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Hisma is a plateau in north-western Saudi Arabia. It stretches from the area around Jabal Madyan in the west to Harrat ar-Raha in the east, and continues into Jordan to the north. Its altitude ranges from 800 to 1,700 metres.
The ground is made of Palaeozoic sandstone (the Tabuk formation). Wind, and water from earlier wetter periods, carved isolated massifs separated by stretches of sand.
Early Arab authors described it. Al-Jawhari speaks of “a desert land with high, smooth mountains”. Yaqut writes that once you have seen it, you recognise it. Three ancient roads passed through Hisma or beside it.
The rocks bear many inscriptions. Saudipedia mentions texts in Hismaic script, an ancient Arabic dialect, and Nabataean inscriptions. A study published in 2020 by Jérôme Norris and Ali al-Manaser describes some at the locality of Tur al-Qawwas.
Jabal as-Safina, about 80 km west of Tabuk, is part of this landscape. Saudipedia reports ancient inscriptions there and a sentence dated 738 AD.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: geography of the plateau, sandstone of the Tabuk formation, Hismaic and Nabataean inscriptions (Saudipedia, academic publication of 2020).
- Uncertain: the recorded coordinates mark one point on the plateau, which covers a very large area. The exact point meant (massif, inscription site) needs to be specified.
- Uncertain: the age of most of the inscriptions.
- To check on site: tracks, need for an off-road vehicle, possible permits in the NEOM zone.
- Saudipedia (English), Hisma Plateau: https://saudipedia.com/en/article/2385/geography/deserts/hisma-plateau
- Saudipedia, list of five archaeological sites in the Tabuk region: https://saudipedia.com/قائمة-خمسة-مواقع-أثرية-في-منطقة-تبوك
- Saudipedia (English), Jabal al-Safinah: https://saudipedia.com/en/article/3364/history/landmarks-and-monuments/jabal-al-safinah
- J. Norris and A. al-Manaser, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2020, DOI 10.1111/aae.12154: https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12154