An ancient burial site has been uncovered in Dibba. Reem Mohammed / The National

Fujairah dig finds treasure trove of 500 Bronze Age artefacts



Weapons, pottery and jewellery are just some of the rare Bronze Age discoveries unearthed by archaeologists at an ancient burial ground in Dibba.

Over the past two weeks, a treasure trove of more than 500 artefacts have been found at a Bronze Age site in Fujairah including swords, daggers, axe heads, arrowheads, spearheads, pottery and gold jewellery.

Two U-shaped tombs from as early as 1500BC are being excavated with more than a hundred people thought to have been buried in each.

It has been a good week for German archaeologist Kristina Pfeiffer, who is working on the dig in partnership with the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority.

“It is a lot more than we expected, we are drowning in finds,” she said.

“I just told my mom I’ve excavated the first sword of my life.”

On Thursday, The National was given a tour of two sites in Dibba being excavated by German archaeologists. Also present was the German ambassador to the UAE, Gotz Lingenthal.

Dibba Murabah is where Ms Pfeiffer excavated the sword. A second site, Dibba 76, was excavated by the team last year. Both are burial grounds from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Four sites in total have been looked at in total since then and work is being led by the Orient Department of the prestigious German Archaeological Institute.

The focus this season is Dibba Murabah. In the late 1990s, a municipality bulldozer removing soil cut into a cluster of pottery fragments. But what the digger had stumbled upon was actually a treasure trove from a network of Bronze Age burial chambers.

These sites have been looked at before but the German teams are going deeper, finding more pieces, mapping the area and carrying out scientific analysis using state of the art methods. Thousands of bone fragments have been found over the past few weeks at Dibba Murabah.

“It’s not possible to determine where people lived at this time – but we do know where they are buried,” said Ms Pfeiffer, who is the project manager for the mission.

“[These sites] occur like a chain on the coast, from Fujairah down to Oman and that’s a phenomenon not explained yet because the settlements are missing.”

The arrowheads are still sharp and some have unique markings in the shape of lines, stars or a cross which could indicate the producer or type of arrowhead.

“The people from the Bronze Age are normally underestimated,” said Ms Pfeiffer. “They were like you and me and looked like you and me. They were highly sophisticated manufacturers.

“They knew how to cast, smith, how to make fine pottery and decorations. They were highly specialist people.”

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The team is here for a month until March 14 and they are working 18-hour days, supported by specially-trained workers from the Fujairah antiquities authority. The site is uncovered using picks and trowels and then finely cleaned using paintbrushes.

Ms Pfeiffer is supported by a team including pottery expert Mechthild Ladurner and surveyor Silvio Reichmuth. Every single piece must be photographed, weighed, measured, sketched and entered into a database.

Much of this work is done in the apartments they are staying in here. Photogrammetry is used to make a 3D picture of the site while C14 radio carbon dating determines what time in history the pieces were made.

One of the key questions is where these people got their drinking water. Using oxygen isotope testing of teeth found at the site and drinking water from Fujairah, they might be able to deduce where the drinking water came from.

At both sites, there was no separation of people in the burial chambers. Old and young; men and women were buried together.

“This is a fascinating part of pre-historic Fujairah culture that I really like. No separation. I would say in world archaeology, it’s unusual,” said Ms Pfeiffer.

Fujairah is undergoing rapid economic change, with a huge increase in construction putting these sites under pressure.

“Fujairah cares about culture a lot. The cultural heritage is very rich in the emirates, especially in Fujairah.

“But the amount of knowledge [we have] is very little. Proper work started only at the end of the 1980s. We have many questions.”

A protective roof was placed over Dibba 76 a few years ago and it’s hoped the site will open to tourists in the future.

“We’ll prepare some sites for visitors,” said Salah Hassan, head archaeologist at the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority. “We are very happy with the work right now.”

The German ambassador said he was impressed by the good atmosphere between the German archaeologists and the authorities in Fujairah.

“For me, it’s interesting to see the cultural heritage of this region,” said Mr Lingenthal. “I am also impressed by what modern technology can do to help analyse the sites.”

The German team will return in the autumn to process the finds. Results will be published in the months after.

PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST

Premier League

Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm 

Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm  

Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm 

Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm 

Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)

Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm 

Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm

Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm

Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm 

Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm

Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm 

Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm

Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm

 

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Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

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

Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS

6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock

7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor

9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

UAE squad

Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2

Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')

Barcelona 0

Company%20Profile
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Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPOPC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmna%20Aijaz%2C%20Haroon%20Tahir%20and%20Arafat%20Ali%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eart%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20amount%20raised%20through%20Waverider%20Entertainment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:

Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4

Second leg:

Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm

In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

Not Dark Yet

Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer

Four stars

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The%20Sandman
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The five pillars of Islam
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SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh135,000

Engine 1.6L turbo

Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode

Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

The specs

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh130,000

On sale: now


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