A Mysterious Site
Often called the Stonehenge of Arabia, Rajajil is a mysterious ancient site located on a sandstone terrace about 20 kilometers south of Sakakah, the capital of Al-Jawf Province, and a few kilometers south of Qarah village. The enigmatic standing stones of Rajajil have sparked various popular explanations, ranging from tales of fear and superstition to theories about astronomical functions and open-air sanctuaries.
The Enigma of the Standing Stones
Archaeological excavations have revealed that Rajajil is indeed a burial site. However, its true significance likely lies in its role in the transition from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles, driven by climatic changes in the Arabian Peninsula.
Transitions of Climate and Lifestyle
After at least three millennia of wet weather, the Arabian Peninsula’s climate began to dry during the 6th millennium BCE, becoming as arid as it is today by the 1st millennium BCE. This transition was gradual, with intermittent moisture episodes providing extensive grazing lands, lakes, and high underground waters. These conditions supported complex shepherd cultures, consisting of mobile, tribally organized pastoralists. They dug wells into wadi floors and near lake shores, collected runoff water in temporary rivers, fed their flocks at manually built watering places, constructed domestic structures, and gathered at burial grounds for funeral rituals.
Linked to the drainage systems of Wadi Sirhan, which runs along today’s Jordanian eastern border, Al-Jawf Province benefited from the water it drained until the fringe of the Nafud Al-Kebir desert. This area may even be the cradle of oasis life, with some forms of sedentarism possibly existing as early as the 5th millennium BCE. The site’s favorable location near the Wadi Sirhan Basin made it a potential foothold for the spread of oasis economies when precipitation decreased after 4200 BCE.
The Burial Site
The Rajajil funerary complex extends along an east-west axis and features numerous burials marked by monolithic blocks over 3 meters long, set into the ground side by side. The complex was in use for an extended period, with many monoliths broken into fragments to create burial chambers. Over 50 burials have been identified, ranging from single trench tombs to structures containing more than 10 funerary chambers.
Excavations have unearthed tools such as fan scrapers, pen camp sites, and insulation material (coating of troughs) from the well/watering complex, confirming the dating of Rajajil to at least the 5th millennium BCE and possibly the 6th millennium BCE.
How to Visit Rajajil?
Rajajil is located amidst cultivations that have unfortunately led to partial destruction of the archaeological site. The location is available on Google Maps under the name “Rajajil Columns.” However, the site is fenced, and prior permission from the Tourism authorities is required to enter.
