The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the longest-running academic forum for the presentation of research on the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. Since its first meeting in 1968, the Seminar has covered a wide range of subjects including archaeology, epigraphy, history, ethnography, art, architecture, linguistics, and literature from prehistory to the present. Since 2019 the Seminar has changed from being a British-based forum to an international setting, starting with a meeting in the University of Leiden and continuing with other European institutions.

The 56th Seminar in Aarhus in 2023 was a special one, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the first Danish archaeological expedition to Bahrain led by T. Geoffrey Bibby and P.V. Glob, from the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. This is justly considered the starting point of archaeological research on Arabia, as it was the first time that formal excavations were undertaken in the region. This volume of the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies includes 21 papers presented at Aarhus.