ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New archaeological research has revealed an exceptional Bronze Age town in the Khaybar oasis of northwest Arabia, confirming a major transition from mobile, nomadic life to settled, town life in the second half of the third millennium BCE.
The finding infers that oases such as Khaybar were carefully controlled and valued landscapes that, with the advent of agriculture, supported permanent populations as centres for exchange and interaction with mobile communities. This nascent urbanism profoundly impacted the region's socio-economic organisation.
Known as al-Natah, the newly discovered town provides evidence for differentiated functional areas – residential and funerary – within fortifications. Al-Natah was built around 2400-2000 BCE and endured until 1500-1300 BCE. Home to some 500 people across 2.6 hectares, it was protected by a stone rampart that encircled the Khaybar oasis.
People in al-Natah lived in dwellings with the ground floor possibly used for storage, with living spaces above. They walked along narrow streets and buried their dead in stepped tower tombs. They prepared food with mortar and pestle, made and traded pottery, and travelled extensively. They worked metals, grew cereals, and raised animals.
His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud, Governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla and Minister of Culture for Saudi Arabia, stated: "This important archaeological discovery highlights the Kingdom's global significance in the field of archaeology and confirms the depth of civilisation that the land holds. This discovery reinforces the Kingdom's efforts in protecting cultural and historical heritage and emphasises the importance of exchanging knowledge and expertise with the world to enhance awareness of our shared human heritage."
His Highness added, "This discovery confirms the Kingdom's commitment to preserving the world's heritage and promoting cultural heritage in accordance with the provisions of Saudi Vision 2030. It also highlights the importance of strengthening international partnerships to present this rich legacy to future generations and the world."
The discovery was led by Dr Guillaume Charloux of the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and includes Saudis from the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), Dr Munirah Almushawh, a co-director of the project, and Saifi Alshilali, a historian and a member of the local community in Khaybar.
The research was sponsored by the RCU and the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA). RCU's Archaeology, Collections and Conservation team is directing an ambitious archaeological research programme in AlUla.
The discovery furthers the emergence of AlUla and Saudi Arabia as global centres for archaeological research and intercultural dialogue. By commissioning and championing revelatory research on past human activity, RCU is demonstrating its archaeological leadership and responsible custodianship of cultural heritage.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, the research challenges the picture of mobile pastoral-nomadism as the dominant economic and social way of life of northwest Arabia in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.
Dr Charloux, stated: "Our discovery challenges the model of northwest Arabia in the Bronze Age. Al-Natah confirms that rural urbanism arose earlier than believed, making it possible to consider the complexity of a sedentary settlement in a walled Bronze Age oasis."
During the coming autumn fieldwork season, RCU is supporting 10 archaeological projects comprising more than 100 archaeologists and associated specialists in AlUla County and Khaybar.
The article can be found here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309963
For an image gallery and captions, including a rendering of what al-Natah might have looked like, visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_Jbw6gbmTHGG27DGtdyMcVwxc-M8y_k4
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER BRONZE AGE TOWN BURIED IN NORTHWEST ARABIA, THE REGION'S FIRST DISCOVERY OF ITS KIND
ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER BRONZE AGE TOWN BURIED IN NORTHWEST ARABIA, THE REGION'S FIRST DISCOVERY OF ITS KIND
Smilegate's deep expertise in Asian markets coupled with Dan Houser and the Absurd Ventures team's creative vision and blockbuster AAA game experience aims to create vast and sustainable global business opportunities
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Smilegate today announced that it has made a strategic investment and become a partner in Absurd Ventures, a U.S.-based media and entertainment company founded by Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser. Absurd Ventures was launched by Houser, whose creative direction during his over twenty years at Rockstar Games drove the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, among others, to collectively sell more than 550 million units worldwide. Through this agreement, Smilegate will have the opportunity to partner on Absurd Ventures' new IP.
Houser creatively oversaw globally successful IPs that are cultural cornerstones and rooted in immersive storytelling. As the creative director and lead writer of Rockstar's biggest games, Houser conceived indelibly rich worldbuilding, captivating and sometimes heart-breaking stories, and created iconic characters like Tommy Vercetti, Arthur Morgan, Trevor Phillips and John Marston to name just a few. Houser's team at Absurd Ventures includes key leaders and talent from his time at Rockstar Games as well as executive game development veterans who worked on Call of Duty, Pokemon Go! and many other AAA franchises. Absurd Ventures is currently at work building a bold new vision with diverse new IP universes across a wide array of mediums, including video games as well as live-action and animated TV and film, audio fiction podcasts, books, comic books and more. While Absurd Ventures' video game projects are in early stages of development, they have in 2024 released a hit audio fiction series set in their science-fiction universe, A BETTER PARADISE, which debuted at #1 on Apple's Fiction charts, and will be introducing their AMERICAN CAPER crime-fiction universe as an original comic book series in 2025. A third IP universe from Absurd Ventures will also be revealed soon.
Smilegate is the creator of the blockbuster franchises "CROSSFIRE", "Lost Ark", and "Epic Seven", that are hugely beloved in the global market. "CROSSFIRE", launched in 2007, is a first-person shooting game and is currently played in more than 80 countries worldwide by approximately 1 billion gamers. Smilegate's flagship MMORPG "Lost Ark", is played in 160 countries by 1..32M concurrent users. Smilegate is steadily solidifying its position as a 'Global IP powerhouse'.
Smilegate and Absurd Ventures will each leverage the strength of the other into new and sustainable business opportunities. Smilegate will benefit from Houser and his team's proven narrative, AAA game and business expertise in the Western market, while Absurd will benefit from Smilegate's expertise in the Asian market. The two companies will pool each other's strengths in areas such as online/live service, given Smilegate's success with CROSSFIRE and Houser and his team's experience overseeing the wildly successful Grand Theft Auto Online.
Dan Houser, Founder of Absurd Ventures, said, "This collaboration with Smilegate was borne from a mutual respect and a philosophical alignment with founder Kwon, and the great passion he and his team bring to making AAA games. We both want to build interesting worlds and new player experiences."
Joonho Sung, CEO of Smilegate, said, "We are thrilled to collaborate with the developers behind globally renowned series that have millions of fans worldwide. Together with Absurd Ventures, Smilegate aims to deliver games that players across the globe will love. This partnership marks a critical milestone in Smilegate's journey toward becoming a global IP powerhouse."
Smilegate was advised by DLA Piper and Absurd Ventures was advised by Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, P.C. with respect to the transaction.
About Smilegate: Smilegate is a global game development and publishing company headquartered in South Korea with regional offices in the United States, China, and Japan. Its flagship franchise 'CROSSFIRE,' is one of the largest and most successful franchises in gaming history. It has more than 1 billion registered users to date in PC and mobile platforms and over 8 million concurrent players globally. Its latest project, 'Lost Ark,' is an MMORPG that was released in South Korea in 2018 and was launched in North America and Europe in February, 2021. Lost Ark recorded concurrent players on Steam with over 1.32M. Learn more by visiting Smilegate.com
About Absurd Ventures: Absurd Ventures is an entertainment company creating new IP across all mediums. Absurd Ventures' original properties include the sci-fi thriller universe "A Better Paradise" and the crime fiction universe "American Caper," whose characters, stories and lore are currently being produced and developed for video games, live-action and animated TV and film, fiction podcasts, books, comic books and more. The company has already launched a chart-topping audio fiction series set in the "A Better Paradise" universe and will be debuting an American Caper comics series in 2025. Founded by Dan Houser, Absurd Ventures is headquartered in Santa Monica, with additional studio offices in Marin, CA. 
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Smilegate Makes Strategic Investment in Dan Houser's Absurd Ventures, Accelerating Its Growth in the Global Gaming Market
