Al-Hijr (Madain Salih)

E204675

Nabataean settlement UNESCO World Heritage Site ancient city archaeological site

Al-Hijr (Madain Salih) is an ancient Nabataean archaeological site in northwestern Saudi Arabia, renowned for its well-preserved rock-cut tombs and status as the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Madain Salih	3
Al-Hijr (Madain Salih) canonical	2
Madain Saleh	1
Madain Salih (Al-Hijr) site in modern Saudi Arabia	1
Mada’in Salih	1
UNESCO World Heritage Site Hegra	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1819997 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Al-Hijr (Madain Salih)
Context triple: [Al Madinah Province, containsArchaeologicalSite, Al-Hijr (Madain Salih)]

A. Qasr Ibrim
Qasr Ibrim is an important archaeological site in southern Egypt, known for its well-preserved remains spanning Pharaonic, Roman, Christian, and Islamic periods.
B. Al-Mina archaeological site
Al-Mina archaeological site is an ancient coastal trading settlement associated with the Phoenician city of Tyre, known for its role in Mediterranean commerce and cultural exchange.
C. Kom El-Dikka archaeological area
Kom El-Dikka archaeological area is a major excavation site in central Alexandria, Egypt, known for its well-preserved Roman and Byzantine remains, including residential quarters, baths, and public buildings.
D. Al-Hijr
Al-Hijr is the 15th chapter of the Qur’an, known for its themes of divine revelation, the fate of past nations, and the protection of the Qur’anic message.
E. Kerma archaeological site
Kerma archaeological site is an ancient urban and burial complex in northern Sudan that was the center of one of Nubia’s earliest and most powerful kingdoms.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Al-Hijr (Madain Salih)
Target entity description: Al-Hijr (Madain Salih) is an ancient Nabataean archaeological site in northwestern Saudi Arabia, renowned for its well-preserved rock-cut tombs and status as the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A. Qasr Ibrim
Qasr Ibrim is an important archaeological site in southern Egypt, known for its well-preserved remains spanning Pharaonic, Roman, Christian, and Islamic periods.
B. Al-Mina archaeological site
Al-Mina archaeological site is an ancient coastal trading settlement associated with the Phoenician city of Tyre, known for its role in Mediterranean commerce and cultural exchange.
C. Kom El-Dikka archaeological area
Kom El-Dikka archaeological area is a major excavation site in central Alexandria, Egypt, known for its well-preserved Roman and Byzantine remains, including residential quarters, baths, and public buildings.
D. Al-Hijr
Al-Hijr is the 15th chapter of the Qur’an, known for its themes of divine revelation, the fate of past nations, and the protection of the Qur’anic message.
E. Kerma archaeological site
Kerma archaeological site is an ancient urban and burial complex in northern Sudan that was the center of one of Nubia’s earliest and most powerful kingdoms.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Nabataean settlement ⓘ UNESCO World Heritage Site ⓘ ancient city ⓘ archaeological site ⓘ
accessRestriction	regulated visitor access ⓘ
associatedCivilization	Nabataean Kingdom ⓘ linked to: Nabataean kingdom
climate	arid desert ⓘ
containsFeature	defensive structures ⓘ ritual areas ⓘ rock-cut tombs ⓘ water wells ⓘ
country	Saudi Arabia ⓘ
culture	Nabataean ⓘ
distanceFromPetra	approximately 500 km southeast ⓘ
floruitCentury	1st century BCE ⓘ 1st century CE ⓘ
governingBody	Saudi Ministry of Culture ⓘ
heritageDesignation	UNESCO World Heritage Site ⓘ
inscriptionsLanguage	Ancient North Arabian ⓘ Nabataean Aramaic ⓘ Thamudic ⓘ
inscriptionYear	2008 ⓘ
locatedIn	Al-Ula Governorate ⓘ linked to: AlUla Governorate Arabian Peninsula ⓘ Hejaz ⓘ Medina Region ⓘ linked to: Al Madinah Province northwestern Saudi Arabia ⓘ linked to: Al Jawf Region
locatedOn	ancient incense trade route ⓘ
managedBy	Royal Commission for AlUla ⓘ
material	sandstone ⓘ
notableFor	ancient inscriptions ⓘ rock-cut monumental tombs ⓘ well-preserved façades ⓘ
numberOfTombs	over 100 ⓘ
otherName	Hegra ⓘ Madain Salih ⓘ linked to: Al-Hijr (Madain Salih)
partOf	AlUla cultural landscape ⓘ
periodOfOccupation	1st millennium BCE to 1st millennium CE ⓘ
relationshipToPetra	southern second city of the Nabataean Kingdom ⓘ
religionInAntiquity	polytheism ⓘ
significance	first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia ⓘ
tourismType	cultural tourism ⓘ
UNESCORegion	Arab States ⓘ linked to: Arab world
UNESCOWorldHeritageCategory	cultural ⓘ
UNESCOWorldHeritageCriteria	(ii) ⓘ (iii) ⓘ (iv) ⓘ (v) ⓘ
UNESCOWorldHeritageSiteId	1293 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Al Madinah Province → containsArchaeologicalSite → Al-Hijr (Madain Salih) ⓘ

Al Madinah Province → containsUNESCOWorldHeritageSite → Al-Hijr (Madain Salih) ⓘ

People of Thamud → archaeologicalAssociation → Madain Salih (Al-Hijr) site in modern Saudi Arabia ⓘ

subject linked to: people of Thamud