Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA), signed a contract recently for the rehabilitation of a Visitor Center at the Jarash archaeological site in Asir province.

The agreement was signed with a national contracting company who has been engaged to perform the works. The new center will have a display hall for exhibiting collectables from the province, in addition to a video presentation hall for displaying documentaries on the site. There will also be a guest hall and a cafeteria to serve visitors and staff of the centre.

The rehabilitation of the Visitor Center at Jarash site is part of the “Visitor Centres Project” that is being carried out by the SCTA on most of the archaeological sites across the Kingdom.

Thus far, the SCTA has established nine visitor centers at a cost of SR15 million in the following locations: Shuaib Caves (Shuaib Maghiar) in Tabuk, Sisra Well (Bir Sisra) and A’medat Al Trajajeel (Rajajeel Columns) in Sakaka, Jiba Heritage Village and Al Shwaimis Archaeological site in Hail, Um Samnan site in Al Rass, Al Khoraiba and Al Akma archaeological sites in Al Ula, and the Visitor Center of Madain Saleh.

Through the establishment of such visitor centers, the SCTA aims to attract more visitors to historic sites and introduce them to their history using the latest display techniques.

An SCTA statement said that Jarash archaeological site is one of many important sites in the Kingdom, as it dates back to prehistorical times.

Settlement of the site flourished in the third century BC and continued until the first century AD, while settlement evidence during the Abbasid era are noticeable in the northern and central areas of the site.

During the progress of the seven seasons of fieldwork carried out by the SCTA, a number of monuments and significant findings were excavated or identified at the site, the most important of which has been the Jarash castle and Al Mota’gibeen Mosque.