Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Huge stone structures known as “rectangles” that reach hundreds of meters in length are scattered throughout parts of Saudi Arabia. Although more research has been done on this, many more secrets are still waiting to be revealed.
Mysterious rectangles predate the Neolithic era, the most important period in human history.
Explaining why ordinary people and researchers are so fascinated by these mysterious structures, Dr. Dr. Melissa Kennedy, Associate Director of Aeronautical Archeology of Saudi Arabia. Large stone age structures like this are, therefore, “very unique”.
: Royal Commission for AK AAKSAU and AlUla
Kennedy is a researcher at the University of Western Australia.
The project started in 2018
Photo: AK AAKSAU
The team conducted research using remote sensing technology for most parts of the kingdom, but most of their work focused on rectangles found in al-Ula and Khyber governorates.
Although people in Saudi Arabia encountered these structures thousands of years ago, they are not much mentioned in the archaeological literature, and “little writing is available about them,” Kennedy explained.
Therefore, the main objectives of this research, which is supported by the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate, include determining the number of existing rectangles as well as how to describe them.
So far, about 1,100 of these structures have been discovered in the Kingdom, but according to Kennedy, that number continues to change as more are discovered.
The research revealed that the structures are entrances, standing rocks and architecture more complex than previously thought.
Was it really built for a funeral?
The rectangles do not appear to have been used for the funeral.
The team found several animal sacrifices in the structure they dug.
“We saw a lot of cattle horns,” Kennedy said. “These horns were placed in rectangles as an offering to a god.”
This does not mean that all of these structures in the kingdom are animal-centered, and more excavations need to be conducted to find out.
The construction process took several months
: Royal Commission for AK AAKSAU and AlUla
There are many more questions around rectangles, the most important of which is why the ancestors built these large structures.
The largest of the discovered rectangles is more than 600 meters, which is interesting compared to the length of the world’s tallest Burj Khalifa, which is over 800 meters.
: Royal Commission for AK AAKSAU and AlUla
Kennedy noted that “a huge amount of work and resources are needed to build these structures.”
It took at least a few months to build.
Kennedy hopes that as more research is conducted in the region, rectangular lines will fundamentally change our view of Neolithic Arabia.
