Scientists have succeeded in reconstructing a human face of a woman who lived during the Nabataean Kingdom, for the first time in history, according to the Royal Commission for the Saudi Al-Ula Governorate, in a statement.
A team of archaeologists and academics in forensic science and model-making working for the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate managed to reconstruct the face of a woman from the Nabataean civilization that existed in the Arabian Peninsula centuries ago.
The team named this woman “Hinat”, whose skeleton was found in 2019, as it is believed that she had a prominent social status until her death around the first century BC, to be buried after more than two thousand years in a cemetery within the Al-Hijr region in Saudi Arabia.
The Nabataeans settled in the Al-Hijr region in the first century BC, after they expanded from Petra towards the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, reaching areas that represent present-day northwest Saudi Arabia.
The Nabataean civilization was famous throughout the ages for building modern tombs carved into the slopes of sandy rocks in the Hajar region.
The Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate is presenting to see the face of the Nabataean woman at the reception center in the Al-Hijr area.
The design of the woman’s face from the Nabataean civilization comes after her skeleton was discovered in good condition, as it is the most complete among most of the existing structures that were found in the cemetery, and therefore it was chosen to implement the face reconstruction project.
The team of scientists met in London in September 2019, where they discussed the expected final shape of Hinat’s face, in addition to the shape of the clothes she was believed to have worn. The team then creates a profile with attached reference photos of her clothes, hair and jewelry.
The Royal Commission for Al-Ula expects to continue important historical explorations in the future.
