Petroglyphs of Graffiti Rock

I had the most Amazing Adventure yesterday! I went to Graffiti Rock to see the petroglyphs, and it was worth every hot, bumpy minute of the ride! This is the main wall of glyphs, but there are others to be found around the different stones on the mountain. As you can see, it's like an ancient graffiti mural! And the animals are amazing! In Saudi Arabia, everyone expects to see camels, but to find the images of an ostrich came as quite a surprise!

By the way, for any archeologists and history majors out there, please don't be terribly critical of my lack of knowledge in describing these glyphs. I am just describing them how I see them. I have no knowledge in this area, just a keen sense of adventure and a love of art, from the ancient to the modern.

I loved this scene of what looks to be a mother "ostrich" and her 11 babies, but I'm sure I must be mistaken since I can't imagine a brood of 11 to be possible. Still, it seems very sweet to me.

Here is a very clear picture of an Ibex, even to the ridges on its horns. Just in front, you can see a type of beast with large claws. A type of wolf or wild dog, perhaps? Below that, you see a camel and another animal that looks like a dog, without the exaggerated claws.

The animal in the upper right of this picture looks like another wolf/dog to me, although again, no claws are showing. In the lower left you can see a human form with a weapon aimed at some type of deer or antelope.

This can't be too surprising. Bedouins claim that the Arabian horse was captured and domesticated in the Nejd area of Saudi Arabia thousands of years before the birth of Christ!

The sheer variety of animals on this rock face simply astound!

I see five distinctly human figures in this shot. Whether by chance or design that they are all in the same area, I haven't any idea. One shows ribs, and this is the only figure like this that I saw anywhere on the mountain. Could this represent hunger or famine? The one on the left looks like he could have been killed in battle, or maybe in a hunt. The one up above I find most intriguing, but I hesitate to guess on the reason for the pose. I do find it interesting that it seems to be more in a profile view than the other human figures.

Ancient horse racing?

Look past the brighter symbols here, to the faded picture unfolding in the back. Two hunters with weapons closing in on a type of antelope. The horns are very different than in the pictures of the ibex, but what type of antelope this is I can't be sure. Another antelope can be seen behind the hunter on the right.

Overall, yesterday couldn't have been a better day. Although the day was getting a little too warm, there was a breeze which kept us reasonably cool. And what a reward! I had no idea that such treasures existed here! As usual, the sun was so bright that it made it a little difficult for me to take clear pictures without them getting too washed out, but I think I captured at least the idea of how beautiful these glyphs are. I hope that you enjoy looking at them at least a fraction as much as I enjoyed getting out to see them!