The mustatils of Saudi Arabia are even older than the Egyptian pyramids

Several monumental structures made of rock walls have been uncovered in Saudi Arabia. They are said to date back to times that are even earlier than that of the pyramids in Egypt. This implies that until now they would be the oldest structures to have been unveiled on this planet. 

The mustatils of Saudi Arabia 

A recent article published in Antiquity has said that many stone structures were found in the Sandy deserts of Northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. They are walls made of rocks and have been named mustatils which is Arabic word for rectangle. It is estimated that these structures are more than 7000 years old. And this means that they are around 2000 years older than the oldest Egyptian pyramid or Stonehenge in England. Melissa Kennedy, an archaeologist at the University of Western Australia in Perth states:

“We think of them as a monumental landscape,” 

“We are talking about over 1,000 mustatils. These things are found over 200,000 square kilometers [77,000 square miles], and they’re all very similar in shape ... so perhaps it’s the same ritual belief or understanding.”

More details on mustatils 

Mustatils (Source: Arab News) 

Researchers feel that these structures are there for some religious purpose. But they are not certain. Hence the monumental constructions are mysterious. One of them has animal bones in them and therefore the historians feel that they might have been used for animal sacrifices. Hugh Thomas, an archaeologist at the same university, adds:

“There must have been a great level of communication over a very big area, because how they were constructed was communicated to people,”

The Royal Commission for AlUla established by Saudi Arabian government funds the study. 

Type of mustatils 

These mustatils vary from simple to complex. The simple ones have rock piles making low walls of a few feet height in the form of rectangles. There is a thicker and high head end and a narrow entranceway on the other side. This could be to guide a procession. 

The complex mustatils have pillars, standing rocks and also smaller multiple cells made of same rocks. And one such mustatils has around 12000 tons of basalt stones in total. It looks like a tedious hard task to have moved so many stones at one place at the time when there were no machines to help the laborers do it. 

Mustatils (Source: Arab News) 

But why so many mustatils were constructed? What was the exact purpose of them? The reason is unclear. But it could have been for sacrificial rituals. The era was 5000 BC when the area was greener and wetter than now. These could also be for probably establishment of territorial claims. 

This new findings has fascinated other researchers as well. They feel that Saudi Arabia has more to it rather than just being a desert. It has a cultural history dating back to the time when it's environment was not all that arid. Historical findings never fail to fascinate us. 

What is muscular dysmorphia?