24 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Mysterious and Life-size camel carvings have been found in Saudi Arabian desert

Archaeologists have found life-size camel carvings on a rock near the southern border of Saudi Arabia’s Nafud desert.

The Neolithic period of northern Arabia is known in part from the monumental stone structures and accompanying cave art, as well as the remains of hearths indicating temporary settlement. But there is much we do not know about the character and timing of settlement before the spread of animal pastoralism (c. 6000 BC).

Researchers have recently discovered new, enigmatic carvings that shed light on this ancient history.

Five panels totaling nine large life-size specimens have so far been identified. The camels have frequently had other camels carved over them or had their features and proportions improved, which suggests the site was used and visited for a very long time.

The monumental artwork portrays a dozen life-size wild camels, a now-extinct species that once roamed this swath of the Arabian Peninsula desert thousands of years ago but has never received a scientific name.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The art is pretty detailed, showing predominantly male camels complete with thicker winter fur that had not been molted. These details alone suggest the art may have been created during the animal’s rutting season (between November and March).

The mysterious camel carvings in the Saudi Arabian desert were likely created thousands of years ago. Virtual white lines are drawn over the carvings to enhance them for viewers. Image credit: Maria Guagnin, et al
The mysterious camel carvings in the Saudi Arabian desert were likely created thousands of years ago. Virtual white lines are drawn over the carvings to enhance them for viewers. Image credit: Maria Guagnin, et al

This is the first time anyone has noticed the camel carvings on the outcropping, even though the site, known as Sahout, had been recognized by other archaeologists for some time.

“We learned about the site from another paper — but the panel was difficult to find because its location wasn’t precise, and this isn’t an easy landscape [to navigate],” study lead author Maria Guagnin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany, told Live Science.

According to radiocarbon dating analysis of the two trenches and two ancient hearths found nearby, the Sahout site was repeatedly visited during what is called the late Pleistocene period (2.6 million to around 11,700 years ago) and the Middle Holocene (7,000 to 5,000 years ago).

The carvings have newer etchings overlapping the camels, there’s an added layer of mystery surrounding which culture created the artwork and when.

An example of one of the naturalistic images of the ancient camels found at the Sahout site. Image credit: Maria Guagnin et. al 2023.
An example of one of the naturalistic images of the ancient camels found at the Sahout site. Image credit: Maria Guagnin et. al 2023.

“The outcroppings contain a dense cluster of rock art from many different periods,” Guagnin said. “You can see that the carvings were done in various phases and are stylistically different.”

It also doesn’t help that most of the carvings were made inside crevices, making them difficult to access and radiocarbon date.

“For the first time we have evidence to suggest this rock art may be older than previously thought. It’s also the first time that we found a rock art site associated with early Holocene and even terminal Pleistocene archaeological deposits”, Guagnin added.

There are not many archaeological sites dated to this early period, so rock art like this may help researchers find similar ones in the future for comparison. This may be because they share similar styles of carving or because they were drawn to similar features in the landscape that also appealed to later rock art creators.

“There’s no known water source, so there might have been something else that brought people here,” Guagnin said. “Perhaps it was a good stopping point on their way to another location. It must’ve been an important location, but right now, we’re not sure why.”

More research is needed to figure out the significance of this site. The paper was published in Archaeological Research in Asia.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2023.100483

Cover Image credit: Maria Guagnin, et al.

Related Articles

A Roman copper-alloy tiny tortoise figurine found in Suffolk

3 December 2023

3 December 2023

In July last year, a small Roman copper alloy tortoise or turtle figurine was discovered by metal detectors near the...

An unknown church with a special floor plan discovered in Erwitte, northwestern Germany

18 September 2023

18 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) have discovered the remains of a former church from the 10th century near...

A cave painting found in Egyptian Sahara depicts a nativity scene 3,000 years before Jesus’ Birth

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

5,000-year-old rock art depicting the oldest nativity scene ever found has been found in Egypt’s Sahara Desert: A newborn between...

Archaeologists Found an Egyptian Temple Slotted into a Cliff Face, Probably Dedicated to a Lion-Headed Goddess Repit

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a hidden gateway leading to a 2,100-year-old temple built into a cliff face at the ancient city...

Two more Giants discovered at Mont’e Prama in Sardinia, Italy

7 May 2022

7 May 2022

Two more Giants have emerged from the Mont’e Prama excavations in Sardinia: both of the new statues have been described...

Archaeologists find the earliest evidence Maya sacred calendar in the Guatemalan pyramid

14 April 2022

14 April 2022

Archaeologists identified two plaster fragments depicting a date that the Maya civilization called ‘7 deer’ and was part of the...

The greatest Anglo-Saxon treasure trove ever unearthed has been discovered by a metal detectorist

10 November 2021

10 November 2021

A metal detector in West Norfolk, England, unearthed 131 coins and 4 golden artifacts going back 1,400 years. This is...

700-Year-Old Lord Vishnu’s Sculpture Washes Ashore on Pedda Rushikonda Beach

23 March 2025

23 March 2025

On a serene Friday evening, the tranquil shores of Pedda Rushikonda beach were disrupted by an extraordinary sight: a centuries-old...

Where We Saw Sin, There Was Care: A Baby Buried in a Medieval Belgian Brothel

23 May 2025

23 May 2025

A medieval brothel in Belgium yields a discovery that forces historians to confront forgotten tenderness in places long seen only...

Using Algorithms, Researchers Reassemble Jewish Text Lost Centuries Ago

27 January 2022

27 January 2022

Using new technology, researchers were able to comb a 19th-century text for the original study of a Bible interpretation attributed...

Medieval ‘Testicle Dagger’ Unearthed at Swedish Fortress

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Archaeologists in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, have made a rather striking discovery at the site of the ancient Gullberg Fortress: a...

A Circular Structure Linked to the Cult of KukulcĂĄn Discovered in Mexico

2 November 2023

2 November 2023

A team of researchers with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has unearthed the remains of a...

Ancient Greek Marble Workshop Unearthed on Paros Island

20 May 2025

20 May 2025

The world of ancient Greek art continues to amaze modern scholars, with recent excavations on Paros Island unveiling a long-lost...

Scientists reconstruct Late Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean silver trade

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Scientists have recreated the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade across a time span that includes the conventional dates of the Trojan...

Beheaded croc reveals ancient family secrets

10 March 2022

10 March 2022

A missing link in crocodilian evolution and a tragic tale of human-driven extinction. The partially fossilized remains of a giant...