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Ash-Shuwaymis is in the south of Hail province, about 250 km from Hail, near the boundary of the Medina region. Two sandstone massifs, Jabal al-Manjor and Jabal Raat, rise in the middle of a lava field. The site covers about 50 km², with lava caves and stone structures.
The rock faces bear carved friezes, sometimes 12 m long. They show animals life-size or larger: long-horned cattle, ostriches, lions, ibexes, camels. They also show figures in a line and hunting scenes with dogs on leashes. A study published in 2018 (Guagnin et al.) examined these hunting scenes with dogs.
Archaeologists distinguish three periods. The Neolithic carvings are dated to about 10,000 to 7,000 BC. Next come inscriptions in North Arabian (Thamudic) script, then Kufic inscriptions from the Islamic period.
The site was known to the Bedouin. It was officially reported in 2001 by a local teacher, then studied by M. Khan and the Saudi Commission for Tourism. In 2015, UNESCO listed it together with Jubbah under the name “Rock Art in the Hail Region”. Islamic sources do not mention it.
The site is fenced and guarded. It is reached by sand tracks from al-Haʾit or Hail, by 4×4 and with a guide. There is no visitor centre as there is in Jubbah.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: the carvings and their UNESCO listing in 2015; the three periods recognised by archaeologists.
- Uncertain: the dates of the carvings are estimated from style and context, not by direct dating. These carvings have no connection with the prophets or with the sira.
Sources
1. UNESCO, “Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia”, no. 1472 (whc.unesco.org/en/list/1472).
2. Guagnin M. et al., “Pre-Neolithic evidence for dog-assisted hunting strategies in Arabia”, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 49, 2018.
3. Khan M., Rock Art of Saudi Arabia, 2007.
4. Saudipedia, « آثار الشويمس ».