Shuwaymis, which is around 250 kilometers southeast of Hail and 190 kilometers north of Madinah, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest open stone inscription museum in the Arabian Peninsula.

Shuwaymis is also one of the largest open sites of its kind, with an area of more than 50 square kilometers.

The archaeological inscriptions date back to the Neolithic period and feature rock art of camels, horses, goats, palm trees and men riding camels in a reference to caravan activity.

The Hail region boasts two rock inscription sites: Jabel Umm Sinman at Jubbah and Jabal Al-Manjor and Raat at Shuwaymis.

UNESCO has lauded the Kingdom’s care for its heritage and early civilization, praising the richness and density of rock art in the Hail region.

“The outstanding universal values embodied in the rock art of Jabal Al-Manjor/Raat are the high quality of the petroglyphs (engravings) that display distinctively different rock art traditions over the last 10,000 years and reflect major economic and cultural changes, and the adjustments that people made to climate change in a region that has always been a bridge between Africa and the continents beyond,” says UNESCO. 

This photo of the archeological inscriptions in Shuwaymis was taken by Herbert as part of the Colors of Saudi competition.