Experts In The Middle East Are Using Drones To Unravel Raw Details Of A Mystery Civilization

Imagine if Ancient Egypt had gone undiscovered. Well, that is what has happened in Saudi Arabia, a country with a rich, age-old history that has largely gone understudied. But a recent tech-centric excavation is changing all that. An archeological project — using light aircraft and drones — investigates the region for clues about the past. And so far, they’ve already unearthed some incredible centuries old pieces of history.

The home of the Nabataeans

The region the devices are scanning looks far different than it did centuries before when the land was home to an ancient society known as the Nabataean civilization. The tribe lived nomadically for years before settling into a life focused on trade and agriculture. They also built some truly astounding structures and sacred sites — some of which have already caught archaeologists’ attention.

Living in an extreme environment

But so much of the Nabatateans’ presence at the site remains unknown. Until recently, accessing the most obscure parts of the remaining structures would have taken extreme time and care. Now, archaeologists need not worry about traversing the somewhat difficult terrain. Using drones, they have a better vantage point of what the ancient civilization left behind.

Culturally distinct

But what is known about the Nabataeans proves they were a dynamic and fascinating people. The earliest trace of the Nabataeans goes back to the 4th century B.C. when they crossed the Arabian Desert in search of water and pasture for their herds. However, their earlier origins remain shrouded in mystery. Some say they came from Yemen, but they shared nothing – language, deities, script – with the region.

Looking at the language

Others hypothesize that the Nabataeans started out in a region on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, known as Hejaz. This possibility makes more sense, as the Hejaz locals worshiped the same gods as the wandering Nabataeans. Plus, the tribe’s name contains a root consonant, “nbtw,” once used in the area’s Semitic language.