in this region.
Ancient people were engaged in trade and cattle breeding
About 7 thousand years ago, the climate in northern Saudi Arabia was different from what it is today. It was wetter and more suitable for agriculture. However, farming was not yet widespread among the local residents; they were only engaged in cattle breeding. According to scientists, there is no evidence that these people domesticated wheat or, for example, barley. Most likely, the local population at that time was still harvesting wild plants. But it is quite possible that they manipulated the landscape to increase the likelihood of these plants appearing or increased their yield.
Artifacts discovered near stone houses. Photo source: livescience.com
In addition, the local population was engaged in trade. This is evidenced by the presence of various shells among stone products. All of them were mined in the Red Sea. Considering that the sea is located at a distance of about 120 kilometers from the ancient settlement, people are unlikely to have mined them themselves. According to scientists, the presence of shells indicates a developed network of trade or exchange of goods.
Who lived in round stone houses
The architecture of the stone circles is similar to that in Jordan. However, the Jordanian structures were 500 years older. Here, local residents were also engaged in cattle breeding – grazing sheep, goats and cattle. Taking this into account, it can be assumed that the territory of Saudi Arabia was settled by migrants from Jordan.
Stone structures most likely had roofs made of stone or organic materials. Photo source: tandfonline.com
Most likely, the migration was caused by population growth, which was provoked by new hunting technologies – ancient hunters learned to build stone walls to corral animals. This allowed for an increase in food supplies. As a result, the population was increased not only in Jordan, but also in Syria. Therefore, over time, people had to look for new hunting grounds. They gradually moved south and reached the territory of modern Saudi Arabia.
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Finally, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with another interesting archaeological find – the oldest known fortress on Earth. It was built in Siberia near the Amnia River. It was built 1000 years earlier than the stone houses in Saudi Arabia.