The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has launched its 2026-27 archaeological fieldwork season in AlUla and Khaybar, in north-west Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Press Agency reported the launch on 19 October 2026, according to Arab News, and the RCU issued a full statement dated 21 October 2026.
The commission said the season is part of its long-term archaeological research programme and aims to continue research, study, documentation and conservation, deepening knowledge of what it calls one of the most important archaeological landscapes in north-west Arabia.
Building on earlier results
The RCU said the season builds on the results of earlier work and continues its programme of excavation, archaeological survey, specialist research, digital documentation, conservation, community engagement and capacity building. It described a shift from individual discoveries to in-depth scientific analysis and the linking of findings, giving a fuller picture of the communities that lived in, moved through and interacted with the environment of AlUla and Khaybar over thousands of years.
Saudi and international research teams are taking part. The research themes are early human presence and prehistory; ancient Arabian kingdoms and oasis communities; routes of movement and pilgrimage; environmental history and water management; inscriptions and written heritage; and material culture and ways of life, alongside digital documentation.
According to the RCU, the work connects evidence across sites and periods, from the Palaeolithic and Neolithic eras through the Bronze Age, the kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan and the Nabataean and Roman periods to the Islamic and later periods. It said this strengthens understanding of the role of north-west Arabia in ancient and later history.
Hegra, Dadan and Khaybar
At Hegra (Al-Hijr), the RCU said research covers several areas, with a current main focus on the ancient settlement centre and the oasis. This includes specialist studies of plant and animal remains and archaeological finds, intended to help explain life at the site across several historical phases.
At Dadan, the second phase of the Dadan Archaeological Project builds on the results of the previous five-year project. It concentrates on funerary and residential areas, including evidence from the first millennium BCE and later phases of reuse of the site, the commission said.
In Khaybar, the research looks at the relationship between people and the oasis across different eras, from human activity in the Neolithic to the history of Khaybar in the Islamic periods. It also covers sedimentary records, ancient environments and the natural resources that shaped human presence and cultural change. The RCU’s English-language statement adds that the season includes excavation of the major Neolithic site of Al-Maṭḥana.
South of AlUla, studies of routes of movement and pilgrimage examine the historical networks that linked the region to its surroundings. They look at pilgrimage routes, forts, railway stations and associated archaeological evidence from different periods, according to the commission.
Inscriptions and everyday life
Written heritage remains a main strand of the research. The RCU said more than 25,000 inscriptions have been documented in AlUla, which it described as one of the most important written records in north-west Arabia, and that studying them deepens knowledge of the region’s history, languages and cultural interaction.
Specialist research continues on animal remains, pottery, water channel systems (qanats) and material culture. The commission said this helps build a deeper understanding of daily life, diet, production, exchange, ritual practice and water management in the oases.
Training Saudi archaeologists
On capacity building, the RCU said university students and Saudi researchers take part in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, specialist studies and digital documentation, supervised by Saudi and international experts from collaborating research institutions. It said this supports the transfer of knowledge and the development of national research skills.
Community activities link the research to local knowledge and let teachers, students, storytellers (rawis) and nature rangers take part in practical activities, learning experiences and visits to sites, museums and laboratories.
The commission said the results also feed into heritage interpretation and public access through exhibitions, heritage sites, cultural programmes and storytelling, helping visitors understand AlUla’s heritage on the basis of archaeological evidence.
In the English-language statement, Dr Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, Vice President of Culture at the RCU, said: “AlUla and Khaybar continue to reveal the depth and diversity of north-west Arabia’s human history.” Dr Rebecca Foote, the RCU’s Director of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research, said: “The value of this season lies in continuity.”
The previous season
The 2025-26 season was announced in October 2025. Bernama, citing the Saudi Press Agency, reported that it involved more than 100 researchers and specialists from Saudi and international institutions, including King Saud University, France’s CNRS, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Ghent University, INCIPIT-CSIC and ESTIA, with work spanning the Neolithic to the Islamic era.
The commission’s Arabic-language statement on the new season did not name the participating institutions or give start and end dates for the fieldwork.
Asharq Al-Awsat also carried the announcement, crediting the Saudi Press Agency, and reported the same research themes and sites.