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We investigated the rock art (petroglyphs) in the Al‐Quwaiyah Governorate (Saudi Arabia) with focus on the Musayqira site. Iconographic analysis showed a broad variety of human depictions, game animals (ibex, ass, ostrich, lion, etc.), domestic animals (cattle, camel, horse, dog, etc.), inscriptions and abstract symbols. Archaeometric measurements by pXRF provided the areal densities of Mn on petroglyphs and intact rock varnish. Varnish accumulation rates were derived from Mn density measurements on inscriptions of known approximate age. Applying these rates to varnish densities on the petroglyphs yielded age estimates. Some of the rock art was incised in fracture fill rather than true varnish, complicating the interpretation of the data. The combination of iconographic and archaeometric data indicated multiple phases of rock art creation, corresponding to the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Islamic Period, with different artistic traditions, reflecting changing socioeconomic and ecological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted rock varnish measurements at four rock art sites in north‐western Saudi Arabia, including Kilwa and the Camel Site near Sakaka. We determined the areal densities of Mn and Fe in rock varnish that had accumulated on petroglyph surfaces since their creation, complemented by a detailed analysis of varnish samples. We inferred varnish accumulation rates by relating the Mn areal density on inscriptions to their ages estimated based on the type of script used. Applying these rates to the varnish densities on the rock art indicated that the art was produced during two distinct periods, corresponding to the Pre‐Pottery/Late Neolithic and the Bronze/Iron Age, respectively, with different artistic traditions, reflecting distinct socioeconomic and ecological conditions. Our dating approach, while admittedly burdened with substantial uncertainties, yields ages consistent with archaeological and historical evidence and it provides a unique quantitative tool to obtain at least rough ages for otherwise undatable rock art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]