Introduction

Roads of Arabia –
Archaeological Treasures of Saudi Arabia

What is ancient Italian glass doing in the southern Arabian desert, or for that
matter, how did Roman hair fashion look under date palms, and why were an-
cient Egyptian art styles found beside West Iranian ceramics at Arabian cara-
van stations?
The ‘Roads of Arabia’ exhibition impressively demonstrates that trade, religion, and
the drive to power, can overcome even the most difficult geographic obstacles.
History is shaped by a series of gradual developments, characterised by their in-
teractive nature. Ancient cultures did not evolve ex nihilo and exchanges occurred
often, even continuously, across very large distances. They brought with them
changes of style, technology transfer and innovative impulses. Economic arteries,
trade routes and pilgrimage stations conveyed trans-regional developments over
the millennia into even the deepest desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula and
assumed an important role in Arabia’s cultural geography. This archaeological
heritage, long blanketed by sandstorms and eradicated from the collective mem-
ory, has been the subject of research by Saudi universities and the Saudi Com-
mission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), in cooperation with international col-
leagues. Sensational finds were made and are displayed in the ‘Roads of Arabia’ ex-
hibition in Berlin, the only location in Germany, following sojourns in Paris,
Barcelona and St. Petersburg.
Trade and pilgrimage routes are topics that permeate the exhibition. It was along
these routes that cultural exchange was manifested for more than 7,000 years and
local, traditional ways of life competed with trans-regional styles. With the do-
mestication of the dromedary more than 3,000 years ago, long-distance trade be-
came possible even in arid regions, and the demand for south Arabian incense for
ritual purposes led to a boom in caravan trading, especially from the 8th century
BC onwards. On the ‘Incense Road’, along the southern coast and the western
flank of the Arabian Peninsula, to Palestine and Syria, and thus into the Mediter-
ranean region, spices, ebony, silk and precious stones from India and Southeast
Asia were also traded. Glass, luxurious commodities and devotional objects came
page 18 from there to the Arabian Peninsula, similar to glazed ceramics from Mesopota-
Fig. 1 Head of a woman (?) mia and western Persia. When, in late Classical times at the latest, and contem-
Obj. No. 134
poraneous with the rise of Christianity, ritual incense offerings became less and
3rd century BC – 3rd century AD
Calcite-alabaster less widespread, the ‘Incense Road’ lost its importance and thus the urban cul-
21 × 13 cm tures in the oases along the trade route their economic base. It was not until the
Qaryat al-Faw rise and spread of Islam from the early 7th century onwards that the caravan routes
Department of Archaeology
Museum, King Saud University, again enjoyed a boom. As the religious centre of the new faith, Muhammad’s do-
Riyadh, 50F11 main became the destination for the annual pilgrimages (hajj), to be completed, if
20 INTRODUCTION 21

possible, at least once in a lifetime by faithful Muslims. In place of the branching Fig. 2 Vessel Fig. 5 of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea in 106 AD. The monumental tombs there,
network of the ‘Incense Road’, it was now the hajj routes that drove trade. Thanks Obj. No. 58 Flat stone adorned with a snake hewn from solid rock, are reminiscent of the burial complexes in Petra and have
Second half 3rd millennium BC Obj. No. 224
to the rapid advance of Islam to as far afield as Spain, Central Asia and India in the Chlorite Orangish-red sandstone
been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.
early 8th century, people and products arrived on the Arabian Peninsula from H. c. 9.5 cm H. 7 cm, diam. 21 cm The spectacular finds from Qaryat al-Faw in Room 5, one of southern Arabia’s
around the known world. Tarut Najran most important trading towns in the pre-Islamic period, are a dedication to Ara-
National Museum, Riyadh, 1246 National Museum, Riyadh, 3168
bia’s extensive cultural contacts: bronze deities, wall murals with banqueting
Inspired by the landscape of Saudi Arabia, the exhibition’s architect Youssef El Fig. 3 Cylindrical vessel Fig. 6 Incense burner scenes and impressive small art artefacts dating from the 3rd century BC into the
Khoury, a resident of Berlin, has created a fascinating sequence of rooms with ab- Obj. No. 66 Obj. No. 139 3rd century AD, are witnesses to the well developed culture of ancient Arabia (Figs.
stract, imaginary rock landscapes. Chronologically ordered and structured by lo- c. 1300–1000 BC 4th–1st century BC (?) 6–8). What is remarkable here is the dearth of written records from the late Clas-
Chlorite Limestone
cation, archaeology is orchestrated as a direct experience in an exhibition land- H. 6 cm, diam. 12.5 cm 25 × 9 cm
sical period until the emergence of Islam.
scape, from the earliest hand axes and 6,000 year-old anthropomorphic steles, Tarut Qaryat al-Faw The early Islamic caravan towns of al-Rabadha and al-Mabiyat are presented in
through ancient bronzes, to the Ottoman Kaaba door and the insignia of the King- National Museum, Riyadh, 175 National Museum, Riyadh, 2184 Room 6. At this time the Arab world, with its network of pilgrimage and trade
dom of Saudi Arabia. routes, was the centre of cultural exchange between China and the Mediter-
Fig. 4 Ovoid ‘Dilmun’ vessel Fig. 7 Thin-ribbed bowl
A main focus of the exhibition lies in the spectacular finds from excavations into Obj. No. 70 Obj. No. 194 ranean. The fine ceramics, glass (Fig. 9) and metalworks provide evidence of
pre- and early history, together with ancient records of Arabia. The chronology of 2000–1800 BC 1st century AD trans-regional trading relations in these, the first centuries of the Islamic period.
the exhibit extends from the oldest period of pre-history, through the beginnings Pottery with red slip Blown glass from Italy (?) The large main hall displays objects from the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for
H. 24 cm H. 6.5 cm, diam. 9 cm
of a sedentary society, up to the development of permanent settlements and the Dhahran Qaryat al-Faw
the first time in Germany. On display is the more than 3.50 m door of the holy Kaaba
early urban cultures. National Museum, Riyadh, 181 Department of Archaeology which was donated by the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV in the year 1045 of the Hijra
Palaeolithic and Neolithic stone tools, and impressive, anthropomorphic, 4th Mil- Museum, King Saud University, (i.e. 1635–36 AD). The door is flanked by the original cloth draping, and also with
Riyadh, 45F16
lennium burial steles open the exhibition. Then, Room 2 presents fascinating, 3rd the 6.30 m kiswa, or Kaaba drape, kindly loaned to the exhibition by the Saudi am-
Millennium chlorite vessels from Tarut (Figs. 2–4), while the German-Saudi excava- bassador to Berlin.
tion at Tayma’ (2nd–1st Millennia) forms the focal point of the room. In addition to In their function as guardians of the two holy sites of Mecca and Medina, the rulers
clarifying the relationships between Arabia and Mesopotamia, we also take a step of various Muslim dynasties enjoyed enormous prestige during the course of Is-
from the Ancient Orient into the Classical period. lamic history. However, this was concomitant with numerous obligations, such as
The colossal statues (approx. 4th–2nd centuries BC) in Room 3, originally from administering the pious charitable foundations (Waqf/Awqaf al-Haramayn). Objects
Dedan/al-’Ula, on the ‘Incense Road’, capital of the kingdom of Lihyan in north- from Ottoman period foundations of the 16th–17th centuries are shown, including
west Arabia and noted in the Bible, are an additional highlight. The monumental the incense burner commissioned by the mother of one of the sultans. These ex-
sculptures, probably representing kings or members of the elite, are reminiscent hibits are completed by an invoice book ‘concerning the outlay and dispatch of cer-
of the colossal Egyptian statues on which they were modelled. tain sums‘ to Mecca and Medina, from the time of Sultan Ibrahim I (ruled
The ancient heritage of Arabia and its burial culture are presented in Room 4, 1640–1648), which is from the collection of the Berlin Museum of Islamic Art.
based on the ‘Salt cities’ of Mada’in Salih/Hegra in the west, Najran in the south As the religious centres for Muslims across the entire Islamic world, Mecca and
(Fig. 5) and Thaj in the east, including precious gold burial offerings for the here- Medina attracted the faithful for centuries. Richly decorated pilgrim books giving
after. In its function as the second capital of the Nabataeans, Hegra became part descriptions and illustrations of the holy places are witness to this. Many of the
22 INTRODUCTION 23

Fig. 8 Box Fig. 10 Tombstone of al-Ghaliya, Orient Department at the German Archaeological Institute, the Centre for the
Obj. No. 189 daughter of 'Abd al-Jabbar, son of
3rd century BC – 3rd century AD Modern Orient, and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences are presented
al-'Ala
Bone Obj. No. 303 as examples of international scientific cooperation in which these institutions are
4.7 × 9 × 5.2 cm 9th century involved.
Qaryat al-Faw Basalt
Department of Archaeology
The exhibition is organised by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities,
69 × 45 × 13 cm
Museum, King Saud University, al-Ma'la cemetery, Mecca and the Museum of Islamic Art of the National Museums in Berlin, in cooperation
Riyadh, 34F17 National Museum, Riyadh, 497A with the Louvre in Paris. The curators of the Paris exhibition were Béatrice André-
Salvini and Ali Al-Ghabban. That exhibition’s core has been carried over, and both
Fig. 9 Flask Fig. 11 Reconstruction inscrip-
Obj. No. 265 expanded and revised by the Berlin curators Ute Franke, Joachim Gierlichs and
tion of the sanctuary of Mecca in
8th–10th century the name of the Mamluk Sultan Stefan Weber.
Free-blown glass Faraj ibn Barquq
H. 11.5 cm, diam. max. 8.5 cm Obj. No. 245
al-Rabadha c. 804 AH/1402 AD Professor Ali Al-Ghabban,
National Museum, Riyadh, 2293 Carved marble Vice President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities
62 × 43.5 × 28.5 cm
Sanctuary of Mecca Dr. Stefan Weber,
National Museum, Riyadh, 8 Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, National Museums in Berlin
faithful also sought out the blessing (baraka) of the holy cities as their final resting
place. Sixteen gravestones from al-Ma’la near Mecca, dating from the 9th to the
16th centuries, are here erected in an accessible circle to provide witness to this by
way of their calligraphic inscriptions.
Finally, the group formed by rooms 8–12 leads the visitor back to the present. First,
the discovery and exploration of Arabia detailed in the reports of early European
travellers are illuminated using objects and manuscripts from Berlin and Tübin-
gen, including very early representations of the holy cities and the pilgrim cara-
vans. This topic was also taken up in 19th century painting (Orientalism), as demon-
strated by the Wilhelm Gentz painting Prayer in the Desert (Gebet in der Wüste),
owned by the Old National Gallery. It has been restored specially for the exhibition
and is being shown to the public for the first time in many decades. The ‘Mecca
Railway’, the famous railway line from Damascus to Medina, built with German
aid, is also a topic.
Of special interest is the fact that the transfer to Berlin in 1903 of the largest ob-
ject of Islamic art in any museum worldwide was a by-product of this railway proj-
ect. The route of the ‘first Muslim railway’ passed close to the early Islamic desert
castle of Mshatta. Due to the theft of stone in the past, the richly decorated façade
was in acute danger of being irretrievably destroyed and used as building mater-
ial. However, a request by Kaiser Wilhelm II addressed to Sultan Abdülhamid II,
and the Sultan’s generous gift to his ally prevented this. The reconstruction of the
Mshatta stones in Berlin in 1904 was also the moment of inception of the Museum
of Islamic Art, the organiser of the present exhibition.
As extensive as it is, the curators of this exhibition have acted with restraint and
precision. The chronological tour ends with the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia.

In addition to the objects loaned by Saudi Arabia, numerous objects from the Na-
tional Museums in Berlin, the Berlin State Library, the Tübingen University Li-
brary, and private lenders make up the more than 400 unique archaeological and
cultural history artefacts. Additionally, an important presentation is made in one
of the exhibition rooms by other Berlin institutions. The substantial contributions
to knowledge made by means of German research projects in Saudi Arabia by the