Ancient towns in Saudi Arabia

These include Qaryat al-Fāw, the Al-Ukhdūd archeological area, Hegra (Madā'in Ṣālih), Jubbah, Tārūt, Al-Shuwayḥaṭiyah, Thāj, Taimaa and Dūmat Al-Jandal.

In ancient times the Arabian peninsula served as a corridor for trade; therefore it saw the beginning of many civilizations, the relics of which are still evident today.

[1] The name derives from its geographical location at a pass through the Ṭuwayq Mountains where it intersects with Wādī al-Dawāsir, overlooking the northwestern edge of the Empty Quarter desert.

It became the economic, religious, cultural and social centre of the central Arabian Peninsula, as well as the capital of the Kindah Kingdom in their first period.

[2] Interest in Qaryat al-Fāw as an archaeological site dates back to the 1940s when a reference to it was made by some official workers of the Saudi Aramco oil company.

The site was authorized and allocated funds for significant improvement, preservation and the construction of a modern visitors center.

The market place shows significant erosion of the walls, which have buried almost an entire story of the once 3 or 4 level artifice.

Since then, many antiques have been found, and the greatest discovery in the town was of the place that the ruler of Himyarite Kingdom called Ukhdūd in Arabic.

Madā'in Ṣāliḥ[7] or Hegra (Arabic: الحِجر), also called Al-Ḥijr, is an ancient city located in the northern part of the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia, about 1,400 km (870 miles) to the north of Riyadh.

Madā'in Ṣāliḥ lies to the northwest of the city of Al-'Ula, in a strategic position on one of the most important ancient trade routes, which linked the south of the Arabian peninsula to the north, as well as to the great economic and cultural centres of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.

The Nabateans were a group of Arab tribes whose economy was based on pastoralism, and over time they settled, created and developed several cities and become traders.

The landscape of Madā'in Ṣāliḥ is characterized by impressive rock formations, sandstone hills of varied colours, from red to yellow and white.

Thāj (Arabic: ثَاج; pronounced [θaːd͡ʒ]) (26°22′55.92″N 48°20′3.48″E / 26.3822000°N 48.3343000°E / 26.3822000; 48.3343000) is located in the northwest of the Eastern Province, about 600 km (370 miles) northeast of Riyadh.

The most important discoveries in the city were nine stones carved with writing dating back to the middle of the first millennium BC.

Dūmat al-Jandal (Arabic: دومة الجندل) (10th century BCE), is the name for an ancient city of ruins located in North Western Saudi Arabia in the Al-Jawf Province.