Saudi Arabia has revealed the reconstruction of ‘Hinat’, a Nabataean woman, displayed at the Hegra Welcome Centre at AlUla. Visitors can meet Hinat, starting Monday.
The reconstruction is modeled on the remains of the woman, who was first discovered in 2015 in a 2000-year-old tomb in Hegra.
“This tomb has a very nice inscription carved on its facade, which says it belonged to a woman called Hinat,” Lebanese-French archeologist Laila Nehme, the director of the project, told National Geographic.
Hinat was reconstructed in the United Kingdom in 2019, and was funded by the Royal Commission of AlUla.
A team of experts were involved in the reconstruction, which began with the rebuilding of bone fragments in the tomb. The team then reconstructed an image of her appearance using archaeological and anthropological data.
A sculptor the brought Hinat’s face to life using a 3D printer.
The Nabataeans was an ancient Arab civilization, that inhabited the Levant and northern Arabia, more that 2,000 years go. Petra was the capital of their kingdom and was known for its spice, medicine and fabric trade.
“The Nabataeans are a bit of a mystery: We know a lot, but at the same time we know very little because they didn’t leave any literary texts or records,” Nehme said, adding “excavating this tomb was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about their idea of the afterlife.”
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