Town in Saudi Arabia 'appears' in the middle of an oasis after 4,400 years of disappearance

An ancient town called al-Natah has been discovered after millennia hidden in the Khaybar oasis in Saudi Arabia.

A multinational research team led by archaeologist Guillaume Charloux from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) discovered a previously unknown town measuring 1.5 hectares, during the excavation of Khaybar, a famous historical oasis in Arabia.

A rare green spot in the arid desert of Saudi Arabia, Khaybar is famous for its relics from many periods.

The town of al-Natah in a 3D virtual reconstruction - (Graphic image: AFALULA-RCU-CNRS).

Among them, the newly discovered town named al-Natah represents "slow urbanism" in this area during the Bronze Age, according to researchers.

Although modest in scale compared to the incredible cities across the Levant and Mesopotamia of the same period, the town's size was still impressive compared to other parts of the world.

The town of al-Natah has been inhabited since around 2400 BC, with a total area of ​​about 1.5 hectares.

It consists of a central district and nearby residential areas, surrounded by protective city walls.

It is estimated that about 500 people lived in al-Natah before it was abandoned about 1500-1300 years ago.

Its size and organization are similar to other sites of similar age in northwestern Arabia, but these are smaller and less socio-politically complex than the larger urban areas of the region.

Scientists believe that al-Natah represents a transitional stage between nomadic herding and complex urban settlements.

Writing in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, the archaeologists also said this was the first "transitional" settlement they had found at Khaybar.

The town also had connections to other citadels in the area, suggesting that the ancient people in this area already possessed tightly-knit kingdoms.