Uncovering the hidden bodies in Saudi art
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For hundreds of years, popular perceptions of Arab culture have been dominated by Islam. But recent excavations in what is now modern-day Saudi Arabia are revealing evidence of sophisticated and ancient civilizations that are redefining the pre-Islamic era.
A lucrative trade in spices - particularly incense - created a network of caravan trails that stretched from the Horn of Africa to Iran and the Mediterranean. At its centre was the Arabian Peninsula, a cosmopolitan hub of commerce and culture.
"What we see is a Saudi Arabia that was not a closed peninsula. It was actually vitally connected to the rest of the ancient world," says Dr Julian Raby, director of the Sackler and Freer Galleries of Asian Art in Washington.
"And that's an incredibly important lesson because we have begun to imagine Saudi Arabia as always closed, always desert, isolated - almost as a backwater. This gives the lie to that."
"For many people, what happens before Islam is of little or no relevance at all. But the Orientalist tradition in Europe and the States also condemned anything before Islam as being of no material cultural importance at all - because they didn't know what existed."
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I wouldn't say this is surprising though. But this isn't going to end their centuries-old contract with Iblis.
Nevertheless, I won't mind the spills.