Camel carvings
With Thamudic script.
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A site of rock carvings and inscriptions at Jabal Umm Sinman in the town of Jubbah, about 90 kilometres north-west of Hail in the Nafud desert. Together with Shuwaymis it was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2015 as «Rock Art in the Hail Region», Saudi Arabia's fourth World Heritage Site. The Umm Sinman hills rise to 1,264 metres above sea level, some 450 metres above the surrounding desert, and once overlooked an ancient lake about 20 kilometres long and 5 wide. The carvings on their eastern flanks record changes in life and climate over roughly 10,000 years. The oldest images show the ibex, revered in the Neolithic; cattle and horses were added as they were domesticated, and as the lakes dried up about 3,000 years ago the camel appears in abundance, alongside Thamudic and Arabic script. Other carvings show men wearing headgear and animals pulling a wheeled cart. Visits usually begin at the visitor centre by Jabal Umm Sinman, and visitor guides say entry is free. Sources disagree on the centre's hours, so check before you go. The hills are exposed, so winter mornings are best.
With Thamudic script.
Sandstone in the Nafud.
Of images in the rock.
Jubbah, about 90 km north-west of Hail, in the Nafud desert
It spans some 10,000 years, from Neolithic ibex figures to camels with Thamudic and Arabic inscriptions.