Jebel Jassassiyeh

Jebel Jassassiyeh (Arabic: جبل الجساسية, romanized: Jabal al Jasāsīyah) is an area with early petroglyphs, residential ruins and pottery remnants (from the 15th century) in northeast Qatar.

Jebel Jassassiyeh is the only rock art site in Qatar where boat depictions have been recorded.

British archaeologist William Facey has inferred that some of the elevation drawings are meant to represent pearling crafts due to the prominence of the boats' oars.

[12] Because the battils and baqarahs contained rudders, he concludes that the elevation drawings could not have been carved earlier than 1000–1200 AD.

[14][16] Archaeologist Muhammad Abdul Nayeem (1998) tentatively dated the earliest of the carvings to the third century BC,[17] whereas William Facey (1987) dated the earliest plan and elevation drawings to the eleventh century AD.

The study found no evidence to support the view of the carvings dating back millenniums.

[18] William Facey notes the close proximity (4 miles) of Jebel Jassassiyeh to Al Huwaila, Qatar's largest town before the ascendance of Zubarah in the 18th century.

[18] He has speculated that the area could have functioned as a lookout post and restocking station for incoming pearling boats.