The mysterious symbols found carved in Qatar's deserts
CNN
Al Jassasiya's 900 "petroglyphs" include unique images of sailing ships and unusual cup shapes that remain a puzzle to experts who say their true meaning may be lost in the mists of time.
(CNN) — Some shoot out of the soft rock like reptiles bathing in the sun. Others are mysterious depressions resembling an ancient board game played all over the world. And a few are straight-up puzzling.
On a desolate and windswept corner of Qatar's northeastern coast, among the sand dunes of the barren desert, lies Al Jassasiya, the Gulf country's largest and most important rock art site.
Here, people centuries ago used a series of low-lying limestone outcrops as a canvas on which they carved symbols, motifs and objects that they observed in their environment.