Jebel Hasma Mustatil Field North (Tabuk)
Hasham Jebel Hasma Extension · Tabuk Northern Mustatil Corridor
Late Neolithic (Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic)·Northern Arabian Late Neolithic (Hisma facies)·🇸🇦 Tabuk Region, Hisma Plateau (Jebel Hasma), Saudi Arabia
About
About Jebel Hasma Mustatil Field North (Tabuk)
Northern mustatil concentration on the Hisma sandstone plateau (1,050 m, 28.50°N 36.80°E) north of Tabuk, extending the Harrat-based mustatil province south-eastward into sandstone. Survey (Aerial Archaeology in Arabia 2022) mapped 42 mustatils 20-360 m length on plateau edge, oriented 100-120° with head platform upslope and base to wadi. Built of local Hisma sandstone slabs (not basalt), with head chambers 6-9 m and coursed walls 0.6 m high. Radiocarbon on nearby hearths 6200-5400 BCE; short faunal horn cores suggest ceremonial cattle gatherings. Overlooks Wadi Dam / Wadi Yutm fog traps. Threatened by Tabuk-Neom road.
Why it mattersSandstone mustatil variant proving material adaptability beyond Harrat.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Cattle vs gazelle ritual
Theories
- 01Hisma territorial shrine belt
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.6200-5300 BCE (Late Neolithic)
- Period
- Late Neolithic (Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic)
- Culture
- Northern Arabian Late Neolithic (Hisma facies)
- Builders
- Hisma plateau Neolithic pastoralists
- Purpose
- Cattle cult ritual enclosure and territorial marker
- Abandoned
- c.5300 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2022 Aerial Archaeology Hisma survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2022
42-mustatil drone mapping
2023
Hearths 6200-5400 BCE
On the ground
Structures & features
28.5000° N · 36.8000° E · 1050 m · 2 mapped features
Jebel Hasma Long Mustatil 17
mustatil360-m mustatil with 9-m head chamber on plateau rim
28.5020° N · 36.8020° EHisma Head Platform 04
mustatil8-m chamber with orthostat alignment
28.4980° N · 36.7980° E