By
José Javier Carreño Soler (contents author)
Alexander Kabelindde (contents author)
José María Moreno Narganes (contents author)
Hesham Nasr (contents author)
Agustín Sánchez García (contents author)
Yolanda Ferro Vázquez (contents author)
Mikel Herrán Subiñas (contents author)
Summary
This paper presents the methodology and first results of the archaeological survey conducted over 3,000 km² in the desert south of AlUla (Medina Province, Saudi Arabia), initiated in 2025. AlUla is a historic oasis inhabited since the Bronze Age and an obligatory stop for the caravans that crossed the Arabian Peninsula along the incense route. The survey forms one branch of the AlUla Pilgrimage Routes project, carried out by INCIPIT-CSIC with funding from the Royal Commission for AlUla. The project’s main goal is the archaeological study of the pilgrimage route to Mecca—the Hajj—from its origins up to the early 20th century, when the Ottoman Empire built the Hejaz Railway between Damascus and Medina. The aim of the survey is to conduct a diachronic study of the landscape and its human occupation, as well as the transit routes that predate and postdate the establishment of the Hajj route. To achieve this, a multiscale methodology is applied, ranging from satellite imagery and historical photography to surface
Keywords
Prospección arqueológica. Teledetección. Arqueología del Paisaje. Arabia Saudí.