Few archaeological discoveries in recent years have so radically transformed the understanding of a region as have the objects on view in the Sackler Gallery’s exhibition Roads of Arabia. Mysterious stone steles, monumental human statues, haunting gold masks and finely forged bronze figures testify to Arabia’s largely unknown and remarkable history before the rise of Islam in the seventh century CE.
The exhibition’s earliest objects are
anthropomorphic steles, or vertical slabs of stone used for commemorative
purposes. They are among the earliest known objects from the Arabian Peninsula.
Neolithic bladelets, arrowheads, bifaces, and scrapers testify to the
technology that was in use even thousands of years ago.
This is just a glimpse into the wealth of fascinating and revealing artifacts on
display at roads of Arabia. Come unearth the rest!
-Jen Schiller
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