Archaeological excavations have rarely documented the birth and development of religious Islamic architecture in the Ḥijāz; none had in the Najd. In this respect, the fieldwork conducted by the Saudi-French archaeological Mission in the oasis of al-Kharj (Central Arabia) filled this gap by discovering and excavating the Great Mosque at al-Yamāmah — ancient Jaw al-Khaḍārim, capital city of al-Yamāmah region.

The five-year-long project revealed a late Islamic mosque (16th-18th century CE). Soundings and a careful examination of its floor proved it to be laid upon an early Islamic mosque (8th-10th century CE), itself built over pre-Islamic dwellings.

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