New campaign for the Thāj Funerary Project

When history comes alive…: Marie Laguardia, researcher from the Jaussen & Savignac programme, sets out on a campaign for the Thāj Funerary Project!

Since 2024, the Archaeological Mission of Thāj has been co-directed by Marie Laguardia, under a research contract with the Jaussen & Savignac program (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and The Royal Commission for AlUla), and Ibrahim Al-Mshabi (Heritage Commission | هيئة التراث). This project seeks to advance the study of the Thāj necropolis and the funerary practices observed there from the Iron Age through Late Antiquity.

The Thāj Funerary Project is part of a five-year Franco-Saudi scientific collaboration between the Heritage Commission | هيئة التراث and the OrAM team of ArScAn Laboratory (CNRS UMR 7041), supported by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (CommissionDesFouilles), the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and the French Research Center for the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA).

This season, the saudi-french team will be excavating different types of tombs in order to better understand construction techniques and study material remains—ceramics, bones, and food traces. This pluridisciplinary approach will enable the complete restitution of Thāj's funeral rituals.

Wishing the team good luck on this new archaeological campaign!