Secrets of Saudi Arabia’s ancient past are about to be unveiled.
A new documentary about the history of AlUla is debuting at the end of this month on Discovery Channel. The doc, entitled The Architects of Ancient Arabia is premiering March 31 on Discovery Channel, promising to be the first of many revelations about the Kingdom’s yet under-explored heritage site.
The film, which shall come first, follows teams of leading international and Saudi archeologists and a local historian as they reveal new wonders in the previously unexplored land in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.
“We were walking among the ghosts of unknown ancients, and we could feel their presence, their yearning, to have their story told.”
The team used multiple modern technologies to record tens of thousands of sites, then choose some to explore in greater detail, beginning to piece together a new chapter in the story of human civilization, according to Discovery.
AlUla is a largely unknown oasis valley in the vast desert of the Northwest Arabian Peninsula, once a prosperous and important crossroad on the incense route and home to 3,000 years of powerful successive civilizations.
Some of the most important survey and excavation work in modern history has been taking place in the region, revealing the deep past of AlUla, which the documentary promises to go into more detail about.
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Most interestingly, teams are seeking to decipher the activities associated with ancient stone structures they are excavating across the county surrounding the AlUla oasis, with their findings aiding to deepen the historical legacy of the country, and of ancient Arabia.
In the documentary, the archeologists unearth evidence for an ancient ritual, an unexpected discovery. The team continues to work in AlUla now to continue to piece together AlUla’s rich history in time to welcome guests from around the world.
The stone structures in AlUla’s desert, experts believe, may provide the ‘missing link’ to a major turning point in the history of mankind.
The archaeology community globally is focused on AlUla at the moment, with more revelations set for the coming months, with published peer-reviewed articles and papers that will change the current understanding of the significance of the Arabian Peninsula, according to Discovery.
Saudi Arabia is starting to push the area as a tourist destination both domestically and internationally, with Flynas starting direct flights to AlUla twice a week from Riyadh just a few days ago.
The documentary, made in association with the Royal Comission for AlUla and produced by Powderhouse Productions, will be narrated by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons.
“The weeks we spent in AlUla filming alongside the archeological team were a life-altering experience for me and the rest of the crew. The startlingly spectacular landscape is like nothing I’ve ever seen. And the stone structures, literally thousands of them dotting the area, have sat untouched for thousands of years. We were walking among the ghosts of unknown ancients, and we could feel their presence, their yearning, to have their story told,” said Robert Kirwan, Executive Producer/Editor of the film.
‘The Architects of Ancient Arabia’ will air exclusively on Discovery Channel in the region, on 31 March at 10:40pm (KSA) on OSN (channel 500).
