4,500 Year Old Burial Highway Discovered in Northwestern Saudi Arabia

VIVA – Archaeologists in northwestern Saudi Arabia discovered a 4,500-year-old burial highway 170 kilometers long along with a pendant-shaped stone tomb.

The discovery is referred to as a "grave highway" because there are various burials along the highway. It remains to be seen whether there are any valuable relics inside each of the rock burials.

These highways are said to connect several oases and form a network that resembles a road network.

Some of these cemetery highways have markings made of red stone and some are "naturally formed from human and animal footing," said Mat Dalton, a researcher from the University of Western Australia, as reported by Live Science site.

This road network is believed to have uses to facilitate long-distance travel, "Using this road network, people can travel up to 530 kilometers," Dalton added.

Archaeologists are still unaware of the rituals performed beforehand. Some of the human remains in the cemetery are in poor condition and some of the graves have been stolen.

"There is a shadow that the tombs were used to remember the dead, as the highway is often traveled by their successors."

Dalton says the discovery is unique, and it is possible that some of their remains, such as the 7,000-year-old mustalis, were used for worship.

Researchers from the Royal Commission for AUIUa, an organization that conducts archaeological and conservation studies in northwestern Saudi Arabia, used satellite imagery, aerial photography, and field surveys to find this unique location.