Image Details

© HERITAGE COMMISSION AND MARTA LUCIANI, QURAYYAH ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

DESERT OASIS. This bird’s-eye view of Qurayyah captures many of the important elements of this age-old settlement. Formed amid dried prehistoric lakes and valleys, the site is dominated by a towering rock plateau (upper left), where archaeologists found elite graves from the late fourth millennium BCE. The settlement consisted of a fortified residential area (bottom right), an industrial district and cemetery (between plateau and settlement), and an extensive system of agricultural fields (to right of area shown). Water was provided through a network of dams and channels that collected and carried runoff from nearby mountains and rocky outcrops.