Ali Al-Qarni said that his action was in response to the commission’s campaign to retrieve national antiquities and part of his national duty to highlight the Kingdom’s history and culture as well as its role in human civilization.
Al-Qarni called upon Saudis to surrender all antique pieces in their possession to the SCTA without moving them from their original environment to help maintain and preserve them and simultaneously showcase them to the public.
Al-Qarni coincidentally found the piece — an anthropomorphic solid stone with drawings that belong to the southern Arabian Peninsula style — last year while he was touring the Bisha area desert. A team from Asir and Bisha antiquities offices visited the location where Al-Qarni found the stone, and discovered it was a mountain area with cumulus stones and clay pieces, which they took to investigate.
The SCTA chairman last month launched a campaign to retrieve national antiquities, which will be exhibited in the Retrieved National Antiquities Exhibition during the Janadriyah festival this year.
According to SCTA Vice President Ali Al-Ghabban, many citizens responded to the campaign, handing over the antiques they had to the commission as part of their contribution to preserving the national history and enhancing the civilized dimension of the Kingdom.
