University Students Carry out Excavations in Jerash
Under the guidance of His Excellency, University Rector, Prof. Faleh Bin Rajaa Allah Al-Solamy, and under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque's Program for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, 30 students from King Khalid University participated in the 10th season of excavations at the Jerash archaeological site in Ahad Rafaida. The location is 15 kilometers away from the Governorate of Khamis Mushait. The site is under the control of the Exploration Team of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage.
Assistant Professor of Archeology and the Undersecretary of the Khamis Mushait Community College, Dr. Ali Abdullah Marzouk, said that the participation comes as a result of the partnership with the Tourism Authority. Earlier, university students participated in the seventh, eighth and ninth exploration seasons. This year, the participation comes under the guidance of the Rector who firmly believes in active participation in significant excavatory archaeological projects to unearth the best archaeological exploration methods. He further asserted that the site is of particular interest due to its presence on the Yemeni pilgrimage route and the old trade route linking the Southern Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the world alongside its once world renown leather industries. To be brief, the distinguishing factor of the site is that it dates back to the pre-Islamic period and successive Islamic periods, and it was mentioned by a number of eminent historians, such as Ibn Khardabah, Idrisi, Hamdani, and Bakri.
