This open access book takes the documentary heritage of AlUla, Saudi Arabia, as the paradigm for a novel inclusive method of stewarding documentary heritage in the Arab region and beyond. Where existing scholarship treats epigraphy, digitisation, community engagement, and cultural policy as separate conversations, this volume integrates them into a single, innovative framework. Across four parts, the book moves from identifying foundational inscriptions and rock art, to applying generative AI, the metaverse, and large-scale digital platforms; from people-centred education and stewardship models to the regional legal architecture that allows any of it to endure. The collection convenes Saudi, Arab, and international scholars in a configuration rarely seen in heritage studies, anchored in the UNESCO–RCU partnership and aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Aimed at heritage scholars, archaeologists, policy-makers, librarians, museum and archive professionals, and graduate researchers in heritage studies, Linguistics, Middle East studies, and digital humanities, the volume offers three things at once: the first integrated management of AlUla and the Arab region’s documentary heritage in English; a transferable model for under-represented regions on the MoW International Register; and a roadmap for managing documentary heritage as a living asset for sustainable development.

Dr. Munawar (PhD 2021, University of Amsterdam) is a Dutch-Arab archaeologist and heritage expert whose work centres on heritage and memory studies, politics of the past, decolonial theory, and the stewardship of documentary heritage in the Arab region. He is the Principal Investigator of the Dutch Research Council (NWO- VENI) project “Decolonial Futures: Heritage, Memory, and Narratives in the Making in MENA”, and was recently appointed as a member of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the UNESCO Memory of the World programme. Munawar has widely published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes in heritage studies, archaeology, and cultural studies. Recent works include “Documentary Heritage for Intercultural Dialogue: a case study of AlUla, Saudi Arabia” (UNESCO, 2025) and an edited volume “The Politics of Post-Conflict Heritage Reconstruction: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives” (Springer, 2025). He is currently finishing his book monograph titled “Rebuilding Syria: Cultural Heritage and Memory After Conflict” (Edinburgh University Press). Munawar has held senior research and teaching positions at Brown University (USA), University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (Qatar), and UCL-Qatar (Qatar).