A Stone Age village that revealed a sophisticated and skilled settlement from 8,000 years ago. A Bronze Age site in Al Ain that could be the first agricultural village in Arabia and the discovery of the earliest-known mosque in the UAE.
Work by archaeologists at sites across Abu Dhabi during 2018 are radically reshaping our understanding of what life was like here thousands of years ago.
About six major excavations, along with a number of smaller test digs and survey work, were undertaken by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism this year. More than 20 archaeologists spent weeks in the field, digging, surveying, cataloguing and analysing.
Under the guidance of head archaeologist, Peter Magee, sites are now being looked at within a broader context. Were settlements linked? Did people know about each other? Are people plugged into wider networks?
“We can turn the microscope up to look at objects but we also pull it back and look at the big picture and an interesting picture is now emerging,” he said.
Marawah Island is one site that is challenging perceptions about the people who lived here thousands of years ago. This was a period when humans first started to live in one place and grow crops, but Marawah has its own distinctive flavour.
“The people who lived there used the sea as a superhighway. They were super intelligent,” said Mr Magee. “They fished. You had pearling, trade, boat technology and navigation. All of this is kicking off.
“I believe it will fundamentally change the way we think about the ancient UAE and about the Neolithic age globally as it shifts our focus away from traditional models of agriculture and settlement.”
The work in Abu Dhabi also focuses on the Bronze Age. Hili 8 is part of Al Ain's Unesco world heritage sites and is reputed to be the earliest agricultural village in Arabia. Radio carbon dating and a flotation device that sifts through soil and seeds to determine what crops were growing here 5,000 years ago are just some of the methods deployed by DCT archaeologists during to verify this theory.
“These people always kept their options open. They are not just growing cereal crops such as wheat or barley, they also hunted animals. It was a very flexible and intelligent way to approach these environments.”
Hili 14 is a large fortified building from the Bronze Age in Al Ain. Archaeologists are using GPS, satellite data and advanced computer programmes to examine the transformation in the landscape around the building. These buildings were filled in with sand and abandoned so the archaeologists are in search of answers.
A closer look at the falaj irrigation system was also made at another Iron Age site in Al Jabeeb. Now the site is just a series of rolling dunes, but 3,000 years ago people saw an opportunity to grow things here. No one knows why the site was abandoned.
Mr Magee says once these early communities learnt how to develop the falaj, it reappeared elsewhere when the conditions were right. The falaj system also links to the early Islamic period. In September, archaeologists revealed the discovery of a 1,000-year-old mosque in Al Ain, which is believed to be the earliest discovered. A falaj system was found nearby.
“This shows the long range of human occupation where people pick up technology and do not always use it, but it goes into a community toolkit. And as the environment changes, or when they move to a different area, they redeploy part of that toolkit and a falaj system is like that.”
Mr Magee has been working in the UAE for close to 25 years and with the DCT for the past two. His work has always sought to look at the bigger picture and now that approach is beginning to bear fruit.
“We can have sites and nice objects, but now we are seeing all this coming together to form a big narrative to tell the ancient history of the country. That’s very exciting."
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Read more:
Archaeologists uncover UAE's earliest mosque at Al Ain site
Three new elephant trackways discovered in Abu Dhabi, archaeological conference reveals
Marawah Island: Life in Abu Dhabi's Stone Age village was far from nasty, brutish and short
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The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives