Province
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The Sanding Stones
| Although the pillars appear to be randomly placed, an aerial view shows that they are in parallel east-west lines, suggesting that they were originally intended as either road markers, or to observe celestial phenomena |
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There are a large number of sites of human occupation in Jouf Province which date back to the lower Paleolithic ages with ancient inscriptions in Thamudic (ancient Arabic script) and Nabataean.
Al-Rajajil, sometimes referred to as the Standing Men, or Standing Stones are more than 6,000 years old. They have been arranged in groups of four or more in a curved manner, and joined at the base. They now lean at random angles. As a group, there are more than 30 aligned pillars weighing over 5 tons each.
There is a variety of speculation about the purpose of the stones. One suggestion is that they have been placed in order to gauge the movement of the planets and the stars.
Another theory is that al-Rajajil may have been sophisticated road markers. Jouf and the Oasis of Sakakah are the connecting point between several of the ancient trade highways which connected the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria. The road which ran north from Yemen along the Red Sea through Madinah, Al-'Ula and Madain Saleh turned north again at Jouf toward Damascus and Turkey. The other major road linked Yemen with Mesopotamia. By traveling north and northeast to Jouf, then east in this way, the road avoided the harsh sands of the Great Nafud to the south and the less passable terrain of Wadi al-Sirhan (Sarhan) to the north. The stones may have been an indicator of the presence of the cross-road, and the safer route to take.
Local legend, on the other hand, says that the men of stone were punished by God for their unfaithfulness. However, a 1977 dig at the base of one set of pillars found neither votive offerings, grave goods nor bones of sacrificial animals, any one of which would have bolstered the theory that the stones had had a religious function or meaning. Instead, stone tools such as arrowheads and awls have been found at the site - which would suggest that the stones make a good meeting place for hunting parties.
The nearest accommodation is in Sakakah.
Al Nusl Hotel
P.O.Box 317
Skakah, Al Jouf
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tel : +966-(0)4-625 0353
Fax : +966-(0)4-625 0408
E-Mail : special@alnuslhotel.com |
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