Wasfy Pyramid
The Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid, also known as the Wasfy Pyramid, Al Badi Pyramid or Mustatil Pyramid, is a large pyramid-like stone feature in the desert landscape near Al Badi', in the Riyadh Region of Saudi Arabia.
The feature is located at approximately 23.021305° N, 44.050456° E and is mapped in OpenStreetMap as an archaeological site. The word pyramid is primarily a descriptive name referring to the apparently pyramidal, stepped or mound-like appearance of the structure in satellite imagery. It should not be understood as a confirmed archaeological classification comparable to the pyramids of Egypt.
The feature lies within a wider archaeological landscape containing numerous cairns, pendants, tomb-like structures and several possible or confirmed mustatils. The wider concentration has been referred to as the Wasfy Mustatils Complex or Wasfy Al Badi Necropolis.
Location
The Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid is situated in an arid area of central Saudi Arabia, near Al Badi' and Al Khasrah.
The coordinates commonly given for the structure are:
- 23.021305° N, 44.050456° E
The Megalithic Portal records the feature at these coordinates and lists it under the type "Pyramid / Mastaba". The listed dimensions are approximately 120 × 120 metres.[1]
The surrounding desert contains a large number of stone monuments that are visible in aerial and satellite imagery. Individual features have subsequently been mapped separately in OpenStreetMap and in independent geospatial datasets.
Name and description
The name Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid was adopted as a descriptive identifier for the prominent central feature because of its pyramid-like appearance.
The Megalithic Portal describes the monument as a "pyramid like structure" and categorises it as a "Pyramid / Mastaba".[2]
The name does not imply that the structure has been archaeologically demonstrated to be a purpose-built pyramid. Possible interpretations include a monumental stone cairn, a mound or mastaba-like construction, a heavily weathered stone formation, or a combination of natural and artificial elements.
No excavation or detailed published ground survey establishing the internal construction of the central feature is currently known from the cited sources.
For this reason, descriptive terms such as pyramid-like structure, pyramidal cairn or pyramid-like mound are preferable when discussing its physical form.
Wasfy Mustatils Complex
The pyramid-like feature is located in a broader concentration of stone structures that was initially described as the Al Badi Mustatils Complex or Wasfy Mustatils Complex.
An early description on the Megalithic Portal reported more than sixty circular and rectangular stone features surrounding the central pyramid-like structure.[3]
Subsequent mapping expanded the number of recorded features to more than one hundred.
A geospatial dataset created by Tarek Wasfy (TWasfy) and deposited on Zenodo contains locations and spatial data for stone structures in the Al Badi region. The dataset includes KML, GPX, CSV, GeoJSON and OpenStreetMap-format files and describes a landscape containing cairns, pendants, mustatil-like structures and other stone monuments.[4]
The dataset should be understood primarily as a geospatial documentation project. Archaeological identification, chronology and function of individual features may differ and require field investigation.
Tarek Al Badi Mustatil
Tarek Al Badi Mustatil is a separately named stone monument within the same broader Al Badi archaeological landscape.
It appears as a distinct mapped feature in OpenStreetMap-derived mapping services, together with another nearby feature named Tarek Al Badi Mustatil 2. Both are geographically separate from the Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid and should therefore be treated as individual archaeological or potentially archaeological features rather than alternative names for the pyramid.
The name is associated with the broader mapping and documentation of the Al Badi monuments by Tarek Wasfy.
The Tarek Al Badi Mustatil belongs to the group of structures whose exact archaeological classification should remain cautious unless confirmed by field investigation. The term mustatil may be retained as the mapped or locally assigned feature name without necessarily asserting that the monument has been formally identified as a classic Neolithic mustatil.
OpenStreetMap-derived mapping currently shows Tarek Al Badi Mustatil and Tarek Al Badi Mustatil 2 as individually named locations close to the Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid and other mapped monuments in the Al Badi area.[5]
Archaeological interpretation
The original interpretation of the wider concentration as predominantly consisting of mustatils was subsequently questioned.
On 17 May 2026, archaeologist Hugh Thomas, whose research includes prehistoric and Bronze Age monuments in Arabia, commented on satellite imagery of the Al Badi structures:
Not a mustatil complex- so to speak. One or two are mustatil, the bulk of the ones I just checked are Bronze Age tombs. Don’t think that’s a pyramid, sorry.
Thomas's assessment is important for interpreting both the central pyramid-like feature and the surrounding archaeological landscape. His statement suggests that the site should not be treated as a homogeneous mustatil complex and that many of the surrounding monuments may instead represent Bronze Age funerary structures.
It also demonstrates why the word pyramid should be considered a descriptive site name rather than a confirmed archaeological classification.
Following Thomas's comments, Tarek Wasfy (TWasfy) stated that closer examination had identified three structures considered to be mustatils, while many of the remaining monuments appeared to be pendants or tombs. Wasfy also described the central object simply as a "pyramid like looking thing".[7]
The archaeological landscape therefore appears to contain monuments of more than one morphological type and potentially more than one chronological period.
Mustatils and Bronze Age monuments
Mustatils are monumental stone structures known particularly from north-western Saudi Arabia. Archaeologically investigated examples are generally associated with the Late Neolithic and have frequently been interpreted as ritual monuments.
The structures around Al Badi are located considerably farther south-east than the best-known concentrations of mustatils in north-western Arabia.
This geographical separation is one reason why classification based solely on satellite imagery must be treated cautiously.
Circular cairns, pendant tombs and other funerary monuments are also widespread in prehistoric and Bronze Age Arabia. Such structures can appear similar from satellite imagery, particularly where walls have collapsed or have been affected by erosion.
Consequently, individual Al Badi monuments should not automatically be assigned a Neolithic date merely because they resemble mustatils or occur near structures described using that term.
Mapping the surrounding monuments
The wider Al Badi landscape contains numerous separately identifiable structures.
Mapped or documented names include, among others:
- Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid
- Wasfy Mustatils Complex
- Tarek Al Badi Mustatil
- Tarek Al Badi Mustatil 2
- Wasfy Al Badi Mustatil West
- Mustatil of Al Badi 2
- Al Badi Mustatil 3
- Al Badi Mustatil 4
- Al Badi Mustatil 5
- Al Badi Mustatil 6
- Al Badi Mustatil 8
- Al Badi Mustatil 9
- Al Badi Mustatil 10
- Al Badi Mustatil 11
- Al Badi Mustatil 12
- Al Badi Mustatil 13
- Al Badi Mustatil 14
- Al Badi Mustatil 15
- Al Badi Mustatil 20
- Al Badi Mustatil 22
- Al Badi Mustatil 23
- Al Badi Mustatil 27
- Al Badi Mustatil 28
- Al Badi Mustatil 29
- Al Badi Mustatil 30
- Al Badi Mustatil 31
- Al Badi Necropolis
Not all of these names constitute confirmed archaeological classifications. Some originated during remote mapping and cataloguing and therefore function primarily as identifiers for individual features.
OpenStreetMap contributors should distinguish between a name and an archaeological interpretation. For example, an object may legitimately have the mapped name Tarek Al Badi Mustatil while its precise typological classification remains uncertain.
Remote mapping and verification
Much of the modern documentation of the Al Badi archaeological landscape originated through examination of satellite imagery and digital mapping platforms.
Remote sensing can be useful for identifying the location, dimensions and morphology of stone monuments, but it cannot by itself reliably determine chronology, construction method, burial contents or ritual function.
Ground survey, archaeological excavation and specialist analysis would be required to resolve many of these questions.
This distinction is particularly important in OpenStreetMap because the database records observable geographic features and does not aim to resolve archaeological debates.
A mapped object may therefore be retained as an archaeological feature while its more precise interpretation remains explicitly uncertain.
OpenStreetMap guidance also recommends caution when adding uncertain archaeological locations, particularly where publishing precise positions might expose previously unknown archaeological remains to damage or looting.
Documentation history
The wider group of monuments was identified and documented through satellite-based exploration by Tarek Wasfy (TWasfy) in 2026.
The Megalithic Portal entry for the Wasfy Pyramid was published in May 2026 and described a pyramid-like structure approximately 120 metres square.[8]
The associated Al Badi Mustatils Complex entry initially described more than sixty structures surrounding the central formation.[9]
Further mapping increased the documented collection to more than one hundred features.
On 13 May 2026, Tarek Wasfy (TWasfy) deposited a geospatial dataset of the wider monument distribution on Zenodo. The dataset includes an OpenStreetMap-format file as well as KML, GPX, CSV and GeoJSON versions.[10]
The subsequent comments by Hugh Thomas on 17 May 2026 led to a more cautious interpretation of the complex, distinguishing probable mustatils from Bronze Age tombs and questioning the identification of the central feature as a pyramid.
Current status
The Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid remains clearly visible in satellite imagery and is represented in OpenStreetMap and other map-based databases as a named archaeological feature.
Its exact construction date, function and archaeological classification remain unresolved.
The most neutral description is therefore that of a large pyramid-like stone feature within a wider prehistoric and Bronze Age archaeological landscape.
The term Wasfy Al Badi Pyramid functions as the established mapping and catalogue name of the feature and should not by itself be interpreted as a claim that the monument is an archaeologically confirmed pyramid.
Similarly, names such as Tarek Al Badi Mustatil identify separately mapped monuments in the surrounding landscape but should not be treated as definitive typological classifications without further archaeological verification.
See also
- Tag:historic=archaeological_site
- Key:archaeological_site
- Tag:archaeological_site=tumulus
- Key:name
- Good practice
- Mustatil
- Archaeology of Saudi Arabia
References
- ↑ Wasfy Pyramid, The Megalithic Portal
- ↑ Wasfy Pyramid, The Megalithic Portal
- ↑ Al Badi Mustatils Complex, The Megalithic Portal
- ↑ Tarek Wasfy: Wasfy Mustatils Complex, Mustatils of Al Badi, Knetsch Pendants, Pendants, Wasfy Pendants, Zenodo, 2026
- ↑ Mapcarta – OpenStreetMap-derived map of the Al Badi area
- ↑ Hugh Thomas, X, 17 May 2026
- ↑ Tarek Wasfy, X, 19 May 2026
- ↑ Wasfy Pyramid, The Megalithic Portal
- ↑ Al Badi Mustatils Complex, The Megalithic Portal
- ↑ Zenodo dataset