all sport voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. i m alice morrison, an adventurer and writer. i ve cycled across africa and run across the sahara. now i m on the trail of a mysterious and forgotten arabian civilisation the nabataeans. are we standing in the birthplace of written arabic? i think i would say that, yes. they were nomads who forged a rich civilisation here in the harsh desert conditions of western arabia from the fourth century bce. they ruled for around three centuries until they were swallowed up by the roman empire. now all that s left are the enigmatic remains of their great desert cities of petra and hegra in modern dayjordan and saudi arabia. and this is where i have come to explore, to find out how they survived and thrived here, who they were, and even what they looked like. i want to search for clues about their world. i ll investigate their ancient sites, delvin
Showing that the queens and the kings appear to have equal status in their society. but the last coin i have for you is this one. so again, this is a double profile coin, but this is the daughter now who is now reigning in the place of her mother. so the line of succession has passed through the mother s line. goodness me! this is quite a thrill, you know. we ve been looking at these massive tombs, which are awe inspiring, and the landscape is breathtaking. but these tiny, tiny coins that we ve had to use the magnifying glass to see have taught us so much about the position of women, the trade routes. and it s that feeling ofjust having history in your hand. and it s a beautiful coin, too. it is a beautiful coin, it s so clear. from these puzzle pieces, they ve seemingly done the impossible. conjured up what a nabataean may have looked like. this is hinat. it s like something out of a detective series on tv, isn t it? like remaking a face from a skull.