JUBBAH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

The 8,000-year-old petroglyphs of Jubbah are remarkable for their state of preservation and the wealth of information they provide about life in the Middle East during the Neolithic period. The bulk of the graffiti was carved deep into the stone of Jebel Umm Senman, literally the "Camel Mountain". The representations of men and women give archaeologists information on the activities undertaken by each of them, but also on the clothing, ornaments or hairstyles of the time. Numerous hunting scenes evoke a rich and varied fauna and provide information on the means used. These hunter-gatherers used spears, arrows, but also sticks. They were accompanied by dogs. Some scenes use rock art techniques and are painted with pigments from colored stones.

The site of Jubbah was "discovered" in 1879 by the explorer Wilfrid Blunt who had heard about these inscriptions. More recently, American archaeologist Juris Zarins has spent 20 years studying these petroglyphs. He said of their significance that they were "the number one or two site in the entire Middle East. [Jubbah] rivals any site in North Africa. [...] It is a treasure trove for answering questions about the Paleolithic era in the Middle East.

The sites of Qatar Cave and Ghouwtah on the eastern outskirts of the city also have some more recent petroglyphs.