View source for Mustatil

{{Short description|Rectangular prehistoric sandstone monuments in northwest Saudi Arabia}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox ancient site
|name = Mustatils
|map_type = Saudi Arabia
|relief = yes
|map_caption = Map of Saudi Arabia showing the location of the mustatils
|coordinates = {{coord|25|52|54|N|39|23|38|E|type:landmark_region:SA|display=inline,title}}
|location = northwest Saudi Arabia
|type = [[Monument]]
|length = {{convert|20-600|m}} long
|height = {{convert|1.2|m}} high
|material = sandstone
|built = [[Neolithic]]
}}
'''Mustatils''' are [[prehistoric]] [[monument]]s made of [[sandstone]] walls which are found in northwest [[Saudi Arabia]].
==Location, prevalence, and layout==
Named ''mustatil'' ({{langx|ar|مستطيل|lit=[[rectangle]]}}, plural مُسْتَطِيلَات‎, mustaṭīlāt) for their shape, they have walls surrounding a long central courtyard, with a rubble platform at one end and entrances at the end opposite the platform. Some entrances are closed off with stones.<ref name=Gershon-2021-04-30-NewSci>{{cite news |last=Sawal |first=Ibrahim |date=30 April 2021 |title=Arabian cult may have built 1000&nbsp;monuments older than Stonehenge |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |quote=If so, the monuments would together form the earliest large-scale, ritual landscape anywhere in the world, predating Stonehenge by more than 2500&nbsp;years. |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2276273-arabian-cult-may-have-built-1000-monuments-older-than-stonehenge/ |access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref><ref name=Thomas-Kennedy-etal-2021-Antq>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Hugh |last2=Kennedy |first2=Melissa A. |last3=Dalton |first3=Matthew |last4=McMahon |first4=Jane |last5=Boyer |first5=David |last6=Repper |first6=Rebecca |year=2021 |title=The mustatils: Cult and monumentality in Neolithic north-western Arabia |journal=Antiquity |volume=95 |issue=381 |pages=605–626 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2021.51 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Over 1,000&nbsp;mustatils, clustered in groups of 2–19, are spread out across a [[ritual landscape]] covering 200,000&nbsp;square kilometres. They range from 20 to over 600&nbsp;metres in length, with walls that are 1.2&nbsp;metres high. Some of the sandstone blocks used in their construction weigh more than 500&nbsp;kilograms.<ref name=Gershon-2021-04-30-NewSci/><ref name=Thomas-Kennedy-etal-2021-Antq/><ref name=Gershon-2021-04-30-SmthsnMag/>
==History of discovery and research==
The mustatils first came to the attention of researchers in the 1970s. Excavation of one mustatil funded by the [[Royal Commission for Al-'Ula]] revealed a chamber at the center containing fragments of cattle skulls, but no remains from other parts of the animals; they are believed to be evidence of a previously unknown [[cattle cult]].<ref name=Metcalfe-2021-04-30-NBC/>
Radiocarbon dating of the skulls revealed that the mustatil, and maybe the others, was built between 5300–5000&nbsp;BCE, during the [[African humid period|Holocene Humid Phase]], a time when the area was a grassland that went through frequent droughts. This would make the mustatils one of the oldest-known large-scale ritual landscapes in the world.<ref name=Gershon-2021-04-30-NewSci/><ref name=Gershon-2021-04-30-SmthsnMag>{{cite news |last=Gershon |first=Livia |date=30 April 2021 |title=Did a Neolithic cattle cult build these sprawling structures in Saudi Arabia? |magazine=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |quote=Thousands of monuments scattered across northwestern Saudi Arabia may represent the earliest known large-scale ritual sites in the world, predating Stonehenge by millennia. |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-neolithic-cattle-cult-build-these-sprawling-structures-180977629/ |access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref><ref name=Metcalfe-2021-04-30-NBC>{{cite news |last=Metcalfe |first=Tom |date=30 April 2021 |title=These mysterious stone structures in Saudi Arabia are older than the pyramids |website=[[NBC News]] |quote=Thousands of monumental structures built from walls of rock in Saudi Arabia are older than Egypt's pyramids and the ancient stone circles of Britain, researchers say – making them perhaps the earliest ritual landscape ever identified. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/mysterious-stone-structures-saudi-arabia-are-older-pyramids-rcna805 |access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Desert kite]]
*[[Havilah]]
{{clear}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://phys.org/news/2023-03-uncovering-ritual-ancient-stone-monument.html Uncovering the ritual past of an ancient stone monument in Saudi Arabia - Phys.org - 15 March 2023]
*[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220704-a-mysterious-cult-that-predates-stonehenge A mysterious cult that predates Stonehenge - BBC - Demi Perera 5 July 2022]
[[Category:Types of monuments and memorials]]
[[Category:Neolithic Asia]]