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Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia

Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia

This property includes two components situated in a desert landscape: Jabel Umm Sinman at Jubbah and the Jabal al-Manjor and Raat at Shuwaymis. A lake once situated at the foot of the Umm Sinman hill range that has now disappeared used to be a source of fresh water for people and animals in the southern part of the Great Narfoud Desert. The ancestors of today’s Arab populations have left traces of their passages in numerous petroglyphs and inscriptions on the rock face. Jabal al-Manjor and Raat form the rocky escarpment of a wadi now covered in sand. They show numerous representations of human and animal figures covering 10,000 years of history.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Art rupestre de la région de Hail en Arabie saoudite

Ce bien en série est composé de deux sites au paysage désertique : le djebel Umm Sinman à Jubbah et les djebels al-Manjor et Raat à Shuwaymis. La chaîne de collines d’Umm Sinman surplombe un lac d’eau douce, aujourd’hui disparu, qui fournissait de l’eau aux hommes et aux animaux dans la partie sud du grand désert de Nefoud. Les ancêtres des populations arabes actuelles y ont laissé des traces de leur présence sur de nombreux panneaux de pétroglyphes et de nombreuses inscriptions. Les djebels al-Manjor et Raat forment les escarpements rocheux d’un oued aujourd’hui ensablé présentant un grand nombre de représentations humaines et animales qui couvrent près de 10 000 ans d’histoire humaine.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

الفن الصخري في منطقة حائل بالمملكة العربية السعودية
يتألف هذا الممتلك التسلسلي من موقعين صحراويين يوجد بهما جبل أم سنمان في جبة وجبال المنجور وراطا في الشويمس. أما سلسلة مرتفعات أم سنمان فهي تشرف على بحيرة من المياه العذبة لم يبق منها أثر في الوقت الراهن كانت توفر المياه للناس وللحيوانات في الجزء الجنوبي من صحراء النفود الكبرى. وقد ترك أسلاف الجماعات السكانية العربية الحالية آثاراً تدل على تواجدهم، وذلك في العديد من ألواح النقوش الصخرية والكثير من النقوش الأخرى. وتؤلف جبال المنجور وراطا منحدرات صخرية لواد تغطيه الرمال في الوقت الحاضر ويمثل عدداً كبيراً من الأشكال الآدمية والحيوانية يمتد تاريخها إلى 10000 سنة.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Наскальная живопись в провинции Хаиль
Кластерный объект включает два участка, расположенных в пустынной местности: гору Умм Синман близ города Джубба и горы аль-Манджор и Раат в районе Шуваймис. Гряда холмов Умм Синман возвышается над местом, где находилось исчезнувшее ныне пресноводное озеро. Это озеро в южной части пустыни Большой Нефуд служило источником воды как для людей, так и для животных. Предки современных арабов оставили здесь большое количество петроглифов и наскальных рисунков. На уступах скалистых гор аль-Манджор и Раат, у подножия которых когда-то протекала река, сегодня засыпанная песками, можно увидеть многочисленные изображения людей и животных, нанесённые здесь на протяжении почти 10 тысяч лет истории человечества.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Arte rupestre de la región de Hail en Arabia Saudita
Este lugar seriado está compuesto por dos sitios de paisaje desierto: el djebel (monte) Umm Simmam, en Jubbah, y los djebel al-Manjor y Raat, en Shuwaymis. La cadena de colinas de Umm Sinman domina un lago de agua dulce, hoy desaparecido, que abastecía a hombres y animales en la parte sur del gran desierto de Nefud. Los djebel al-Manjor y Raat forman escarpes rocosos de un uadi (rambla) hoy cubierto de arena que presentan representaciones humanas y animales que cubren más de 10.000 años de historia humana.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

サウジアラビアのハイール地方のロック・アート
サウジアラビア北部の砂漠地帯に位置するジュッバーおよびシュウェイミスに残る岩絵群。簡素な石槌のみで描かれた岩絵は、人類の創造的才能を視覚的に見事に表現しているとされ、一帯の岩絵はサウジアラビアのみならずアラビア半島周辺域で最大かつ最も多数といわれる。また、中期完新世の時代から進行した砂漠化によって、環境や人類の居住様式が変化していったことを良好に示しており、特にシュウェイミスの岩絵は消滅したほぼ1万年前の社会の様相を詳細に示している点で、きわめて貴重である。

source: NFUAJ

Petrogliefen in de Hail regio van Saudi-Arabië

Deze site bestaat uit Jabel Umm Sinman in Jubbah en Jabal-al Manjor en Raat in Shuwaymis, beide gelegen in een woestijnlandschap. Een verdwenen meer, ooit gelegen aan de voet van de bergrug Umm Sinman, was een zoetwaterbron voor mensen en dieren in het zuidelijke gedeelte van de Grote Narfoud Woestijn. De voorouders van de huidige Arabische bewoners hebben sporen van hun aanwezigheid achtergelaten met tekeningen en inscripties in de rotswand. Jabal-al Manjor en Raat zijn de rotsachtige hellingen om een wadi, die nu met zand bedekt is. Zij tonen tal van voorstellingen van mens- en dierfiguren tot wel 10.000 jaar oud.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The serial property of the ‘Rock Art in the Hail Region’ is comprised of two components: Jabal Umm Sinman at Jubbah, located approximately 90 km northwest of the city of Hail, and Jabal Al-Manjor and Jabal Raat at Shuwaymis, approximately 250 km south of Hail. At Jabal Umm Sinman Jubbah, the ancestors of present-day Arabs left marks of their presence in numerous petroglyph panels and inscriptions within a landscape that once overlooked a freshwater lake; and at Jabal Al-Manjor and Jabal Raat, Shuwaymis, the large number of petroglyphs and inscriptions has been attributed to almost 10,000 years of human history within a valley with flowing water. Together, these components contain the biggest and richest rock art complexes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Processes of desertification from the mid-Holocene altered the local environmental context and patterns of human settlement in these areas, and these changes are expressed in the numerous petroglyph panels and rich inscriptions. The attributes of the property include the large number of petroglyphs, inscriptions, archaeological features and the environmental setting.

Criterion (i): The rock art of Jabal Umm Sinman Jubbah and Jabal Al-Major and Jabal Raat near Shuwaymis contain an exceptionally large number of petroglyphs, created by using a range of techniques with simple stone hammers, against a background of gradual environmental deterioration, and are visually stunning expressions of the human creative genius.

Criterion (iii): The rock art at Jabal Umm Sinman at Jubbah and Jabal Al-Major and Jabal Raat at Shuwaymis provide an exceptional testimony to the challenges of past societies in response to environmental catastrophes. In addition, the petroglyphs at Shuwaymis provide an exceptional testimony of a society that vanished, leaving behind an exceptionally detailed record of its existence.

Integrity

The serial approach is justified for this property, and together, the components of the Rock Art of the Hail Region contain all the attributes necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value. The boundaries of the components of the property are appropriate, and buffer zones have been established. The buffer zone of Jabal Umm Sinman should be extended 1.0 to 1.5 km to the west and south to adequately protect the visual setting and views. Work to lessen the visual impacts on the setting of Jabal Umm Sinman are recommended for the tall water tower and dam constructed by the Municipality of Jubbah. The components of the property have been extensively documented and generally exhibit a good state of conservation, although vulnerabilities exist due to some threats from vandalism, development in the buffer zone and lack of preparedness for increased future tourism activity.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the serial property and of each component is demonstrated by the diversity and large number of petroglyphs located within the components at Jabal Umm Sinman and Jabal Al-Manjor and Raat, and that all have retained their original location, setting, materials, form and design.

Protection and management requirements

Protection is provided through the new antiquities, museums, and urban heritage law, that was approved by the council of ministers Resolution No. M/3 in 1/9/1436 AH, corresponding to 18/6/2015. The Government of Saudi Arabia, and the Regional government of the Hail Region provide substantial resources for the safeguarding of the two components of the property (Jabal Umm Sinman, Jabal Al-Manjor, and Jabal Raat). The Regional Antiquities & Museums office in Hail is responsible for the protection and management of rock art, inscriptions and archaeological sites in the region, and any noted interference or damage to rock art can be reported directly to the Ministry of the Interior by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) or by the inhabitants or reported to the local police by site guards or citizens (including local Bedouin tribes). The local community therefore plays an important role in protecting the sites, and in welcoming visitors.

The property is managed by the Regional Branch of the SCTH in Hail, which operates under the supervision of the SCTH head office in Riyadh. There are on-site staff, and site guards for both sites.

A management plan that considers the long-term development and protection of the component sites was developed with the nomination to the World Heritage List; and there are also Regional and local tourism plans in place (dated 2002 and 2004 respectively). A tourism management strategy that includes provisions for the interpretation of the property has been drafted, and there are plans for improved visitor infrastructure. While there are adequate monitoring arrangements for the rock art, monitoring for development and tourism activities could be further developed, given the expected increase in visitor numbers. Heritage Impact Assessment processes are to be established.

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