Excavations under way at 5 sites for preservation

A team from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) in the Eastern Region is excavating five sites in three governorates in an effort to help develop the ancient sites and turn them into open museums.
Abdul Latif Al-Bunian, executive director of the commission, outlined the excavations with special emphasis on North Al-Rakkah where an archaeological team discovered historical buildings on the road between Dammam and Al Khobar.
Entire rooms were buried at various depths dating back to 1,200 years.
Discoveries were not limited to walls, room and scattered stones. The team also discovered pottery dating to the Islamic period. Experts say Al-Rakkah had farms, springs and buildings. The last of the springs is Ain Al-Sieh, next to Al-Aziziya and among 5,000-year-old ruins.
The commission also discovered three settlement layers in the town of Darin on the outskirts of Tarot island (Al-Qatif). “The area is the site of three civilizations that are 2,500 years old. The first dates long before Islam, the second just before Islam and the third goes back to the first Islamic period,” Al-Bunian said.
The commission announced the discovery of the residential area, but there weren’t any human skeletons. The team also came across coins from the early Islamic era, and found complete sets of cooking utensils. The site is an extension of the hill next to Abdul Wabah Al-Fayhani Palace.
The team found pottery that dates to the pre-Islamic era in Al-Dosariya region, south of Al-Jubiel. Saudi and German archaeologists found pottery pieces that belong to the pre-Islamic era. The team, which has 11 researchers and 40 workers, found a complete set of pottery and glassware, and thousands of pottery pieces that date to different civilizations. The site has a residential area with water utilities, reception room and storage areas.
Thaaj archaeological port, or Jarrah kingdom port, dating to 300 B.C. has been registered as an archaeological site.
The port is located inside Al-Jubeil Industrial College, which is 14 kilometers outside Al Jubiel city, next to the Royal Commission.
The site is surrounded by a 60,000-square-meter wall opposite the sea front. The hills rise between 5 to 6 meters above sea level. The site represents Al-Jarhaa’ kingdom that controlled Southern Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic era. The 3rd century B.C. is the tentative date for this port, but more accurate layer testing will determine the time frame.
Saudi experts conducted excavations that showed connected residential buildings, with unique architectural characteristics, with a wide road in between. Most buildings surround circular basins, built out of trimmed stones and earthen ground, which could have been used for storage. The site is surrounded by a wall made up of large stones. Excavations found pottery items, burners, mud toys and fish bones. Researchers defined three settlement periods in the site.