2.1. The First Generation of Museums
Over the course of three decades, the Department of Antiquities’ activities encompassed transnational cooperation, diplomatic outreach, financial grants, curated exhibitions and interinstitutional collaborations. Questions regarding the role of these undertakings and their role in the development of museums within Saudi Arabia. The following text is an incomplete historiography of the first generation of museums built under the patronage of the Department of Antiquities and Museums while it was still nestled into the Ministry of Education.
Preliminary research did not directly reveal how the Department’s evolving work directly supported the creation of museums across the country. However, it revealed the growing role of archeological heritage for the state in a manner that extended well beyond its early espousal of spreading literacy through public education. Though there is no denying of the interdependence of the Department’s goals, as delineated in its Programme, the discussion in this section is limited to the construction, development and launch of museums under the Department’s management.
The first decade of the Department’s undertakings was characterized by the early findings of the Comprehensive Archeology Program. An emphasis on ongoing restoration efforts of historic sites, and how ongoing plans will help achieve the goals set for the Department back in the early 1970s.[1] The findings of the “Preliminary Report on the First Phase of the Comprehensive Archeology Program'' were reported alongside advances made in the preservation Program of Darb Zubaydah that began in 1975.[2] Additionally, reports on the commencement of a “special, large-scale restoration of the site of Dar'iyya (the former capital of the Al-Saud)”.[3]
With respect to museum planning, a five-year plan was set in place to replace the then temporary museum of Antiquities in Riyadh with a Central National Museum, construct Two specialized Islamic museums, as well as five regional, and six local museums.[4] One Islamic Museum will be built in each holy city – Mecca and Madina – with the explicit purpose of “emphasize[ing] subjects like old Koranic manuscripts, forms of calligraphy, achievements in art and architecture and other similar themes associated with Islam in its birthplace”.[5] The six regional museums were defined as site-specific museums to be built near the country's major identified archaeological sites of al-'Ula, Najran, Jizan, Tayma', Hufüf and al-Jawf.[6] Meanwhile, regional museums were planned to be located in the major metropolitan cities of Jeddah, Abha, Dammam, Hail and Tabuk.
Alongside the advances made in regional and local museum planning was the designation of additional historic sites for preservation by the Department. Incorporation of additional historic sites was due to their representation of “some of Saudi Arabia’s traditional stone, timber and mudbrick architecture”.[7] The sites selected included the Nasif House in Jeddah, the Qasr Ibrahim in Hufüf, the family home of the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab in the Najdi village of Huraymila, and one of the old mudbrick palaces of the late King Abdul-Aziz in Riyadh.
By 1979, the final plans for the six regional, site-specific, museums were completed. These museums will be located near prominent archeological sites found in Al Ula, Tayma, Al Jawf, Najran, Jizan and Hufüf and were planned to function as long term research centers.[8] Concurrently, the Department assisted ongoing excavation projects headed by the Archeology Department in Riyadh University (later renamed King Saud University) at Qaryat Al Faw archeological site.[9] Qaryat Al Faw is a distinguishable archeological site that dates back somewhere between the First and Fifth century A.D. and it is comprised of the remnants of a temple, a palace, a souk (Arabic word for market), as well as a residential area.[10] Understanding its history, according to the chief archeologist that oversaw its excavation, lay in its connection to “some of the earliest flowering of civilization in the history of mankind” and a byproduct of the topographic nature of Arabia itself that can help link the history of the modern nation with the richness of its past.[11] Shortly thereafter, the High Council on Antiquities approved the establishment of two additional site-specific museums in the cities of al-Qasim and Wadi ad-Dawāsir.[12] By 1980, a grand total of 16 museums were poised to open within five-years’ time.
The Department’s activities diversified during the early 1980s, particularly regarding the curation of collaborative exhibitions. In 1981, the Department assisted in the curation of an exhibition in cooperation with the Semitic Museum of Harvard University titled “Legacy of Light”.[13] Hosted in the historic al-Murabba' Palace in Riyadh, the exhibition showed a curated selection of old photographs, dating back at least 100 years, taken in the Kingdom, and other Arab countries.[14] The following year, the Department hosted another exhibition of works by world-famous American photographer, Ansel Adams, also held in Al-Murabba' Historical Palace in Riyadh.[15]
Whereas in the realm of institutional cooperation, the Department organized a traveling exhibition on Saudi archaeology and ethnography with the American Museum of Natural History in New York city. This exhibition was set to travel to other destinations in the United States before returning to Saudi Arabia in mid 1982.[16] While not directly related to the undertakings of the Department of Antiquities, that same year, Saudi Arabia participated at the World’s Fair for the first time.[17] The concerted efforts for cultural exchange between the United States and Saudi Arabia began to formulate, and with it, the Saudi government’s cultural outreach.
By 1982, studies and designs of the new National Museum set to become part of the Central Riyadh Project at al-Murabba Palace, had arrived at the exhibition planning phase. The planned exhibitions were designed to “illustrate and develop the intertwining themes of the unique socio-environmental situation in Arabia, and the unique role Arabia has played in history”.[18] Several introductory exhibits were meant to orient the visitor towards an understanding of Arabian history and archaeology. According to information found in the sixth volume of The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archeology, “the main exhibits will trace the details of Arabian history within a broad historical outline, but always keeping in sight the general environmental and human factors which shaped Arabian cultures”.[19] The intertwinement of the archeological history found within the state’s territory begins to be shaped by the efforts undertaken by the Department of Antiquities and the patronage of the state.
Within the same timeframe, progress on the “Restoration and Preservation of Ancient Monuments” front was documented. Clearing and cleaning has been completed in Diriyah, where several important buildings have been entirely or partly restored; in the historic district, the palace of the late Prince Nasir ibn Saud al-Kabir, dating back to early 1700s and the First Saudi State, was restored and reorganized into a small temporary museum, as well as the restoration a historic mosque within its vicinity.[20] By 1983, much of the groundwork relating to the establishment of museums under the leadership of the Department Antiquities began to yield results. In February, a small ethnographic wing of the Riyadh Museum was opened and began showcasing a selection of archeological materials from various parts of the Kingdom.[21] In March of that same year, breaking ground for six planned local museums.[22] The museums located in Tayma, al-Ula, and Jizan were to be completed within a year's time. While those located in al-Jawf, al-Hufüf, and Najran were to be completed six months later. Additionally, the summer of 1983 saw the opening of a temporary museum in Dammam.
The Department’s participation in several exhibitions at home and abroad saw archeology and heritage morph into a diplomatic tool and the crafting of a governmental cultural narrative. On H.M. King Fahd's opening of the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh, the Department organized an exhibition on the Kingdom’s archaeological heritage and the developments achieved by the Department.[23] Representatives of various foreign embassies to the Kingdom were also in attendance. On H.M. The Queen of Denmark’s official visit to Riyadh, the Department organized a Saudi Arabian contribution to the Islamic exhibition arranged by the Swedish Museum in Stockholm, and hosted an exhibit at the historic Murabba' Palace with the participation of the Embassy of Denmark who presented items relating to the work of the Danish explorer Carsten Niebuhr.[24] At an exhibit in Jeddah in early 1985, the Department presented some of the historical and archaeological monuments being made accessible to the public through the efforts of the General Department of Antiquities and Museums.[25] In 1985, The Department participated in the National Festival for Culture and Folklore in Riyadh, also known as Janadriyah, where folkloric items such as weapons, utensils, costumes and clothes were exhibited alongside the festival’s activities.[26] By the mid-1980s, the Department’s endeavors were also finding footing in the wider Arab world and neighboring Gulf States.
On a regional level, the Department’s activities saw extensive collaboration with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and surrounding Arab countries. The Department participated in an exhibition in Algeria to discuss recent work and developments in the field of archeology.[27] In November 1984, a traveling cultural and archaeological exhibition was launched in Kuwait. Simultaneously, the Department contributed to the Gulf States Archaeological Guide “to keep abreast of recent research and discoveries” through the “preparation of a joint guidebook, for which each member country would contribute appropriate sections, written in a way which was scholarly yet comprehensible to the layman”.[28] The Department also participated in the first exhibition by GCC countries that took place in Kuwait, where it contributed to the exhibition with a collection of Islamic coins, pottery and Islamic stone inscriptions, in addition to posters and some of the Department's films.[29] Arrangements were also made for the Department to participate in the second collaborative exhibition for the GCC countries, which was to be held in Oman at the beginning of November 1986.[30]
On an international scale, following its participation in the 3rd GCC Antiquities Exhibition hosted in the United Arab Emirates, the Department participated in the G.C.C. Cultural Festival hosted in Japan where it represented Saudi Arabia with an exhibition titled “Between Yesterday and Today”; The exhibition would go on to travel to London, Bangladesh, before concluding its international tour in Paris’ International Fair of 1986, followed by stops in Cairo, and Baghdad’s Festival of Costumes in 1988.[31]
The Department of Antiquities also represented the Saudi government in international efforts of safeguarding archeological heritage. In 1989, the Department participated in the international seminar on "The Conservation of Old Sana’a", organized by the Executive Office for the Conservation of Old Sana’a in cooperation with UNESCO.[32] The concluding recommendation issued a call for the technical and the preparation of a financial aid package for the conservation project of old Sana’a.[33] Additionally, the Department took part in the special symposium on theft of valuable property, which was held at the headquarters of the Secretariat of Interpol in Lyon, France, at the invitation of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).[34] The combination of the Department’s activities on the national and international scale saw the ratification of a cooperation agreement in the field of antiquities protection, detection, maintenance, restoration and preservation between member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.[35]
By the mid-1980s, while the Department’s broader activities gained momentum, news on the development of museums all but ceased. The lack of information on the progress, or stagnancy, of the planned museums is puzzling. Though not surprising. When considering the source of the data examined in tracing the development of this first generation of museums, it is unlikely for the perturbation in their progress to be reported on with equal detail to their successful beginnings. However, by the early 1990s, information on some completed museums begins to emerge.
The official opening of six museums took place between 1994 and 1995. In 1994, the Museum of Qasr al Khuzam in Jeddah was formally opened by the Director of Education of the Western Region.[36] In 1995, the Masmak Museum was formally opened by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, then Governor of Riyadh, and the Qasr al Shubra Museum at Taif was formally opened by His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsin.[37] The Tayma Museum was formally opened on May 24, 1995 by His Royal Highness Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Tabuk.[38] That same year, the Najran Museum was formally opened by H.E. Nasir bin Khalid al Sudairi, the Deputy Governor, and the al-Jawf Museum was formally opened by H.E. the Governor of Domat al Jandal.[39] Four, out of sixteen, originally envisaged museums were delivered 10 years after their projected delivery date. Despite the lack of clarity on the reasons for the delays, reporting on the development made by these museums after their opening to the public halted. What came of these institutions, remains unknown and unreported on in government sponsored sources.
By the early 2000s, however, an interesting turn towards developing a tourism by the government began to take shape. Evidence of the Department's shifting priorities towards supporting the development of this sector exists. Understanding this shift in government priorities is significant to gain an insight into the evolution of the first generation of museums developed under the patronage of the government. Coming to conclusions about the direct, or indirect, causes behind the interrupted development of museums can be characterized as conjecture.
From where the research on the early history of government sanctioned museums stands as of the publication of this text, their fate remains unknown. However, an understanding of the shift in governmental priorities and patronage efforts can help frame some possible causes behind their discontinuity.
Abdullah H. Masry, Steven C. Caton, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 1, no. 1 (1976): Preface. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Steven C. Caton, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 2, no. 1 (1978): 115. ↑
Masry, Caton, et al., 115. ↑
Masry, Caton, et al., 115. ↑
Masry, Caton, et al., 1976, 116. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Abdul-Rahman Al-Kabawi, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology 3, no. 1 (1979): 79–80. ↑
Masry, Caton, et al., 1978, 115. ↑
Masry, Al-Kabawi, et al., 1979, 79. ↑
Masry, Al-Kabawi, et al., 80. ↑
Al-Ansary, Qaryat Al-Faw: A Portrait of Pre-Islamic Civilisation in Saudi Arabia (1982) (175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010: St. Martin’s Press, 1982), http://archive.org/details/QaryatAl-fawAPortraitOfPre-islamicCivilisationInSaudiArabia1982. ↑
Al-Ansary, Qaryat Al-Faw. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Abdulrahman Kabawi, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology 4, no. 1 (1980): 121. ↑
Masry, Kabawi, et al., 121. ↑
Masry, Kabawi, et al., 121. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Abdulrahman Kabawi, et al., eds., Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 5, no. 1 (1981): 156. ↑
Masry, Kabawi, et al., 156; Roxanne Edwards, “American Museum of Natural History Press Release,” Annual Report (New York, N.Y., United States, New York, N.Y.: American Museum of Natural History Library Archives, May 5, 1981), https://data.library.amnh.org/archives-authorities/id/amnhc_5000335#relations; “American Museum of Natural History Research Library: Traditions of Saudi Arabia (Exhibition) (Amnhc_5000335),” accessed April 5, 2024, https://data.library.amnh.org/archives-authorities/id/amnhc_5000335. ↑
Sybil Thurman, “The World’s Fair: 1982 - A Special Report,” Saudi Aramco World, August 1982. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Hamid Abu-Duruk, et al., eds., Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 6, no. 1 (1982): 138. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 138. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 138. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Hamid Abu-Duruk, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 7, no. 1 (1983): 117. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 118. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Hamid Abu-Duruk, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 8, no. 1 (1984): 174. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 174. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 174. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Khalid Eskoubi, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 9, no. 1 (1985): 145. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 1984, 174. ↑
Masry, Abu-Duruk, et al., 174. ↑
Masry, Eskoubi, et al., 1985, 145. ↑
Masry, Eskoubi, et al., 145. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Abdullah A. Al-Zahrani, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 10, no. 1 (1986): 117; Abdullah H. Masry, Abdullah A. Al-Zahrani, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 11, no. 1 (1988): 107. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Abdullah A. Al-Zahrani, et al., eds., [Idārat al-Āthār Wa-al-Matāḥif Bi-Wizārat al-Maʻārif al-Saʻūdīyah] Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums, Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 12, no. 1 (1989): 85. ↑
Masry, Al-Zahrani, et al., 85. ↑
Abdullah H. Masry, Anis Hashim, et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 13, no. 1 (1990): 85. ↑
Masry, Hashim, et al., 85. ↑
Saad Al Rashid et al., eds., ATLAL : The Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, Hawliyat al-Āthār Al Arabia al-Saʻūdīyah, 14, no. 1 (1996): 137. ↑
Al Rashid et al., 137. ↑
Al Rashid et al., 137. ↑
Al Rashid et al., 137. ↑