8 August 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.

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

The 2800-year-old Urartians Lake, which is an engineering masterpiece of its time, is drying

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

Keşiş Lake in Van, in eastern Turkey, which was built by the Urartu King Rusa 2,800 years ago, was negatively...

According to researchers, the bones discovered underneath St. Peter’s Basilica may not be his

5 June 2021

5 June 2021

Three Italian researchers have voiced doubts about whether St. Peter’s bones are buried underneath the Rome basilica that bears his...

60-million-year-old Snail Fossil Found in southern Turkey

22 May 2021

22 May 2021

A snail fossil dating to the age of 60 million was found in Mersin’s Toroslar district. The snail fossil discovered...

Artifacts found in Japan could be prototypes of ninja weapons

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Artifacts discovered in the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1590 Siege of Odawara may be prototypes of...

Archaeologists Unearth Carolingian Silver Treasure Hoard

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

A silver treasure hoard from the 9th century AD has been discovered in Poland‘s Osa and Drwęca basin. The hoard...

One of the oldest known mosques in the world uncovered in Israel

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered what is one of the oldest known mosques in the world. Israeli archaeologists...

Stone Age Swiss Army Knife? Experimental Archaeology Reveals Surprising Use of Bone Tools at Estonia Site

22 May 2025

22 May 2025

A groundbreaking new study published in February 2025 has revealed that mysterious bone tools discovered at Estonia’s oldest known human...

Gate sanctuary discovered during the excavation of Archanes palace in Crete, belonging to the oldest civilisation in Europe

24 October 2024

24 October 2024

Recent excavations at the Archanes Minoan palace in Crete, belonging to the oldest civilisation in Europe, have revealed an important...

Unique Scythian glass pendants found in the Poltava region of Ukraine

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed unique amphora-shaped pendants near the town of Kotelva in the Poltava oblast of central Ukraine. A team...

8,500-year-old buildings discovered on Abu Dhabi’s Ghagha island

17 February 2022

17 February 2022

Archaeologists in Abu Dhabi have discovered startling new evidence of the Emirates’ first known structures, which date back more than...

A new study reveals the Achaemenid Kingdom paid its workers silver

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

A new study on inscribed clay tablets that were used in the treasury archives of the Achaemenid Empire revealed that...

To The West of Turkey Ancient Quarry Found

28 March 2021

28 March 2021

Turkey is very lucky in terms of ancient settlements. It is home to many unexplored artifacts, along with well-preserved ancient...

The DNA of 4000-years-old hazelnut shells found in Kültepe

11 November 2023

11 November 2023

Excavations conducted ten years ago at the archaeological site of Kültepe Kanesh Karum, which dates back 6,000 years and is...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

At Göbeklitepe, believed to be the earliest known Mesolithic temple complex, grinding stones were discovered

26 October 2022

26 October 2022

A recent discovery at Göbeklitepe, the oldest known Mesolithic temple complex, has revealed grinding stones, new finds expected to shed...