The Dadan Archaeological Project - Abdulrahman Al-Suhaibani, Jérôme Rohmer

The Dadan Archaeological Project: results of three excavation and survey seasons at an ancient North-Arabian capital Abdulrahman Al-Suhaibani, King Saud University, Royal Commission for AlUla, Saudi Arabia Jérôme Rohmer (CNRS, UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée, France) 07 June 2023 CET (Rome, Paris, Berlin / GMT 2) (İstanbul, Athens / GMT 3) (New York / GMT-4) Located in the oasis of modern al-ʿUlā, in northern Hejaz, the ancient city of Dadan was a major political and commercial hub in ancient northwest Arabia. It was settled from the late 3rd or early 2nd millennium BCE and flourished during the 1st millennium BCE with the development of long-distance trade along the “Incense Road”. During this period, it was the capital of two successive kingdoms: the local kingdom of Dadan (early/mid-1st millennium BCE) and the larger, tribal kingdom of Liḥyān (second half of the 1st millennium BCE). In 2020, a new program, the Dadan Archaeological Project (CNRS/AFALULA/RCU), was launched to carry out a comprehensive archeological investigation of this major site. It includes large-scale excavations, a systematic survey of the site and its mountainous hinterland, and a wide array of specialized studies (epigraphy, ceramology, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, study of rock-carving techniques). This paper will present the results of the first three field seasons, which shed critical new light on the organization, chronology, political history, religious life, and material culture of the site.