Seven millennia ago, humans living in ancient Arabia built massive stone monuments where they sacrificed wild and domesticated animals as part of complex religious practices.
Those are the conclusions of researchers from the University of Western Australia digging in the AlUla region of Saudi Arabia as part of a five-year archaeological study funded by the regional government.
They excavated a massive stone mustatil – a kind of rectangular walled compound – measuring 140 metres, within which were found three betyls, or monument stones worshipped as houses of cultural gods.
This is consistent with earlier research into pre-Islamic Arabian cultures, described as ‘betyl cults’ which transported idols and worshipped at upright stones and natural rock formations said to be mediators between “humankind and the divine”. (Read More Here)
