Laser or erosion? Find out what caused the perfect split in Saudi Arabia’s Al Naslaa rock

Deep in the Tayma Oasis in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province lies a 4,000-year-old rock formation with an unusual feature: It is split down the middle by a straight cut with the precision of a laser beam.

The Al Naslaa rock is made up of two sandstones supported by a naturally-formed pedestal with a perfect slit down the middle.

While the exact cause of the split has yet to be determined, windblown sand and periodic rain could have created the unusual shape.

However, that has not stopped a few social media users from speculating that the desert’s ancient inhabitants could have used laser beams to cut the rock in half.

The Instagram account, WeirdWorldInsta posted an image of the rock with text that read, “There is a 4000 years old rock formation in Saudi Arabia called Al-Naslaa which appears to be cut in half with laser like precision.”

“Nobody knows for sure how it happened. Some say that ancient civilizations may have been more advanced than our history books tell us.”