1.3. 1976-1981: Endings & Beginnings

National Development Programs & Cultural Patronage

The establishment of the Department of Antiquities was closely intertwined with the institutionalization of government sponsored public education. The Department's establishment and mission can be understood through the lens of expanded governmental budgetary allocations made possible by increased oil revenues. However, as this text will showcase, such an understanding would be a narrow, incomplete, and reductionist view of the government's efforts to taxonomize and preserve the archeological heritage that fall within its geographic bounds. The development of governmental patronage of culture also marked a strategic vision and long-term mission to develop robust cultural institutions under the patronage of the state.

The creation of the Department of Antiquities was created in the context of “the wealth of antiquities and traces of the past” found across the country.^[1] According to the mandate of the First Development Plan regarding the country’s Cultural Affairs, the creation of the Department of Antiquities and Museums was a matter that necessitated work that fell outside the scale and capacity of the Ministry of Education. Not unlike the country-wide Development Plan, a detailed National Programme for the Department of Antiquities established, in detail, the long-term tasks of the Department and how it is meant to support the Ministry of Education. To better understand the significance of the Programme of the Department of Antiquities, it is important to understand the objectives from instituting state patronage of culture and heritage.

According to a latently published report in 1981 on the “Cultural Policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” the primary objectives of the Department of Antiquities are:

1. The systematic surveying, exploration, and documentation of historical sites and structures across the country using modern archaeological methods.
2. The prevention from damage, demolition, or destruction of historic assets and preparation of condition assessments to guide their preservation and maintenance.
3. Provide support to the Ministry of Education's mission of illuminating the country’s rich history through archaeological excavations.
4. The restoration and adaptive reuse of historic buildings to enhance their tourism potential.
5. The establishment of local and national museums that showcase the nation’s archaeological and cultural heritage.

The articulation of goal-oriented objectives for the Department of Antiquities was further clarified through an eleven-step Programme that the Department will adhere to. The first objective was directed at combatting the glaring paucity in qualified personnel to see to the execution of the Programme. As such, the Department oversaw the launch of a scholarship program to develop the technical and scientific capacities.^[2] Following capacity building plans came the establishment of a series of site-specific museums across the country and the creation of a system to support the subsidization of archaeological museums across the country’s administrative regions.^[3] While the first order of the Programme was responding to a wider issue of capacity building and education, the establishment of museums was with the purpose of tending to how the Saudi public is meant to interact with, understand, and ultimately consume the country’s archeological heritage.

A total number of 16 museums were planned by the early 1970s. A National Central Museum located in the capital of Riyadh set to be completed by 1979.^[4] The goal of the National Central Museum was to preserve “the nation's past for the benefit of present and future generations, at a time when long-established values, with the way of life which they created, are undergoing great change”.^[5] Whereas regional museums were meant to “foster awareness among the inhabitants of the various regions with the goal of illustrating the nature of each of them” and to draw attention to the rich “history of the Arabian Peninsula in general and of the kingdom in particular” while helping preserve the historical and archaeological heritage of each region.^[6] The explicit objectives of these museums was with the purpose of educating on, and preserving, archeological history through state sanctioned institutions and standards. And while museums were part of the Department’s goals, an explicit purpose for these museums, and their function, was clearly defined in the early planning process.

The High Council on Antiquities and Museums, the legislative body the Department of Antiquities and Museums answered to, approved additional plans for 10 subsidiary museums in 1981.^[7] The Department’s plan for these museums included the division of its presence into five regions, each of which will see the opening of a museum over the course of a five-year period. This incremental plan works in line with the government wide National Development Plan implemented in 1970.

The Department’s decades-long Programme made provisions for historical site restorations, preservation efforts, and the surveying of underexplored archeological sites. Two historic sites were given specialized restoration programs.^[8] The first special restoration program focused on the conservation of the antiquities of al-Diriyah.^[9] While the second special restoration program focused on Darb Zubaida due to its archaeological and architectural significance.^[10] Additionally, identifying and designating historic districts unaccounted for in the first phase of the Department’s establishment was set forth by the Department’s Programme.^[11] Measures for future appropriate restoration plans and provisions for expropriation of historical buildings and archeological sites fell under the Department’s growing responsibilities.

To further support the Department’s undertakings, the Programme instated the public dissemination of the Department’s activities. This was with the purpose of promoting public awareness of the country’s archaeological heritage.^[12] Progress made on ongoing projects, the development of museums, and the outcomes of site-specific archeological research findings were reported on periodically in ATLAL: the Journal of Arabian Archeology. The journal served as a vehicle to report on developments made in the Comprehensive Archeological Survey Program, which is one of the most significant undertakings of the Department, and a significant cornerstone in the evolution of the state’s patronage of culture.

Most significant to the inquiry at hand, in 1970, the Department’s Programme saw the formal launch of a dedicated country-wide archeological survey titled the Comprehensive Archeological Survey Program.^[13] The purpose of Comprehensive Archeological Survey Program was to locate, record, and preserve archeological findings and sites across the country. Much like the country-wide Development Plans, the Archeological Survey Program centralized incremental, studied, and truncated top-down plans that are meant to be reassessed and revised at the end of a set number of years. By 2000, structural changes in the governmental entity responsible for archeological surveying and cultural preservation took place. While the work of the Department continued, its objective and oversight mechanism changed drastically from being answerable to educational objectives. At the heart of it all, the government and its patronage remained central to the taxonomy of archeology, heritage, and their preservation.

1. Muhammad Al-Mani and Abdulrahman as-Sbit, Cultural Policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (UNESCO Digital Library, 1981), 33, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000046809; Abdullah H. Masry et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 1, no. 1 (77 1976): Preface. ↑

2. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, Cultural Policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 32. ↑

3. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 32. ↑

4. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34. “Third. The Programme to establish a National Central Museum in Riyadh. The Aim is to preserve the nation's past for the benefit of present and future generations, at a time when long-established values, with the way of life which they created are undergoing great change. Studies for the Programme began in A.H. 1395/96 and the implementation of the project will be completed at the end of A.H. 1399/1400.” ↑

5. Ibid^. ↑

6. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34–35. ↑

7. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34. See Table 3. ↑

8. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34. ↑

9. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34.“Eighth. Restoration of the antiquities of al-Dar’iya. This Programme has a special character. Its main aim is information and education, followed by the no less important aim of conserving the antiquities. The first stage of the Programme involves the study phase and the take-over of property. Then the field work will be done, followed by architectural restoration. This will take up the first three years, and then a ‘Son et Lumière’ project will be carried out for the ancient city.” ↑

10. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 34. “Ninth. Program For the restoration of the historic road of Zubaida. This road is a unique phenomenon from the archaeological and architectural point of view, quite apart from its historical value. The road is made up of three branches, with a total length of about2,000 kilometers punctuated by some 30 miniature lakes. Restoration of these lakes will begin at the start of the first year of the plan and continue until the end of the final year.” ↑

11. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 36. ↑

12. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 36. ↑

13. Al-Mani and as-Sbit, 36. ↑