Nikolaus Cox, Archaeologist

Jabal Ikmah is a remarkable gallery of Dadanitic and Lihyanite inscriptions adorning the walls of a narrow siq in the walls of Wadi AlUla’s western escarpments. The Kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan had an advanced writing system, and inscriptions in this ancient Arabian alphabet can be found all across the region - dedications to their principal god, Dhu Ghabat, Lord of the Grove, or celebrations of kings and commemorations of pilgrimages, festivals, and rainstorms.
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We were honoured today to partake in some experimental archaeology, carving letters in the Dadanitic script into the red sandstone of AlUla. I chose the Dadanitic equivalent for the letter ‘A’ - I am not yet at the level of carving entire sentences - and I am immensely proud of the result!
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