Sharjah site with 210,000 years of human history wins Unesco World Heritage status

'Faya palaeolandscape' becomes the UAE’s second site on list in major honour for emirate and country

Faya, an archeological site of huge significance in Sharjah, is in contention for Unesco World Heritage status. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The historic area is believed to have been home to humans more than 210,000 years ago

The mountainous terrain of the Faya area, which is one of 30 sites being considered by the UN cultural body

Buhais Geology Park is based in the heart of the sprawling Faya palaeolandscape

The Buhais Geology Park helps shine a light on the rich history of the ancient area

The Faya palaeolandscape features a chain of limestone outcrops called jebels stretching 20 kilometres, formed more than 90 million years ago

Plans are in place to protect the palaeolandscape and recognise its important role in the region's history

An area of huge archaeological significance in Sharjah has won Unesco World Heritage Status.

The Faya palaeolandscape is the second site in the UAE to be placed on the Unesco list – the other is in Abu Dhabi – an achievement that is set to have major knock-on effects for culture and tourism.

It is the culmination of decades of work encompassing excavations, scientific studies, site preservation and careful management of the site.

The ancient desert location in central Sharjah features one of the world’s oldest and most uninterrupted records of early human presence, dating back more than 210,000 years.

The honour was announced at the 47th session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee in Paris on Friday. The Faya site joins a list that includes Egypt's pyramids, India's Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of 10 selection criteria, such as being “an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history”.

There are two types of world heritage sites – cultural and natural – with Faya listed under the former.

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, ambassador of the Faya Palaeolandscape World Heritage Nomination, at the Unesco meeting in Paris this week.

“As one of the most important archaeological sites around the world, Faya palaeolandscape is a living testament to humanity's early presence in this region,” said Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, ambassador for the Faya Palaeolandscape World Heritage Nomination.

“For over 210,000 years, this site has borne witness to the story of human innovation, resilience, and adaptation in an arid environment.”

The Faya palaeolandscape refers broadly to the Faya range, a chain of limestone outcrops, and the surrounding area of desert. Today, it is peaceful place of sand dunes and limestone ridges, but what happened there is helping to reshape our understanding of human history.

“The stone tools found at Faya are testimony to the ingenuity of our ancestors and the deep roots of cultural tradition in our region,” said Sheikha Bodour, in a separate statement from state news agency Wam. “We remain fully committed to protecting this site and ensuring its legacy continues to inspire future generations," she said, also expressing thanks to the World Heritage Committee for recognising Faya’s significance.

Over the past 30 years, scientists have excavated the Faya site, uncovering 18 layers, each representing a different period of human occupation. These discoveries have enhanced our understanding of human migration from Faya.

It challenges assumptions that the Arabian Peninsula served only as a corridor for migration from Africa. People may have made a home at Faya and used a southern corridor across modern-day Yemen to settle there. They could have exploited changes in temperatures and rainfall to build longer-term settlements.

Artefacts found at the site, such as handmade tools, indicate a sophisticated level of occupation unique to the area.

Excavations at Faya have shown evidence of human communities stretching back hundreds of thousands of year. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Faya was added to Unesco's tentative list in 2023 and formally submitted for nomination last year. The work that has gone into the site – from excavations to studies to research – stretches back decades.

“Faya now belongs to all peoples of the world, just as it did over 200,000 years ago,” said Eisa Yousif, director general of the Sharjah Archaeology Authority, reported Wam.

The UAE has also developed a management plan for the Faya palaeolandscape that will guide its conservation, research and visitor engagement until 2030. This plan aligns with Unesco’s world heritage standards, ensuring the site is preserved while also allowing for continued exploration and education.

Faya was the only Arab site added to the list this year,

The UAE's other entry on the heritage list comprises the cultural sites of Al Ain, which were added collectively in 2011.

Unesco added 26 news sites to the World Heritage list this year.

They include the Diy-Gid-Biy cultural landscape of the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon – ancient archaeological sites surrounded by agricultural terraces and places of worship; and the Mount Mulanje sacred cultural landscape in Malawi.

Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone had sites added for the first time.

There are now 1,248 sites across the world on the list.