In this series, we’re going to take you on a journey into the heart of one of the most ancient kingdoms on Earth. Located in the northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia, Alula is an oasis in the desert layered in 200,000 years of human history.  But, until recently, it was closed to outsiders, and to this day only a handful of visitors have ever been.  If you haven’t listened to our three-part on location documentary series, the Elements of Alula, scroll back in the feed and check it out: hot air balloon crashes, stargazing with bedouins, curious camels with a taste for microphones … It's a lot of fun. But today, we’re sharing a special bonus episode from that series. Because AlUla was closed to outsiders for so long, the archeology that’s happening there is unearthing incredible treasures we had no idea even existed. Jonathan Wilson: Arts and Culture Administration Senior Manager at the Royal Commission for AlUla is going to share some of those secrets with us today. And just to set the scene:  we’d just got back from an afternoon riding Arabian horses through the desert. It was an incredible experience, but it was hot - so we stepped inside Jonathan's office where archeologists were working day and night to document the treasures of this lost kingdom of alula … this is the tour he gave us, and the interview we did afterwards.    FIND OUT MORE Our on-location documentaries are designed so that you can experience everything we did in this episode. Find out more at ExperienceAlula.com. Check out @experiencealula on Instagram, Facebook and X more inspiration and ideas. SPONSORS: This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at ⁠⁠betterhelp.com/ARMCHAIR⁠⁠ and get on your way to being your best self. This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the link below: ⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/r7CGsP51⁠   CONNECT WITH US If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you’re reading this on right now. Go on, do it. It means you get to choose what episodes you listen to, rather than the algorithm guess (wrongly) and kick us off your feed.    Following the show on socials will definitely maybe bring you good travel karma! Instagram: @armchairexplorerpodcast Facebook: @armchairexplorerpodcast   Armchair Explorer is produced by Armchair Productions. Aaron Millar wrote and presented this episode show, Jason Paton did the audio editing and sound design.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices