The Cultural Committee of the Department of History and Archaeology held a seminar titled “Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions: Discoveries, History, and Content” presented by Dr. Abdullah Al-Hatlani on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the College of Arts, North Building, with the attendance of several faculty members and students.

The lecture covered four main themes: discovery, geographical distribution, the historical context of the inscriptions, and their linguistic, grammatical, and historical significance.

The first theme showcased a collection of ancient Arabic inscriptions dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries AD, highlighting the transition from Nabataean script to Arabic script, and recent discoveries made since 2014 in both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A total of 57 inscriptions were uncovered, paving the way for studying the religious and written systems of pre-Islamic Arabs.

The second theme discussed the geographical distribution of these inscriptions, presenting the numbers found across various regions in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The third theme addressed the dating of the inscriptions and the time periods they represent, introducing the calendar used in the pre-Islamic era, known as the Bosra calendar or theCalendar of the Arab Regions.

The fourth theme focused on the historical, religious, and linguistic significance of the inscriptions, as well as the development of Arabic script and its stages of evolution. Some inscriptions revealed linguistic features shared between Arabic and Aramaic, and there were instances of inscriptions written in two or even three languages.

The lecture concluded with many questions and answers by students and faculty members, marking the final event of the Cultural Committee of the Department of History and Archaeology for the semester.