DADAN & JABAL IKHMA

The archaeological sites of Dadan and Jabal Ikhma are visited together. The tour starts at the Winter Park where you will take a bus to the sites. You must arrive 30 minutes before the tour starts. Reservation and information on the Experience AlUla website mentioned above.

The Dadan site is a precious archaeological testimony of the ancient Lihyanite civilization. It includes a necropolis carved into the mountain, including the two famous Lion Tombs, and the foundations of the kingdom's capital dating back to the 6th century BC. Jabal Ikhma delivers a scriptural testimony of a great wealth. Thousands of graffiti were left on the mountainside and rocks by travelers as early as the 7th century BC.

Dadan. Dadan, also called Lihyan, is an ancient civilization that flourished in the western Arabian Peninsula between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC. In ancient times, the Gulf of Aqaba was called the Gulf of Lihyan. The Dadanites made the oasis of AlUla the capital of their kingdom, which they named Dadan. The empire was one of the most important caravan centers in the Middle East. It was an obligatory passage on the incense route between Yemen and the Levant. Dadan had established direct commercial links with Tyre in Lebanon. Historians and archaeologists use the term Dadan to signify the early centuries of the kingdom's existence, while Lihyan indicates the era of decline, just before the Nabataeans overran and conquered their territory. In addition to a major economic role, the Dadanite civilization played an important cultural role.

The visit to the Dadan site starts at the Visitors' Center, which has a permanent exhibition providing information on this ancient civilization. It continues with a guide to observe the tombs dug in the top of the mountain and in particular the Tombs of Lions. The tombs which consist of rectangular niches were placed in height so that the soul of the deceased could reach the sky more quickly. Dadan counts 700 of them, but no human remains have been found. Only two tombs stand out with the sculpture of two lions above the entrance of the vault. These are placed about fifty meters high on the cliff. The lion symbolizes strength and power, which suggests that the people buried there must have been important people. Inscriptions at the base of the vaults indicate that the deceased were Minaeans, from Yemen. It is possible that they wanted to be buried according to their traditions.

The visit continues with a tour near the ancient city of Dadan. A vast basin has always existed on the site. It was a huge rock that had rolled down from the mountain, then hollowed out. In 2005, King Saud University undertook archaeological excavations with a French team. The foundations of an ancient city were uncovered, as well as several colossal statues, more than 2 meters high and other precious artifacts. In 2010, a new statue is discovered and sent to the Louvre for restoration. It is on loan to the French museum until 2027. Unfortunately, the tour does not include a visit of the city and the guide only shows pictures of the excavations and discoveries from a booklet. Some tombs have been dug at the foot of the mountain facing the city. It is possible to access them, but not to penetrate inside.

Jabal Ikhma. Back at the Dadan Visitor Center, the bus takes you to Jabal Ikhma, a mountain north of the AlUla Valley. At the entrance of the canyon that allows to climb the mountain, thousands of graffiti and inscriptions have been engraved on the soft rock by travelers passing through Dadan. We find all the forms of writing that prevailed in the region in ancient times: Aramaic, Dadanite, Safaitic, Thamudic, Minaic and Nabatean. All these languages prefigured the Arabic script that appeared in Jordan in the^fifth century. All of the inscriptions have been deciphered by archaeologists and specialists in ancient languages, which represents an invaluable testimony to a period and a region that is little documented. Many of the graffiti indicate the names of people, probably those who inscribed them. Some others mention place names and indicate the origin of travelers, which also confirms the crucial role of Dadan on the caravan routes and its economic importance. Other inscriptions, on the other hand, describe religious rites in detail, mention commercial transactions, or engrave in stone the laws in force. Some engravings represent animals, everyday tools, people. The characters are always represented in action: hunting, herding, working in the fields... Among the animals, the most represented is the dromedary. But one can also recognize goats, sheep, gazelles... The oldest inscription has been dated by archaeologists to 644 BC.

The presence of inscriptions is a common fact in the region. One can notably admire some in the valley of Ashar. However, the number, variety and diversity of the inscriptions left at Jabal Ikhma make it a unique place. This is the reason why the mountain is nicknamed "the open-air library".