The al-Ula - al-Wajh Survey Project (UWSP)

The project, affiliated with the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, is co-directed by Dr. Zbigniew T. Fiema who has signed the contract with the Saudi High Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, allowing him to conduct the fieldwork activities in Saudi Arabia. The funding of the 2016 fieldwork season is provided by DFG. In practical terms the UWSP intends to locate a route(s) between the areas of al-?Ulā and al-Wajh (specifically during Nabataean-Roman times), which: -with regard to the terrain and climate could have served to allow passage of a considerable number of humans and animals -with regard to availability of water and animal fodder, it could have sustained such number of humans and animals during the passage which would have lasted several days -displays unambiguous traces of ancient usage of such passage. Secondly, and in close connection with the above, the project intends to investigate the environs of al-Wajh, especially the coastal plain area between the modern city and the Cape of Kurkumah (Rās al-Jurayjīb), in search of other archaeological remains which may potentially shed light on the importance of the area in antiquity. Once the most suitable routes are identified with regard to the landscape and terrain the fieldwork will verify their preference and potential use in antiquity. Ideally, the latter should be distinguished through the extant remains of settlements (villages, farmhouses, campsites, cultic sites), traces of ancient cultivation (including wells and watering sites), scatters of ceramics and lithics, petroglyphs (including rock art and wusum-tribal marks), installations (enclosures, etc..) and the epigraphic sites featuring inscriptions of all time-periods.