Ua ʻike ʻia kahi huakaʻi archeological Saudi/French i kahi heluna nui o nā ipu lepo kahiko a me nā mea hana lāʻau a me nā mea hao ma Madain Saleh (Al-Hijr), i hoʻi i nā makahiki he 2000. Ua ʻike pū ka hui i kekahi mau hale kūkulu hale e lawe ana i nā hiʻohiʻona e hōʻailona ana ua hoʻohana ʻia ia wahi ma ke ʻano he wahi lawelawe. Ua ʻōlelo ʻo Polofesa Ali Al-Ghaban, ka hope pelekikena o ka archeology a me nā hale moʻomeheu, ʻo kēia ka lua o ka ʻeli ʻana ma Madae'n Saleh, e hele mai ana ma lalo o ka papahana ʻepekema ʻepekema me nā huakaʻi honua i ke kahua o ka ʻimi ʻana a me ka ʻeli ʻana, ka ʻaelike hui ma waena o ka archeology and museum section in SCTA, and the National French Research Center CNRC.
Ua wehewehe ʻo Professor Ghaban i ka hui ʻeli ʻana he 11 mau loea i ka archeology, geo-physics, inscriptions, geology, anthropology, GIS, a me nā hana hoʻihoʻi, a me nā mea ʻē aʻe. I ka manawa mua (2008), ua ʻike ka hui i kekahi mau hale kūkulu hale ma ka wahi noho - ʻo Al-Diwan area - a me ka mauna ʻo Ethlib. I kēia manawa, hoʻokō ʻia nā hana hoʻihoʻi e hoʻihoʻi i nā ʻāpana hoʻolālā me nā mea kūlohelohe i ʻole e hoʻopili i ke ʻano o nā ʻike. Hoʻohana ʻia kahi polokalamu uila kūikawā no ka palapala ʻana i nā hana ʻeli a me ka hoʻihoʻi ʻana o ka hui.
Ua hoʻolaha ʻo UNESCO i ka hoʻokomo ʻia ʻana o Madain Saleh i kāna papa inoa hoʻoilina honua, Iulai 2008. ʻO ia ka pūnaewele mua mai ke Aupuni Saudi Arabia i hoʻokomo ʻia ma ka papa inoa o UNESCO.
