The international team of scientists found that mysterious reliefs in the form of camels found in the north of Saudi Arabia turned out to be more than five thousand years older than previously thought. According to researchers, they were created in the sixth millennium BC, which allows them to recognize them with ancient known sculptures. It is assumed that neolithic cattle workers in those regions were assumed. This is reported in the article published by the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Three-cut in the springs of the Relief Relief of the Domedars were found in 2016-2017 with a joint Franco-Saudi Expedition. It was believed that they were created during the Nabatoy kingdom of about two thousand years ago. However, rocky art is extremely difficult to dates, therefore the accurate age of sculptures remained a mystery.
In order to establish it, the researchers analyzed the traces of guns, weathered patterns and erosion. X-ray fluorescent spectrometry helped them evaluate the density of rock deposits, and optical dating helped to find out the age of the falling fragments. Experts clarified that reliefs were made with the help of stone guns between 5,200 and 5,600 BC, when the region represented the Savannah, on which herd workers were moved, created in the form of regular rectangles.
According to researchers, the manufacture of each relief occupied 10-15 days. At the same time, the cutting of the rock and polishing of sculptures probably demanded that construction creation quickly wear out tools from a silica, the nearest deposit of which was 15 kilometers. According to scientists, it indicates that reliefs were created by the group – probably during the annual meetings. Parking was used for a long time during which the sculptures changed their form.