4000-year-old town found in Saudi Arabia

The discovery of a 4 000-year-old fortified town hidden in an oasis in modern-day Saudi Arabia reveals how life at the time was slowly changing from a nomadic to an urban existence, archaeologists said on Wednesday.

The remains of the town, dubbed al-Natah, were long concealed by the walled oasis of Khaybar, a green and fertile speck surrounded by desert in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Then, an ancient 14.5km-long wall was discovered at the site, according to research led by French archaeologist Guillaume Charloux published this year.

For a new study published in the journal, PLOS One, a French-Saudi team of researchers have provided "proof that these ramparts are organised around a habitat, Charloux said.

The large town, which was home to up to 500 residents, was built around 2 400BC during the early Bronze Age, the researchers said.