Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has retrieved a stone tablet with ancient Arabic inscription from France. The tablet is a national antique, from the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula.

SCTH succeeded in the retrieval of the antique from a French national working in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom in UNESCO.

In this regard, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SCTH Ahmed Bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb expressed his thanks to the French national Jacque Borlats for his cooperation with the SCTH in retrieving the antique.

He stressed that Borlats’ initiative reflects his awareness on the importance of returning antiquities to their respective nations and ensuring their safekeeping in the Kingdom’s museums.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the SCTH for Antiquities and Museums Sector Rustum Al-Kubeisi lauded Borlats’ cooperation in returning the antique, which belongs to the civilizations of the northwestern part of the Kingdom, praising his noble cooperation.

Retrieving this important, ancient antique is yet another accomplishment of the SCTH in the field of retrieving national antiques from within and outside the Kingdom, which so far have reached 54, Al-Kubeisi said.

The Director General of the General Administration for Registration and Protection of Antiquities in the Sector Dr. Naif Al-Qanoor has stressed that the efforts for retrieving antiquities and protecting them are continuing, due to the realization of the necessity to safeguard the Kingdom’s cultural and civilizational heritage.

Al-Qanoor said that Borlats’ name would be added to the list of those honored for returning national antiques during one of the SCTH events due to his initiative in returning the antique and in appreciation for his cooperation in the field of antiquities.

This antique is one of those targeted to be retrieved and returned from outside the Kingdom. It was transported to France by Borlats, who was working in the Kingdom during the sixties of the past century.

The antique is in the form of a stone tablet carrying ancient Arabic inscriptions from the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula.

Borlats said that the tablet with inscriptions was with him for the past 40 years when he was in Tabuk in the northern part of Saudi Arabia. He further said that there were companies working at the site. They used to cut rocks into big blocks and remove them from the location.

He added that he was afraid that the tablet bearing ancient inscriptions would be damaged, so he took it away from the site for safekeeping with the intention of returning it to the Kingdom.