RIYADH: Carlo Baldocci, the Italian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, recently highlighted the strong cultural ties between Saudi Arabia and Italy by visiting the Italian archaeological mission at the ancient oasis of Dumat Al-Jandal.
The historical capital of the Al-Jouf Province in northwest Saudi Arabia is the ancient city of ruins known as Dumat Al-Jandal, or Al-Jouf, which is a reference to Wadi Sirhan.
The 2009-founded archaeological mission, headed by Professor Romolo Loreto of the University of Naples L’Orientale, recently secured a new five-year concession (2024–2029) for prospecting in the Al-Jouf region to study the Neolithic prehistoric phases (Asfan and Jebel Najma sites) and the Bronze Age, as well as for excavations and material study in Dumat Al-Jandal and the ancient Assyrian Adummatu (Nabataean Dumah and Roman Dumata).
The Archaeological Mission at Dumat Al-Jandal was visited by Ambassador Baldocci. The new concession will improve worker training, excavation, and restoration over a five-year period. Close ties between Saudi Arabia and Italy were highlighted by Ambassador Baldocci, the Italian Embassy wrote on X.
Along with archaeological work, Saudi staff are being trained and a restoration mission is underway.
Baldocci emphasised during the visit how “Italy in the archaeological field, also thanks to the fundamental contribution of the Farnesina, succeeds in bringing its knowledge, traditions, and skills to many friendly countries, as it does in Saudi Arabia, where it has been present since 2009 on the Dumat Al-Jandal site, in synergy with the Saudi Ministry of Culture’s Heritage Commission.
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