Al-Ha'it Archaeological Site
Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site is a historic heritage village located in Al-Ha’it Governorate in Hail Province, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Al-Ha’it is located southwest of Ha’il city, about 250 km away, and its history dates back more than 1,200 years BCE.
Time period of Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site
Historically, Al-Ha’it was one of the important agricultural oases due to its abundant spring waters and fertile soil, which made it a refuge for many people in ancient times.
Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site contains evidence from two distinct historical periods: the pre-Islamic period and the Islamic eras.
Inscriptions of Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site
Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site has been a major center in northwestern Arabia from the first millennium BCE until the early Islamic period. The mountains around the site contain a variety of early Islamic rock art and inscriptions, in addition to fortresses, walls, and water structures. In 2021, archaeologists discovered rock carvings on basalt formations depicting the Babylonian king Nabonidus in the mid-sixth century BCE. The carvings show him holding a scepter opposite a group of religious symbols. The site also yielded a cuneiform inscription, considered the longest written text found in Saudi Arabia, consisting of about twenty-six lines.
The names of Al-Ha’it (Fadak) and Al-Huwayyit (Badiʿ) were recorded on the two steles that were discovered in the ruins of the Main Mosque in Harran. The English researcher Gadd published the cuneiform text of these two steles in 1958. The cuneiform text referred to the Babylonian king Nabonidus’ campaign in northwestern Arabia in 553 BCE, when he conquered Al-Ha’it and Al-Huwayyit and brought them under his control during his stay in Tayma.
Names of Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site
The archaeological site of Al-Ha’it was historically known as Fadak. It was one of the cities mentioned in the Babylonian text during Nabonidus’ sixth-century BCE conquest of Tayma. The site later came to be called Al-Ha’it after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH), opened Khaybar, when Fadak surrendered, and from that time became known as Al-Ha’it.
Al-Ha’it is considered one of the large villages of the Harrat Khaybar volcanic field. It is rich in palm groves, which were estimated at twenty thousand palm trees. The name Al-Ha’it is thought to have been derived from the way its palm trees intertwined, forming a circular enclosure around the village. In Arabic, the term Ha’it is also used to describe a palm grove.
Despite the fame that Al-Ha’it enjoyed before Islam and in its early eras, it eventually fell into obscurity following the turmoil that ensued after the fall of the Abbasid state. Historian Hamad Al-Jasir mentioned that Al-Samhudi and other historians were surprised that the people of Madinah at that time were unfamiliar with it.
Architectural style of Al-Ha'it Heritage Site
The book “The Town of Al-Ha’it: Its Planning and Traditional Architecture- An Archaeological and Architectural Study” by researcher Ziyad Al-Masyoul documented the urban layout and traditional architecture of Al-Ha’it. It examined the residential neighborhoods, their components, and the religious, civic, and defensive structures. The study also detailed water-related facilities and services that made the town nearly self-sufficient, many of which still retain their historical architectural and artistic features.
The archaeological site of Al-Ha’it contains fortresses, castles, and palaces built from black volcanic stones, surrounded by volcanic highlands from the north and south, with early Islamic inscriptions carved into the rocks. A defensive wall, also built from volcanic stones, once enclosed the town. This wall was constructed in two phases: the first between 1834–1847, and the second after 1909. It measured about two m in height and 6,800 m in length, encircling the settlement with eighteen square towers, several gates, seven fortresses, and twenty-one palaces and forts designed as residential complexes with independent walls. The site also included notable neighborhoods such as Al-Fuqra Al-Qadim, Al-Fuqayrah, Al-Qusayr, and Al-Sharif, along with farmlands and springs, including Fayyadah, Jaridah, Al-Ghuwayr, Al-Ghar, ‘Ujrah, Al-Juwakhin, Al-‘Uwaynah, and Abi Sulayman. It had seven mosques, among them a grand mosque, such as Al-Qal‘ah, Al-Duwayhi, the old and new Uthman mosques, and Qasr Al-Hisan, in addition to four main markets. Only the foundation of the wall remains today.
Tourism in Al-Ha'it Governorate
Government bodies, led by the Emirate of Hail Province, are working to transform Al-Ha’it Governorate, which encompasses Al-Ha’it Archaeological Site, into a historical tourism capital. Studies and research are being conducted to develop the area and make use of its tourism and archaeological elements. These include natural parks, volcanic craters such as Ras Al-Jabal Al-Abyad adjacent to the governorate, as well as the abundance of archaeological remains and cairns that exceed eight thousand in number. The area also features heritage palaces in the heritage village, ancient Thamudic and Islamic inscriptions, and human-shaped carvings on rocks. In addition, it contains precious minerals such as uranium in Mount Asfar Thuwaylil.