MUSTATILS
Mustatils, huge stone monuments concentrated in northern Saudi Arabia, were the site of rituals and early pilgrimages according to new research. Researchers discovered the first mustatils, dating back to the Late Neolithic period, in the 1970s. Since then, 16,000 have been discovered, primarily in northern Saudi Arabia. Mustatils are rectangular, low-walled, stone structures that range from 20m (66ft) to 600m (1,968ft) in length. The researchers identified 7,000-year-old fragments of animal skulls and horns, primarily from domestic cattle, found close to a large upright stone that is part of a 140m/460ft-long mustatil located 55 miles (88km) east of the city of AlUla. The close proximity likely indicates the area is a site of animal offerings.
“We believe these remains are offerings to an unknown deity or deities represented by the central stone,” said Melissa Kennedy of the University of Western Australia. “We speculate
