A team of archaeologists, academics and specialists in the fields of forensic science and modelmaking has created the world’s first known digital and physical reconstruction of a Nabataean woman.

The process and results provide insights into the fascinating history of the Nabataean people, a civilisation that has gifted the world the extraordinary site of Hegra in AlUla - Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Discovered at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra - once a vibrant home of the Nabataeans who, at their peak, dominated the historic Incense Road - this formidable Nabataean woman has lain in a tomb for some 2,000 years.

Hinat, as she is affectionately known by the archaeologists who discovered her remains, was excavated from one of Hegra’s monumental tombs in 2008.

Excavations of the tomb, constructed in the mid-first century CE revealed the remains of around 80 individuals, the majority of whom were disarticulated, but Hinat’s skeleton was near complete.

The inscription on the tomb tells us much about the importance of women in Nabataean society: “This is the tomb that Hinat daughter of Wahbu made for herself and her children and descendants forever”, implying women owned property and had the means to commission their own tombs.

Thanks to pioneering technology and painstaking excavation by leading multidisciplinary experts, it is now possible to gaze upon the face of a Nabataean woman. In gaining an understanding of Hinat we also learn about her people and their unique role in AlUla’s extraordinary cultural history.

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