Excavation of archaeological sites only began in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s, yet these digs have already brought an astonishing wealth of treasures to light. They are astonishing because these digs are uncovering a virtually unknown ancient past. “Some of it has just come out of the ground only two years ago,” says Massumeh Farhad, curator of a revelatory exhibition displaying recently discovered archaeological material. Farhad is also Curator of Islamic Art at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery, where Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is exploding myths about the Arabian Peninsula. Roads of Arabia is open until February 24th, 2013 at the Sackler Gallery, after which it will travel to Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

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