Abdulrahman al-Ansary (; 10 October 1935 – 6 March 2023) was a Saudi Arabian archaeologist and professor of

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

, and also member of the first and second terms of the

Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia (), also known as ''Majlis ash-Shura'' or ''The Shura Council'', is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia. It was originally founded in 1924 as the National Council during the Sultanate of Nejd, It wa ...

. He is considered the founder of the rediscovery of archeological site of Qaryat al-Fau.al-Ansary, A.R
Qaryat al-Fau: A Portrait of Pre-Islamic Civilisation in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh University Press. 1982.

Education

Al-Ansary earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic language and literature from

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

in 1960 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the department of Semitic Studies of the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

in 1966. During his doctoral studies, he focused on the comparative study of Lihynite personal names and trained at archeological excavations with his thesis supervisor at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and

Motya Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum (modern Trapani) and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala). It is within the present-day comune, commune of Marsala, Ital ...

, Sicily, and with Professor

Kathleen Kenyon Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978) was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called ...

in Jerusalem in 1966.

Career

Al-Ansary was a faculty member of

(formerly Riyadh University) from 1966 to 1999 where he held several positions and rolesAdumatu Journal Website
including dean of the College of Arts (1971–1972 and 1988–1994), chairman of the Department of History (1974–1978) and chairman of the Department of Archeology and Museology (1978–1986). Between 1996 and 2001, he served as a member of the

, which were its first two terms. Al-Ansary is considered the pioneering academic who established the study of archeology in Saudi Arabia by taking the leading role in creating an archeology concentration in the Department of History at

and later the Department of Archeology and Museology in 1978, the first in the country. Professor al-Ansary is perhaps most known for leading the archeological excavation in the city of Qaryat al-Fau between 1972 and 1995 while at

. In 1982 he authored a book entitled "Qaryat al-Fau: A Portrait of Pre-Islamic Civilisation in Saudi Arabia", which presented the results of the first six seasons of excavation.

Books

Death

Al-Ansary died on 6 March 2023, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansary, Abdulrahman 1935 births 2023 deaths Archaeologists of the Near East Cairo University alumni Alumni of the University of Leeds Academic staff of King Saud University Saudi Arabian archaeologists People from Medina 20th-century archaeologists Members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia 20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians