28 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Uncovering the ritual past of ancient mustatils: Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia

Mustatils—stone monuments from the Late Neolithic period thought to have been used for ritual purposes—have been the subject of new research following a thorough analysis of an archaeological site in Saudi Arabia.

A team of archaeologists has now published the findings of extensive excavations of one of these massive structures near AlUla, revealing previously unknown evidence of ceremonial customs in Saudi Arabia thousands of years ago.

Melissa Kennedy of the University of Western Australia, Perth, and colleagues, in conjunction with The Royal Commission for AlUla present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 15, 2023.

Mustatils are rectangular, low-walled stone structures that range in length from 20 to 600 meters and were built around 7,000 years ago. Researchers first discovered mustatils in the 1970s, and over 1,600 have now been discovered, primarily in northern Saudi Arabia.

These structures have long been associated with ritualistic activities like animal sacrifices and fertility and rain-related ceremonies. Similar to the square platforms of ancient Mesoamerica, some researchers have hypothesized that they might have been utilized for astronomical observations and the creation of calendars.



📣 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!!



Plan of the Saudi Arabian mustatil site near Alula excavated for the study. ( Kennedy et al. - PLOS ONE / CC-BY 4.0 )
Plan of the Saudi Arabian mustatil site near Alula excavated for the study. ( Kennedy et al. – PLOS ONE / CC-BY 4.0 )

The new study is based on a thorough excavation at a sandstone-built mustatil that is 140 meters (451 feet) long and 88.5 kilometers (55 miles) east of AlUla.

Recent excavations in the city of AlUla suggest that mustatils were used for ritualistic purposes involving placement of animal offerings. Now, Kennedy and colleagues have conducted an extensive excavation at a mustatil located 55 east of AlUla. This mustatil is 140 meters long and is constructed from local sandstone.

The researchers’ analysis included identification of 260 fragments of animal skulls and horns, primarily from domestic cattle, as well as from domestic goats, gazelle, and small ruminants. Nearly all of these remains were clustered around a large upright stone interpreted to be a betyl.

Radiocarbon dating suggested that the betyl is one of the oldest identified in the Arabian Peninsula, and the bones provide some of the earliest evidence for domestication of cattle in the northern Arabia.

This study also uncovered evidence for several phases of offerings at the mustatil, as well as interment of an adult male human, suggesting that the site may have been the destination of repeated pilgrimages.

Spatial relationships between the main and secondary chamber. Credit: Kennedy et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0
Spatial relationships between the main and secondary chamber. Credit: Kennedy et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0

Taking all the new data into consideration, the researchers suggest that ritualistic belief and economic factors were more closely intertwined for Neolithic people in northwest Arabia than previously thought, and that this entanglement was shared over a broad geographic area.

The authors concluded that the ritual interment of animal horns and upper craniums discovered within the mustatil suggest “a profound intersection of belief and economic life-ways in the Late Neolithic of Northern Arabia,” over a vast geographic distance.

According to the researchers, this indicates far more, “The incorporation of these two facets suggests a deeply rooted ideological entanglement, one which was shared over a vast geographic distance, indicating a far more interconnected landscape and culture than had previously been supposed for the Neolithic period in north-west Arabia.”

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281904

Public Library of Science

Related Articles

A Mikveh or Jewish ritual bath discovered in basement of former strip club in Poland

24 August 2023

24 August 2023

Marian Zwolski, a Chmielnik businessman, bought a former nightclub that had been closed for 15 years a few years ago....

Archaeologists Use Song to Unveil the Legendary End of West Africa’s Kaabu Kingdom

19 March 2025

19 March 2025

As the archaeological discoveries at Kansala, located in present-day Guinea-Bissau, reveal the tangible remnants of the once-mighty Kaabu Kingdom, the...

Ancient tombs discovered at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Archaeologists discovered several graves and a leaden sarcophagus possibly dating from the 14th century at Paris’ Notre Dame church, France’s...

Polish researchers reveal what ancient Egyptian faience has to do with gold

31 December 2022

31 December 2022

Powdered quartz used to make faience vessels discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Athribis in...

A 2100-year-old inscription found İn Türkiye: Antiochos of Commagene calls on the people to ‘obey and respect the law’

15 March 2024

15 March 2024

The ancient inscription found near Kımıldağı (Kımıl Mount) in Önevler village of Adıyaman’s Gerger district in 2023 will shed light...

King Stephen 12th Century rare penny hoard found near Wymondham

21 November 2023

21 November 2023

An unnamed metal detectorist recently discovered a scarce collection of 12th-century silver pennies near the village of Wymondham in the...

Ceremonial meals may have been served in the 4500-year-old structure unearthed in the Yumuktepe Höyük in Southern Turkey

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

A 4,500-year-old structure containing a jar, many pots, and food fossils has been unearthed at the Yumuktepe Höyük (mound) in...

2,500-Year-Old Tombs Uncovered Of Unknown Persons With Gold Tongues in Egypt

6 December 2021

6 December 2021

The remains of two unknown persons with golden tongues were found inside tombs, dating back to the Saite Dynasty (664...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

4,500-Year-Old ‘Gifted Graves’ Unearthed at Ikiztepe Mound in Northern Türkiye

25 October 2025

25 October 2025

Archaeologists working at the prehistoric site of Ikiztepe Mound in northern Türkiye have uncovered two extraordinary burials — one belonging...

Archaeologists discover a new megalithic monument in heart of Andalusia in southern Spain – 5,000-year-old secret

5 May 2023

5 May 2023

Archaeologists in Spain uncovered a previously overlooked tomb while investigating the formation of La Peña de los Enamorados, also known...

A 2000-year-old wooden figure was unearthed in a Buckinghamshire ditch

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

An extremely rare, carved wooden figure from the early Roman era has been discovered in a waterlogged ditch during work...

What Lies Beneath Bor Ovoo? Turkish and Mongolian Researchers Set to Unearth Ancient Nomadic Traditions

20 July 2025

20 July 2025

Renowned historian Prof. Dr. Kürşad Yıldırım, a leading expert in Central Asian nomadic cultures from Istanbul University, is spearheading a...

Evidence of the Birth of Archaic Monotheism in Anatolia found at Oluz Höyük, “Havangah prayer at Oluz Höyük”

27 March 2022

27 March 2022

Oluz Höyük, located 25 kilometres west of Amasya, is an ancient city which has rich findings of religious structuring. During...

The first Bull Geoglyph discovered in central Asia

29 September 2021

29 September 2021

Archaeologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of History of Material Culture (IIMK RAS) and LLC Krasnoyarsk Geoarchaeology discovered...