September 24, 2012 

Allison Peck, 202.633.0447, pecka@si.edu 

Amanda Williams, 202.633.0271, williamsam@si.edu 

North American Premiere of "Roads of Arabia" Unearths Hidden History of Ancient Arabian Peninsula

Exhibition at Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery Opens Nov. 17, U.S. Tour to Follow

On view Nov. 17, 2012 - Feb. 24, 2013 

View available images | Tour the exhibition website | Learn about the media preview Nov. 14

Ancient sources describe the legendary city of Gehrra as unmatched in wealth and importance. Located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, the city attained mythical status in the ancient world, but its exact location was unknown until recently. In 1998, archaeologists discovered the first century AD tomb of a young royal girl outside the city of Thaj. Rich with gold, pearls and precious stones, including a Hellenistic gold funerary mask, the find led scholars to propose that Thaj may be none other than the lost city of Gehrra. 

The funerary treasures of Thaj are just a few of the surprising

discoveries on display in "Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," opening Nov. 17 at the Arthur M. Sackler Galleryin Washington, D.C. Over 200 objects from 10 recently excavated archaeological sites reveal previously unknown hubs of vibrant cultural exchange, influenced by distant Egyptian, Syrian, Babylonian and Greco-Roman civilizations, as well as later pilgrimage routes when Mecca became the heart of Islamic spirituality. 

Julian Raby, the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, describes the exhibition as "a new window onto a country whose pre-Islamic  past is little known to anyone other than a handful of scholars today, and whose Islamic history is often misunderstood." 

The Sackler's presentation of "Roads," on view through Feb. 24, 2013, marks the U.S debut for this unprecedented assembly, which will then travel to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and venues in Chicago and San Francisco through the end of 2014.

Read the full release.