Archaeological Cubic Stone

The Cubic Stone is a cubic stone missing a small part of its upper right corner. It was found in Tayma Governorate, in Tabuk Province, north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is carved from sedimentary sandstone. It offers a view of various consecutive ornamentations, featuring relief carvings on two of the six sides of the stone. The left side of the stone features a frame ornamented with recurring protruding carvings of plants. Under this side, a carving of a star placed within a circle is featured to the left. The star has a circular opening in its center. Below the star, the figure of a winged sun is carved with a protruding carving of a bull in a moving bull right under it. The carving details are extremely clear, and the bull features two protruding horns, bearing the winged sun figure in between. The figure of a person wearing his hair backward is carved in front of the bull. On the left side of the stone, the bottom part thereof features protruding carvings for three trap rocks, topped with a bull head. The sides of the trap rocks feature two censers resting upon high tripod bases, forming a base for a basin shaped into three conical forms. The bottom corner of the right side of the stone features a protruding carving for the figure of a person with an exaggerated length, wearing his long hair, reaching his shoulders, backward. The figure is raising both hands and wears a multiple-slit robe reaching the area above his ankles. The figure is topped by a winged sun. The upper part of this side features the remnants of an ornamented cornice showing carvings of plants.

The cubic stone dates back to the first millennium BCE, during the thriving era of the Babylonian civilization. At the time, it was a memorial. It is registered under number 1021 and is kept at the National Museum in Riyadh City. It is one of the artifacts retrieved as a result of archaeological survey and excavation efforts conducted by Saudi Arabia's antiquities and museums sector over the past years. It is among the discoveries made by Saudi archaeologists and scientific missions. It is one of the artifacts on display at the Saudi Archeological Masterpieces Through the Ages Exhibition.

Length: Thirty-eight cm.

Width: Thirty-nine cm.

Height: Forty-one cm.

The topics tackled by the symbols carved on the sides of this stone document a scene whose artistic style, with its intricate features, dates back to the Babylonian era, particularly due to the recurring use of crescent and star motifs. The crescent moon shape holding the lunar limb is one of the most common themes featured in the art of the southern Arabian Peninsula. This cube sheds light on the cultural connections between Mesopotamia during the Babylonian era and the city of Tayma when it was a trade hub in the northern Arabian Peninsula.