Outstanding rock sculptures were unearthed in Saudi Arabia by both local and French teams. An international team led by Guillaume Charloux, a renowned French archaeologist, said the team found rock sculptures dating back to some 2,000 years ago that were described as striking as a piece of art created by Michael Angelo.
Charloux, who is a member of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Orient & Méditerranée joint research unit, and who surveyed the site, said "these findings, in a sector that remains virtually unexplored, are truly unique," according to CNRS website.
According to Charloux, the team found a magnificent sculpture in which a camel appeared, nodding towards the bust of a donkey in a gesture indicating the continuity of species.
The research team published the results of the study in Antiquity magazine on ancient studies. The study was attended by Dr. Hussain Abu Al Hassan, Vice President of Saudi Cultural and Tourism Authority (SCTH) for Antiquities and Museums.
He said the site was another evidence that the region attracted highly skilled sculptors.
The team found a large number of camel sculptures, which Khalifa pointed out differed in style and beauty of their implementation of a similar number of other beauty sculptures found in the Arabian Peninsula, and that the new discoveries may shed more light on its history.
Researchers said the discovery was new because the carvings were from rocks that had not been previously excavated in Saudi Arabia. Although many of the new sculptures have been damaged by erosion and damage caused by humans, their remains indicate that ancient Arab sculptors reached high levels of creative art.
The study was conducted by researchers based at the CNRS in France and their counterparts at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), who explored the site in 2016 and 2017.
