The Trifecta - Artefacts found in the UAE, Reasons why it's important to protect artefacts and sites in the UAE and the Group's Top 3.

The Trifecta…

We welcome our readers to this area of the post, that is, if you have read our previous posts, which may be important because some material from there is also talked about here. Now you may ask why name it ‘The Trifecta’, that is because this post will be tackling on three questions that we had asked ourselves. So, pack yourselves in as this is going to be a long one.

Nevertheless, before we do begin, it is necessary to make a contents' table specifically for this post, as all the topics are as interlinked as they thought they would be. So, the basic contents covered here are:

• Artefacts – The Basics
• Artefacts found in the UAE, of what type and time periods and some examples.
• Our opinions on reason why it’s important to protect artefacts and archaeological sites in UAE
• And lastly, illustrating our Top 3 favourite Archaeological sites in the UAE with reasons

Artefacts – The Basics

This section is the smallest out of everything discussed here, and this is more of an introduction and a better way to interlink the next topic.

So, for those who may not understand the term ‘artefacts’, this section is for you. So, what is it exactly?

It is an object made by a human being. Artefacts include art, tools, and clothing made by people of any time and place. The term can also be used to refer to the remains of an object, such as a shard of broken pottery or glassware. Artefacts are immensely useful to scholars who want to learn about a culture.

This is the Curmsun Disc – Obverse, Jomsborg, 980s, found in the Burial site of king Harald Bluetooth

To elaborate further, An artefact is a universal term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is demarcated as an object recovered by archaeological endeavour, which may be a cultural artefact having cultural interest.

Artefacts exist in many forms & can sometimes be mistaken with ecofacts (bio-artefacts etc) and features (walls, man-made structures etc); all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can also exist in different types of context (way they look like or other factors such as size), depending on the procedures that have acted on them over time. A wide variety of analyses take place to examine artefacts & stipulate information on them. However, the process of analysing artefacts through scientific archaeology can be hindered by the looting & collecting of artefacts, which actuates ethical debate of such measures[1].

Before, we move onto the next part, we'll end this off with the fact that artefacts can come from any archaeological context (glossary of archaeology) or source such as:

• Hoards, such as in wells (Found in the UAE)
• Votive offerings (Found in the UAE)
• From any feature such as midden or other domestic setting (Found in the UAE the most)
  
• Buried along with a body (Very common in most of the sites in UAE)

Ancient vessel (pottery) dating back to 7000 years ago found at site MR11 on Marawah island, off Abu Dhabi, UAE. Decades-long explorations have shown the UAE as a treasure kaleidoscope of priceless ancient artefacts & sites.

Artefacts found in the UAE (some prominent examples, time period & type)

To be able to talk about the artefacts of the UAE is to talk about the history of the excavations that took place with the Archaeological sites found in the UAE; that has already been done in the previous blogpost, which overlooks the brief history of the first excavations. So, it won't be talk about as much, but if you do need more information, you can check out the ADIAS website. Although, if you require a more detailed understanding and are interested I suggest you check out this, that and this one as well.

Now to the actual topic of this section, which are the artefacts found in the UAE. Though they are if not hundreds but thousands of artefacts which ranges from UAE's Prehistory (which includes Magan, Wadi Al Suq, Umm Al Nar etc.) upwards till late 18th century when in the 16th century the Portuguese colonized Arabia.

To talk about some of the most important & infamous artefacts found in the UAE are:-

1)  The world's oldest natural pearl is found on an island off Abu Dhabi: It obviously is an old pearl. It is an 8000-year-old pearl was found during excavations at Marawah Island, which also revealed the earliest architecture in the UAE.

Authorities said that the discovery proved that pearls had been traded in the region since the Neolithic times.

This is the world's oldest natural pearl found in the world. It can be found at Louvre Abu Dhabi and was displayed there in the “10,000 Years of Luxury” exhibit.

Though, before we move on to the next one, we would like to talk more about, it's a small pearl, and through radiocarbon dating to determine that the pearl dated back to between 5800 & 5600 BC. Pearls were at the time likely worn as jewellery and used to trade with Mesopotamia – ancient Iraq – for ceramics & other goods, according to Emirati experts.

2) Pieces of weaponry found in the UAE: This is one of the most common artefact found in almost all the Archaeological Sites found in the UAE. We like to mention some of these, which are:

Arrowheads of many varies of lengths and thickness. The first exploration of the Saruq Al Hadid archaeological site in Dubai yielded a horde of ceramics, beads and copper-and-bronze artefacts, including arrowheads, axe heads, a fish-hook, bracelets, knives and, intriguingly, models of snakes. In all, more than 12,000 unique objects had been unearthed at the site. [Picture from the Dubai Media Office]

An example of some Ancient Tools found at the excavation sites of Marawah Island, Abu Dhabi. Numerous stone arrowheads, as well as decorated & undecorated plaster vessel fragments, were found. Some plaster vessel fragments are richly painted & represent the earliest known decorative art yet discovered in the UAE. [Picture from Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi]

[3) The picture below is an explanation, but for more info. Check out the footnote on this]{2}

Incised arrowheads, battle-axes and what seems to be incense discovered in Fujairah date from 1500 to 1000 BC. Natheless, to talk about artefacts are something that lucubrate on regional continuums, are often juxtaposed with similar finds from other parts of the world.

4) Jebel Buhais: This is the one of earliest discovery of archaeological sites in the UAE when the excavation first started in the late 1980. Found in the early 1990s, it is located near Madam, in the central region of Sharjah. The area contains an extensive necropolis, consisting of burial sites spanning the Stone, Bronze, Iron and Hellenistic ages of human settlement in the UAE. Burials at Jebel Buhais date back to the 5th Millennium BCE. The site is located to the side of a limestone outcrop rising to some 340 metres above sea level & which runs almost contiguously from the town of Madam north to the town of Mleiha, itself an important archaeological site. 

The Iron Age fort at the core of the necropolis of Jebel Buhais, first discovered in 1973 by Iraqi archaeologists. Jebel Buhais is the oldest radiometrically dated inland burial site in the UAE. The area is protected, having been defined as a nature reserve.

5) Tell Abraq: Also a very significant site, which was an ancient Near Eastern City. It is located on the border between Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain, although, the city was originally on the coastline of the Persian Gulf. The mound containing the ruins of Tell Abraq was excavated working on the remains of Ed-Dur and when analysed, they found out indications of earlier settlements. It is titled as being the “best preserved and largest prehistoric settlement in the Lower Gulf”.

Tell Abraq Site. It shows human occupation through the Umm An-Nar. Wadi Suq and Iron Age periods from around 2500 to 400 BCE. It is thought to be one of the key locations of the area the Sumerians knew as “Magan”.

An ivory comb from 2300 BC discovered in the grave in Tell Abraq in Sharjah. Now found in The Lourve Abu Dhabi.

6 [and more]) Saruq Al Hadid: An archaeological site in Dubai, and stands as one of the most important & enigmatic historical sites in the country. Findings from the site are displayed in a museum with the same name in the city of Dubai. 

It is consodered to have been a centre of constant human habitation, trade, and metallurgy from the  Umm Al Nar period to the Iron Age , when it was a major location for smelting bronze, copper, and Iron. In total, 12,000 unique objects have been unearthed at the site.

The Saruq Al- Hadid site. Now part of the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve. Was discovered in 2002 & was originally discovered by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, while flying his helicopter across the desert. 

Snake emblem on pottery jar from Saruq Al Hadid. There is an abundance of pottery & metal artefacts have given rise to speculation of possibly identifying the site as a centre of snake worship. It has also been speculated that the site may be chosen because of religious beliefs. These snakes found at the site and decorated with snake motifs fuel some of the many mysteries of Saruq Al Hadid.

Contuining on with this, this poster (and some more pictures) below will provide more information for more artefacts as well :-

Made By Nahiyan - Title Page.

The Main Content. Fun Fact: The Golden Ring that did inspire the EXPO 2020 logo was found at Saruq Al Hadid

Towards metallurgy found in the UAE, this is an example of Gold Jewelry found at Saruq Al Hadid.

Thus find is linked to also another important Archaeological site in the UAE, Qattara Oasis is an area of irrigated date farm in Al Ain, which features a distinctive falaj system as well as late Bronze Age. In this case, this is an iron age dagger, dated to 1000 BCE. Currently displayed at the Lourve Abu Dhabi.

A dagger with a lion-shaped handle dating between 1100 to 600 BC. Made of a copper alloy, the dagger’s hilt is shaped like a lion, mid-pounce. What is peculiar is the tilt of its blade, which doesn’t bend as a pointed beak but horizontally. This was found in Saruq Al-Hadid

Snake decoration on a pot from Rumailah. Rumailah is an archaeological site in Al Ain, as well as the site of a thick-walled coral and adobe fort, thought to date to the early 20th century. Finds at Rumailah include distinctive pottery adorned with snake patterns, similar to finds at Qusais, Masafi and the major Iron & Bronze Ages; metallurgical production centre, as well as chlorite vessels decorated with turtles alternating with trees, similar to finds from Qidfa' in Fujairah, and Qusais.

Now, that we've reached the end of this section, this was going to be the longest part of the post and it's done, so now come's the last 2 topics to do which will be much shorter and be more than just pictures of objects. Though we couldve talked about more Pre-Islamic And Post Islamic finds, but they weren't many finds of interest.

Reasons why it's importantant to protect artefacts and sites in the UAE.

To start off, there are many obvious reasons why its important to protect artefacts and sites in general. So we'll take in general why its important and also proves reasons fo rthe UAE as well. To say, the below was written by Ibrahim & Wasel:

Context helps archaeologists figure out who used the artifacts, how they used them, and even when they used them. Moving the artifacts out of context destroys the story of the site. Archaeological sites and art artefacts are part of our shared past. Looting deprives all us of a clear understanding of our past.

In view of the fact that, archaeological materials are a non-renewable resource (we can not go back in time to make more sites), we absolutely want to document any sites in danger of being destroyed. It is important to protect archaeological sites for a couple of reasons.

First, it is important to protect the artefacts & other materials that are located within archaeological sites. These artifacts have tremendous historical value, and as such, they may be vulnerable to looting by people who see the artifacts as having monetary value. 

In addition, the material within the sites can also be vulnerable to weather damage, so it is important to protect them from wind, rain, snow, flooding, dust, and other weather phenomena (or simply the elements). It is also important to protect archaeological sites so that the archaeologists investigating them are safe. The sites have to be protected from cave-ins so that it is not a life-risking endeavor for the archaeologists to examine them.

At the same time, whenever one is discovered, the artefacts should be discovered as soon as possible so to better understand of the time period of the site, explain why its was chosen, its use, so on and so forth. An example can be taken from Abu Dhabi when the Federal National Council approved a law for requisite archaeological surveys of plots labelled for building projects. That council meeting was in May, 2015 where as said by National News that: "... it was agreed that in order to prevent more of the UAE’s ancient heritage being built over, experts must explore plots of land for antiquities before construction work starts.

Members also added an article to the bill stating that specialised authorities must train Emiratis in archaeological surveying and digging in order for them to supervise the surveys.". Now, this excerpt is self-explanatory and led to an increase of survey of both the land and analying of artefacts which contributed further to the past history of the UAE. To read more about this you can click here.

I would also like to further talk about this topic in refrence to another headline from the new in 2014 where the Cabinet approved a law to protect UAE artefacts.taking the excerpt of the caption: "The federal law will regulate the protection of archaeological sites in the UAE, starting with the establishment of a federal and local registry".

The main reason, other than the registry identifying, classifying, preserving and safeguarding antiquities as well as prohibit their import & export without a licence from the competent authority; the UAE had a few laws on it but it was on the emirate level so this law was very important as the Ministry of Culture and the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities had been working on it for a long time. As further explained by Mr. Bukash, "It’s also vital to move to the next step where we can register some of them as world heritage sites," and contuined, "We’re working on it now with the council. It will really show our national identity and the different relations we had with Oman, Iraq, Iran and as far as India and China. It’s crucial to protect these sites from any kind of demolition or construction." Here we are now, with many sites of the UAE being UNESCO World Heritage sites. For more information, check out the news article here.

Now, that will be the end of this section, moving on the last section, where are our favourites.

Top 3 favorited Archaeological Sites in the UAE with reasons.

Now, this will be the last section of this post and as well as the end of the questions that we'll be answering to give you, the readers a better understanding of the UAE as this also marks the end of  TMROU, but we won't ramble on about that, because that's all for the end.

So to quickly start this section off, this will be a new section for our old readers here but I hope its welcome & this change will stay with us. This was added mostly because of the surveys that we had done for the previous 'The Monthly Review Of', where it was an overwhimghly a suggestion of talking about our personal favourites, which we are doing now and this case about sites in the UAE. So our list and reasons are:

1) Jebel Faya: The Group chose Jabal Faya because of its deepest assemblage as it was discovered 125,000 years ago. The Jabel Faya holds the most ancient settlement of anatomically modern humans that are lived outside of Africa its time of 2011. As also given to the most paleolithic in Arabia. While also being an archaeological site, it is a limestone hill or escarpment near Al Madam, Sharjah, located about 50 km  east of the city of Sharjah, and between the shoreline of the Gulf & Al Hajar Mountains. Though, we could keep on talking about its beauty and the findings, but if you want to read more, check this article out then.

2) Qasr-Al Hosn: For the second one the group chose Qasr-Al-Hosn as it is the oldest and the most significant building in Abu-Dhabi, the structure was commanded and overlooked from the costal trade routes and it was protected the settlement on the island. It is also a historical landmark and the oldest stone building in the city of Abu Dhabi. It was designed by Mohammed Al Bastaki and built in 1761 and is a part of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation.

Also known as the White Fort or Old Fort, was constructed as a conical watchtower to defend the only freshwater well in Abu Dhabi island. The tower later expanded into a small fort in 1793 by the ruler then, and became the permanent residence of the ruling Sheikh. The tower took its present shape after a major extension in the late 1930s, it remained the emir's palace (hence the name Qasr al-Hosn, meaning Palace fort) and seat of government until 1966.[3]

These are some images of the Qasr Al-Hosn, wherethe inside, the outside and a somewhat of a drone shot is taken of the fort, which also shows evolution as how it was renovated throughout the years. Though very simple but unique history. 

3) Fort Al Ali:  For the last one the group chose Fort Al Ali because the fort was set in a way for the rulers of Umm Al Quwain to sit with other rules as the fort is located at the center of the government in them emirate until 1969. Also known as the Umm Al Quwain Fort, as per our description is in Umm Al Quwain. It was also used as a police station before the fort was restored and opened to the public in 2000 by Sheikh Rashid Bin Ahmed Al Mualla, the Ruler of Umm Al Quwain at the time. Today it houses the Umm Al Quwain National Museum, which exhibits include artefacts from the important archeological site of Ed-Dur. The Fort is located in the Madeena Al Qadeema, Umm Al Quwain, the most traditional remaining area of the emirate's capital.

The Al Ali Fort was built in 1768 by the founder of the modern Al Mualla dynasty, Sheikh Rashid Bin Majid Al Mualla. It has had a bloody histroy, where Sheikh Hamad Bin Ibrahim Al Mualla was murdered in the fort in 1929 – shot and killed on 9 February 1929.[4]

Hamad was succeeded by Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla following a colourful incident whereby the population of the town rose up against Abdelrahman and Saeed, who had barricaded themselves in the fort. Abandoning their initial plan of firing on the fort with a cannon, the people of the town instead elected to set a fire around the walls of the fort and in this conflagration both Abrelrahman and Saeed were killed. [5] explains why it was done and more indepth and reaction of the British and their unseriousness in the matter as a whole.

Now, we did have a few more, that were very close to our selection, but they are already found throughout the blogpost as a whole. So, a quick question for the readers is to guess what could be our other favorites (Hint: they are only two and can be found in the previous post made). Other than that, hopw this post was good and this also now marks the end of our report section and we can now move on to the next few things which, you'll be reading.

BUT, you have to watch the video below and give us your rating of it below. I hopw the video (animation) is informative and intresting to watch. Hope you guys have a great day!

-NG

Footnotes:

[1]Although, ‘artefact’ is the general term used in archaeology, while in museums it may be called an 'object'. While for art history the words 'artwork' and for more specific cases “carving” may be used. The same item may be called all or any of these in contrasting contexts, and more specific terms will be used when talking about individual objects, or groups of similar ones.

{2} This one is a bit more obscure because of the lack of popularity it has gained, but these are some weaponry found in Fujairah from the Iron Age period in the UAE. This picture includes metal battle-axes, arrowheads and what possibly is an incense burner.

[3]The Qasr al-Hosn is currently the subject of extensive historical, archaeological, and architectural research. The fort houses a museum displaying artifacts and pictures representing the history of the country. It also has a range of weapons, used through the region's history, on display.

[4]Sheikh Hamad was shot by a slave called Saeed from the household of Hamad's blind uncle, Abdelrahman bin Ahmed Al Mualla.

[5] The British considered the whole affair to be highly suspicious and suspected Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Sharjah of involvement, but confirmed the young Ahmed as a Trucial Ruler nonetheless.