Qaryat al-Faw
Qaryat Dhat Kahl
Saudi Arabia · Riyadh
In brief
Qaryat al-Faw is an oasis and caravan city that developed along Arabia's trade routes. The excavated settlement, cemeteries and water management remains are parts of the wider Al-Faw cultural landscape.
What was found?
- 1Gilded bronze funerary bed
It is a piece of furniture associated with burial, dated to the 3rd century BC. It documents the city's metalworking and funerary furnishings.
- 2Limestone incense burner
It is an object used to burn incense, dated to the 6th century BC. It is a tangible example of incense use in the region.
- 3Paintings
The paintings found in the city show traces of Greek and Hellenistic art. They are important visual documents for studying relationships with distant cultures.
- 4Stone temple and altar fragments
These remains identified during field surveys document areas set aside for worship. They help us understand the city's religious life through architecture.
- 5Votive inscriptions
These are inscriptions identified together with temple and altar remains. They provide direct written evidence of religious practices.
What does it point to?
Karyetü'l-Fav was an oasis city supported by agriculture and caravan trade together. Furniture, paintings, and finds associated with worship indicate that local life developed through cultural relationships with distant regions.
What did it teach us?
- It showed that agriculture was important alongside trade in a pre-Islamic oasis city.
- It documented connections with distant artistic traditions in paintings and objects.
- It revealed tangible traces of worship activities through temples, altars, and votive inscriptions.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
In 2022, the Heritage Commission announced that stone temple remains, altar fragments and votive inscriptions had been identified during research at Al-Faw.
Record
- Culture
- Especially Kindah and the cultures of pre-Islamic Arabia
- Team / historical
- Saudi Heritage Commission
- Coordinates
- 19.7649°, 45.1634°
Sources
Nearby excavations
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- Awam Temple and Cemetery, Marib 485 km
- Ancient Shabwah 527 km
- Aksum 928 km
- Hegra — Mada'in Salih 1,072 km
- Eridu 1,232 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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