Marawah Island Uncovers Abu Dhabi History With New Findings
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published April 02, 2019 | 01:00 PM
The latest archaeological excavations on Marawah Island, carried out by specialist teams from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, have shed new light on Abu Dhabi’s earliest known settlement, which dates back 8,000 years
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 02nd Apr, 2019) The latest archaeological excavations on Marawah Island, carried out by specialist teams from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, have shed new light on Abu Dhabi’s earliest known settlement, which dates back 8,000 years.
The most recent excavations, which took place over a period of five weeks in February and March, have uncovered stunning new evidence on the architecture, art and technology of Abu Dhabi’s Neolithic inhabitants.
Marawah lies around 100km to the west of the city of Abu Dhabi, and approximately 25km northwest of the port of Mirfa. The dig site is situated on top of a rocky limestone plateau located just to the west of Ghubba village in the south-western part of the island. First discovered in 1992 during an archaeological survey of the island, the site consists of at least seven mounds that appear to be the remains of collapsed Neolithic stone structures.
Previous archaeological excavations focused on one of the smaller mounds at the site, and uncovered a well-built, three-room stone structure and a number of significant finds. These included an imported ceramic vase - which the public can now see on display at Louvre Abu Dhabi - as well as flint arrowheads and pearl oyster shell buttons, which are currently on display at Qasr Al Hosn. Other finds retrieved included numerous plaster vessel fragments, shell and stone beads, marine shells, fish bones, mammalian bones from gazelles and dugongs, and cetacean bones from dolphins.
Expanded excavations have taken place at the site since 2017 and these have concentrated on the largest mound, revealing the presence of numerous stone buildings. The recently completed excavation season successfully uncovered the full extent of this mound with an exceptional range of artefacts found around this unique building. These included a large number of stone arrowheads, as well as decorated and undecorated plaster vessel fragments. The plaster vessel fragments are richly painted and represent the earliest known decorative art yet discovered in the UAE.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments from different layers in the site demonstrates that the site was occupied between about 8,000 years ago to about 6,500 years ago.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, visited Marawah Island on 18th March to view the progress being made by archaeologists working on the excavation.
"The continuing archaeological excavations we are carrying out on Marawah Island continue to uncover fascinating and revealing discoveries," said Al Mubarak. "As we at DCT Abu Dhabi work to preserve, promote and protect the heritage sites that embody this history of our region so that they can inform future generations, Marawah Island continues to present stunning evidence of our past which reveals more and more of our storied origins."
Recent Stories
50MP is Better than 200MP?
Mohammad Amir’s participation in T20I series against Ireland, England hangs in ..
Police arrest some lawyers after clash outside LHC
US wants basic human rights for Imran Khan, all other prisoners
Hajj season begins: Karachi Airport Set for Inaugural Flight
IHC orders Jail officials to shift Bushra Bibi to Adiala Jail from Bani Gala
Projects of worth $25b being implemented in Pakistan under CPEC framework: Ahsan
Saudi investors evince special interest in diverse fields
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 8 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 08 May 2024
Delegation of international investors meets Finance Minister
Federal Govt stands with Balochistan for its development: Naqvi
More Stories From Middle East
-
UAE announces ‘Zero Bureaucracy Program’ to reduce bureaucracy
3 months ago -
COP28 President-Designate welcomes Transitional Committee agreement to operationalise Loss and Damag ..
6 months ago -
Global Media Congress 2023 to feature Co-Production Majlis as a new networking platform
6 months ago -
Young female athletes shine at Abu Dhabi World Youth Jiu-Jitsu Championship
6 months ago -
King of Jordan receives Abdullah bin Zayed and ministers participating in Arab coordination meeting
6 months ago -
Abdullah bin Zayed participates in coordination meeting of Arab foreign ministers, joint meeting wit ..
6 months ago
-
3rd annual conference of Emirates Society of Clinical Microbiology kicks off in Dubai
6 months ago -
SIBF 2023 hosts Nobel laureate to discuss emergence of ‘Afrofuturism’ in global discourse
6 months ago -
ALC announces winners of Kanz Al Jeel Award 2023
6 months ago -
SIBF turns spotlight on remarkable contributions of women
6 months ago -
Global assets in spot bitcoin ETFs hit $4.16 billion
6 months ago -
Rescuers struggle to find Nepal quake survivors as deaths reach 157
6 months ago