Thāj

Thāj
ثَاج
The ruins of a well at Thāj, photographed in 2017
Thāj is located in Saudi Arabia
Thāj
Shown within Saudi Arabia
General information
StatusFree access to the public
LocationHellenistic Archaeological Site at Thaj
AddressThaj 37384, Saudi Arabia
Town or cityEastern Province
CountrySaudi Arabia
Coordinates26°52′18″N 48°43′13″E / 26.8716430°N 48.7202923°E / 26.8716430; 48.7202923
Completedc. 3rd century BCE

Thāj (Arabic: ثَاج) is an archaeological site and ancient town located west of Jubail in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is associated with the Hellenistic era. Many artifacts including pottery and jewellery have been discovered at Thāj, some of which are currently held in the British Museum.

Location

The archaeological site of Thāj can be found around 90 kilometres west of Jubail at the border of a small village known as Sabkha, all within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.[1][2]

History

Ancient history

A necklace from Thaj that dates back to the 1st century CE

The city of Thāj generally dates back to the 3rd century BCE, during the Hellenistic period.[1][3][4][5] The city was also an important urban centre in at least the 1st millennium BCE.[6][2] During the 7th century CE, some of the remaining inhabitants accepted the call of Islam which was slowly spreading at the time.[7]

Modern history

The golden funerary mask of a young girl found at Thāj

Carvings, wall reliefs, and pottery were discovered at Thāj in the 1960s and then stored in the British Museum.[8] Then in 1968, a Danish exploration team visited the site.[4][5][2] Later in the 1980s, excavations revealed the city of Thāj and the stone wall which surrounded it.[4][5][2] In 2009, more excavations were conducted which revealed the grave of a young girl along with several burial goods, including a golden funerary mask.[3][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Thaj". nabataea.net. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  2. ^ a b c d Pavlopaulos, Kosmas (2018). "The Thāj Archaeological Project: results of the first field season". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 48 (51): 287–289.
  3. ^ a b Al Nimr (9 June 2009). "A young girl surrounded by gold from 50 BCE, the revelation of the grave of Amira of Thāj at Dhahran". Al Riyadh.
  4. ^ a b c "Thāj archaeological site dates back to 3rd century". ArabNews. 25 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Thāj Archaeological Site Dates Back To 3rd Century CE". Saudi Arabia Visa.
  6. ^ "The largest archaeological site explored in the east of KSA". Saudi Press Agency. 27 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b Al-Harbi (2 May 2009). "Thāj: The construction of a woman's house leads to the discovery of a queen's tomb and treasures of gold". Aleqt.
  8. ^ Parr, Peter J. (1964). "Objects from Thaj in the British Museum". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (176): 20–28. doi:10.2307/1355574. ISSN 0003-097X. JSTOR 1355574.