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The Nafud desert or simply The Nafud () is a desert in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula at , occupying a great oval depression. It is long and wide, with an area of .
The Nafud is an erg, a desert region located in north-central Saudi Arabia. It is noted for its sudden violent winds, which account for the large crescent-shaped Dune. The sand in the Nafud is a brick-reddish color. Rain comes once or twice per year. In some lowland areas, namely those near the Hejaz Mountains, there are oases where dates, vegetables, barley, and fruits are grown. The Nafud is connected to the Rub' al Khali by the Dahna, a corridor of gravel plains and sand dunes, long and wide.
During the Arab Revolt in 1917, forces led by Auda ibu Tayi attacked the Turkish-held coastal town of Aqaba on its poorly defended eastern flank. The approach was via a long and wide desert route, passing close to the edge of the Nafud. Colonel T. E. Lawrence asked Auda ibu Tayi to allow their group to stray from their course into the Nafud. Auda refused because it was unnecessary. Their harsh transit did not include entering the Nafud, as is depicted in the film Lawrence of Arabia.
The discovery of an 85,000-year-old fossilised human finger in An Nafud in 2016 by Dr Mathieu Duval of Griffith University provided the earliest evidence of modern humans outside Africa and the Levant.
This desert was thought to be relatively inhabited between the Last Glacial Maximum and the end of Pleistocene. Anyway, recent findings in Northern Saudi Arabia of camel engravings points towards seasonal human presence in this area and biological and cultural exchanges with Levantine groups between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago.
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