Hail Rock Art – World Cultural Heritage in Saudi Arabia

This property consists of two components located in the desert landscape: Jabel Umm Sinman at Jubbah and Jabal al-Manjor and Raat at Shuwaymis. A lake that once stood at the foot of the now-disappeared Umm Sinman Hills served as a source of fresh water for humans and animals to the south of the Great Narfoud Desert. The ancestors of the Arabs of today have left traces of their travels in many petroglyphs and inscriptions on the rock face. Jabal al-Manjor and Raat form the cliffs of a swamp now covered with sand. They represent many representations of people and animals throughout their 10,000 years of history.

Accreditation year: 2015
Criteria: (i)(iii)
Area: 2,043.8 hectares
Buffer zone: 3,609.5 ha

Table of Contents

Outstanding global value

The ‘Stone Art in the Hail Region’ serial property consists of two components: Jabal Umm Sinman at Jubbah, located about 90 km northwest of Hail city, and Jabal Al-Manjor and Jabal Raat at Shuwaymis , about 250 kilometers south of Hail. At Jabal Umm Sinman Jubbah, the ancestors of today’s Arabs left traces of their presence in many petroglyphs and inscriptions in a landscape that once overlooked a freshwater lake; and at Jabal Al-Manjor and Jabal Raat, Shuwaymis, a large number of petroglyphs and inscriptions have been attributed to nearly 10,000 years of human history in a flowing valley. Together, these components contain the largest and most abundant rock art complexes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Desertification processes since the mid-Holocene have altered the local environmental landscape and human settlement patterns in these areas, and these changes are reflected in many petroglyphs and inscriptions. rich engraving. Properties of the property include a large number of petroglyphs, inscriptions, archaeological features and environmental context.

Criterion (i): The rock art of Jabal Umm Sinman Jubbah and Jabal Al-Major and Jabal Raat near Shuwaymis contains an exceptionally large number of petroglyphs, created using a variety of techniques with simple stone hammers, against the background of a gradually degraded environment, and are visually stunning expressions of human creative genius.

Criterion (iii): The rock art at Jabal Umm Sinman in Jubbah and Jabal Al-Major and Jabal Raat in Shuwaymis provide exceptional evidence of the challenges of past societies to environmental disasters. In addition, the petroglyphs at Shuwaymis provide exceptional evidence of a society that disappeared, leaving behind an exceptionally detailed record of its existence.

Integrity

The serial approach makes sense for this property, and together, the components of Hailstone’s Rock Art contain all the attributes needed to represent the Universal Outstanding Value. The boundaries of the asset’s components are consistent, and buffer zones have been established. The buffer zone of Jabal Umm Sinman should be extended by 1.0 to 1.5 km to the west and south to fully protect the scenery and visual views. Work to reduce visual impacts on Jabal Umm Sinman’s scene is recommended for the tall water tower and dam built by the Municipality of Jubbah. The components of the property are widely documented and generally show good preservation, although vulnerabilities still exist due to some threats from vandalism,

Authenticity

The authenticity of the series assets and of each component is demonstrated by the variety and large number of petroglyphs located within the components at Jabal Umm Sinman and Jabal Al-Manjor and Raat, and all all retain their original location, context, materials, form, and design.

Protection and management requirements

Protection is provided through the new antiquities, museums and urban heritage legislation, adopted by Council of Ministers Resolution M/3 on 9/1/1436 AH, corresponding to June 18, 2015. The Government of Saudi Arabia and the Regional authorities of the Hail Region provide considerable resources to protect the two components of the heritage (Jabal Umm Sinman, Jabal Al-Manjor and Jabal Raat). The Hail Regional Office of Museums & Antiquities is responsible for the protection and management of the rock art, inscriptions and archaeological sites in the area, and any interference or damage to the area. with rock art can be reported directly to the Ministry of Interior by the Saudi Arabian National Heritage and Tourism Commission (SCTH) or to the people (including local Bedouins) Report to local police. tribe). Therefore, local communities play an important role in protecting sites and welcoming visitors.

The property is managed by SCTH’s Regional Branch in Hail, operating under the supervision of SCTH’s headquarters in Riyadh. There are staff on site and security for both areas.

A management plan considering the long-term development and protection of the constituent sites has been developed with nomination to the World Heritage List; and also have regional and local tourism plans (2002 and 2004 respectively). A tourism management strategy that includes provisions to explain the property has been drafted and there are plans to improve the infrastructure for visitors. Although appropriate monitoring arrangements are in place for rock art, monitoring of tourism and development activities could be further developed, as visitor numbers are expected to increase. Heritage Impact Assessment processes will be established.