VZCZCXRO5233
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #1021/01 2171221
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051221Z AUG 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1350
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001021 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP (HARRIS), NEA/PPD (AGNEW, BENZE), ECA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KPAO PGOV PHUM PREL PTER SOCI SA
SUBJECT: THE JURASH ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG: SEASON II, DIGGING 
DEEPER 
 
REF: JEDDAH 228 
 
RIYADH 00001021  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
-------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On July 31, the CDA and an Embassy delegation 
visited the Jurash archaeological dig in Asir province, the 
first U.S. - Saudi joint excavation in the Kingdom.  The 
Jurash dig, currently in its second season, is funded by 
ExxonMobil.  The Embassy played an important part in 
facilitating Saudi government approval for the project. 
Rarely visited by Westerners, the Asir province produced five 
of the 9/11 terrorists.  Archaeology is a highly 
controversial subject in the Kingdom as it challenges the 
narrow Islamist interpretation of the peninsula's history. 
By promoting archaeology and supporting scientific inquiry 
into Saudi Arabia's past, we are furthering our 
counter-terrorism agenda in a meaningful, long-term way.  The 
Saudis, who were initially reluctant to engage on this topic, 
have now given this project fairly wide publicity. End 
summary and comment. 
 
JURASH: OVERCOMING RESISTANCE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Jurash, in the remote and mountainous Asir region, 
was an important trade and manufacturing center on the route 
from Yemen to Palestine during the pre-Islamic and early 
Islamic period.  The dean of Saudi Archeologists, Dr. Abdul 
Kerim Al-Ghamdi, wrote about the site twenty-five years ago 
and arranged for its preservation.  Since then, the site had 
not been developed beyond a basic survey, during which 
Al-Ghamdi discovered a third century A.D. coin displaying the 
head of Roman emperor Caracalla and which had been minted in 
Syria. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Archaeology, especially when it involves pre-Islamic 
sites, is a controversial subject in the Kingdom as it 
challenges the narrow Islamist interpretation of the 
peninsula's history (i.e. that artifacts pre-dating the 
prophet Mohammed are objectionable signs of idolatry). 
Religious extremists look askance at the period before Islam, 
known as "The Ignorance (Jahiliya)," and have been either 
indifferent or actively hostile to the relics of the past. 
The dominant sect in the Kingdom, the Wahhabis, disdain 
veneration of any object, shrine, or holy site other than the 
Quran and the Ka'aba in Mecca.  Extremists interpret the 
scientific investigation of antiquities as a direct assault 
on their approach to history. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Saudi government has taken several quiet and 
deliberate, but nonetheless determined, steps to challenge 
extremists and open the Kingdom to the modern world through 
scientific inquiry.  In 2007, the government transferred the 
management of archaeology from the Ministry of Education, 
largely controlled by religious conservatives, to the High 
Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.  Prince Sultan bin 
Salman, a former astronaut and one of the most progressive 
(Al Saud) princes, heads the Commission.  The signing of a 
five-year agreement in August 2008 to survey and explore the 
Jurash site was another significant, progressive step. 
Embassy Riyadh, University of Miami archaeologist Dr. David 
Graf, and ExxonMobil CEO Desmond Carr worked diligently to 
build confidence on the Saudi side to take a risk on this 
kind of a project with a joint U.S. - Saudi team. 
ExxonMobil, the project's major sponsor, has contributed 
$375,000 and is ready to contribute more as needed. 
 
SEASONS I AND II: DIGGING DEEPER 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In August 2008, a Saudi-American team commenced 
digging in Jurash and immediately found significant 
pre-Islamic structures and artifacts.  The team's initial 
discoveries included a major temple or administrative site, 
the remains of an industrial district, and an ancient 
well/cistern.  An Embassy delegation visited the site in 
August 2008, and described Saudi cooperation at that time as 
excellent and increasingly enthusiastic. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The second season of the excavation began on July 
22, 2009 and will continue through August 20.  The CDA and an 
Embassy delegation visited the site July 31.  Graf, a U.S. 
scholar on the ancient Nabataean Arab kingdom of Petra, is 
providing overall direction to this year's team of 
archaeologists, which includes eight Americans, two 
Canadians, and one German.  The protected site, about half a 
kilometer by a quarter, is well-preserved, but only covers 
perhaps one-third of the original city.  The team intends to 
 
RIYADH 00001021  002 OF 002 
 
 
survey neighboring sites such as Kutnah (60 km northeast of 
Jurash) and several mining sites (20 km southwest of Jurash) 
in order to understand and interpret the remains at Jurash. 
In a meeting on August 1, the CDA relayed a request from Graf 
to the Governor of Asir, Prince Faisal bin Khalid, for 
additional security forces so the team could travel to 
outlying areas as part of their excavation activities.  The 
Governor said it was "no problem" to provide extra security 
to facilitate this expanded exploration (septel). 
 
INCREASED OPENNESS THROUGH SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Saudi archaeologists have expressed their hope 
that the Jurash project can become a base for archaeological 
research in the southwest region of Saudi Arabia.  Eventually 
they would also like to see artifacts from Jurash sent to the 
U.S. as part of a traveling exhibition.  Exxon/Mobil CEO 
Desmond Carr, who accompanied the CDA to Jurash, indicated 
that Exxon/Mobil is very interested in supporting such an 
exhibit.  Thus the Saudis have moved from reluctance to begin 
one small project to a desire to publicize the project and 
the U.S. role in making it happen. 
ERDMAN