A crowd stands on the ancient site of Dadan staring up in awe at two lions carved into a red cliff face. The lions, instantly recognisable by their manes, watch from above a perfectly square entrance to a chamber that lies at least 165ft above the ground. Another chamber close to it is also guarded by two seated lions. None of the other tombs hewn into the cliff have such distinctive features and appear far more ordinary in comparison.

“Who did these tombs belong to?” asks a wide-eyed onlooker next to me, turning away from the cliff towards the rawi (guide). “They were most likely important people in the community. Lions possibly symbolise their powerful status and their identity,” he replies.

Such is the beguiling nature of Dadan, sometimes referred to as Lihyan. This area in modern-day Saudi Arabia, now referred to as AlUla, was occupied by the Kingdom of Dadan between the late 9th and early 8th century BCE and the Kingdom of Lihyan between the 5th and 2nd century BCE. With its immense mysterious structures carved into rocks, a sprawling green oasis and thousands of artefacts pointing to a complex and long-established civilisation that buried their dead respectfully, I too find Dadan endlessly intriguing. Especially as so little was known about it until recently. Even now, it’s believed only around five per cent of what was left behind 2,000 years ago has been uncovered. 

What is certain, however, is that the people of Dadan lived, worked and moved through this landscape continuously with life flourishing around this oasis for more than 1,800 years. Successive rulers in a system of structured governance created a society where both men and women owned property and written language and art were frequently used as forms of expression.

The kingdom benefited economically from its position on a major trading route, which also exposed it to influences from multiple cultures. Aromatic frankincense, from the dried sap of a native tree, was transported through here from southern Arabia to the Mediterranean and beyond. Traders passing through on their long journeys were charged a toll by the people of Dadan to cross the city and travel northwards. These profits created great wealth and prosperity that lasted for centuries. This financial savvy, coupled with the knowledge and capability to irrigate water for agriculture and keep livestock, established Dadan as an ancient superpower.

The Dadan Archaeological Project is a Saudi-French initiative that has excavated evidence to support the theories surrounding the kingdom. The French National Centre for Scientific Research, on behalf of The Royal Commission for AlUla, has unearthed astonishing artefacts around Dadan. Monumental stone structures dating back to the middle of the second century BCE have been found under the remains of a late Lihyanite temple. An entire fortified neighbourhood from the first century BCE lies in the centre of the city. In addition, carved tombs, hilltop sanctuaries, inscriptions and rock art, that date between the two periods, show influence from other cultures in both the language and figures that decorate them. Basins, bowls and other objects made of metal, glass, terracotta, stone, bone and textiles suggest rich and diverse influences that contributed to life in the kingdom. 

Some of the crucial archaeological discoveries that have been made in Dadan are now on display in world-renowned museums, including the Louvre in Paris. These objects are intriguing people around the world about the ancient kingdoms of Saudi Arabia, posing the question of what more may lie in a desert that had long been considered uninhabited and uninhabitable during prehistoric and later periods. 

Each discovery that is made is changing that perception. Evidence, such as a stone axe that was recently found, indicates the land was occupied by hunter-gatherers more than 200,000 years ago. There are also ancient structures that can best be seen from the air that have been dated back to 5,000 BCE and even later and which are only now being investigated but indicate that successive civilisations have made AlUla home for 7,000 years. The scale of what still lies undiscovered is what makes the region one of the most exciting archaeological sites in the world. The mysterious lions that stand guard on the cliff face are just the start of it.

AlUla: an undiscovered masterpiece 

One of Arabia’s oldest cities and home to the Nabataean city of Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ancient region of AlUla is being rediscovered. Visitors to this historic crossroads, once on the incense route, its pristine desert oasis and monumental landscapes, will be among the first to discover 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history and successive ancient civilisations – a place where archaeological mysteries are still being uncovered today.

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