Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone
The historic environment of north-west Saudi Arabia is likely to be severely impacted by the construction of the Neom mega-city complex and the development of the city’s hinterland. This region, located east of the Gulf of Aqaba, has only been subject to limited archaeological survey in the past, li...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/11/1941 |
| _version_ | 1827646384647438336 |
|---|---|
| author | Michael Fradley Sarah Gyngell |
| author_facet | Michael Fradley Sarah Gyngell |
| author_sort | Michael Fradley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The historic environment of north-west Saudi Arabia is likely to be severely impacted by the construction of the Neom mega-city complex and the development of the city’s hinterland. This region, located east of the Gulf of Aqaba, has only been subject to limited archaeological survey in the past, limiting any assessment of this negative impact. This paper presents data collected through a remote sensing survey of the region undertaken by the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, independent of the Neom project. It is argued that this data reflects a landscape of movement between north and south, with evidence of structures and monuments from at least the Bronze Age through to the pre-Islamic period, but little evidence of permanent settlement or agriculture. This should not be dismissed as a peripheral landscape, but one that contains rich archaeological evidence of concentrated activity, suggesting that some areas have held long-term significance to the people inhabiting and moving through this region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:56:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce2a7178d406475c9799d32370ec5ea1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:56:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce2a7178d406475c9799d32370ec5ea12023-11-24T05:27:55ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-10-011111194110.3390/land11111941Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact ZoneMichael Fradley0Sarah Gyngell1School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TG, UKDepartment of Archaeology & History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, AustraliaThe historic environment of north-west Saudi Arabia is likely to be severely impacted by the construction of the Neom mega-city complex and the development of the city’s hinterland. This region, located east of the Gulf of Aqaba, has only been subject to limited archaeological survey in the past, limiting any assessment of this negative impact. This paper presents data collected through a remote sensing survey of the region undertaken by the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, independent of the Neom project. It is argued that this data reflects a landscape of movement between north and south, with evidence of structures and monuments from at least the Bronze Age through to the pre-Islamic period, but little evidence of permanent settlement or agriculture. This should not be dismissed as a peripheral landscape, but one that contains rich archaeological evidence of concentrated activity, suggesting that some areas have held long-term significance to the people inhabiting and moving through this region.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/11/1941remote sensingGISlandscape archaeologyNeommobilitySaudi Arabia |
| spellingShingle | Michael Fradley Sarah Gyngell Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone Land remote sensing GIS landscape archaeology Neom mobility Saudi Arabia |
| title | Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone |
| title_full | Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone |
| title_fullStr | Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone |
| title_short | Landscapes of Mobility and Movement in North-West Arabia: A Remote Sensing Study of the Neom Impact Zone |
| title_sort | landscapes of mobility and movement in north west arabia a remote sensing study of the neom impact zone |
| topic | remote sensing GIS landscape archaeology Neom mobility Saudi Arabia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/11/1941 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelfradley landscapesofmobilityandmovementinnorthwestarabiaaremotesensingstudyoftheneomimpactzone AT sarahgyngell landscapesofmobilityandmovementinnorthwestarabiaaremotesensingstudyoftheneomimpactzone |