Dumat Al Jandal is an ancient city in history and appeared in the historical records of Assyrians. (Dumah was the sixth son of prophet Ishmael, son of Abraham, and is mentioned in Bible, Genesis (25:14). Dumat Al Jandal (or shortly called Dumah) is located in northwestern Saudi Arabia in the Al Jouf Province. It is about 350 km northwest of Hail and 400 km east of Tabuk. It was already established as a renowned Arab center in ancient times. Qasr Ma’arid (Ma’arid Castle) is the prime site of historical importance in Dumat Al Jandal.
Qasr Ma’arid is a huge structure built of rough stone and mortar construction technique. It has four slender corner towers.
Two types of construction techniques can be found in the fortress: one ancient with fine cut stone walling, corbelling and use of stone lintels and the other by the use of mud-brick superstructure. Even though the castle was occupied in recent times, archaeological study shows that the foundations of Qasr Ma’arid go back to the period of Nabataens in the first century AD
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