Vision to see future in our past



Archaeological finds made on an island near the capital in 1959 proved pivotal in defining and promoting the UAE’s relics and antiquities. Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s Founding Father, was one of the first to spot their importance.

In the spring of 1959, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi at the time, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, made one of several visits to an island 20 kilometres from his ancestral home at Qasr Al Hosn, which we now know as Sas Al Nakheel but was then known as Umm an-Nar.

Rendered in the bleached tones that are now so redolent of the period, the event was captured in a photograph that not only acts as an evocative royal portrait but also represents a milestone in the history of archaeological exploration in the Emirates, which will be explored in The Archaeological Story of the United Arab Emirates – a public lecture on Wednesday evening at Manarat Al Saadiyat.

Although nobody quite realised it at the time, Umm an-Nar, which had become the site of the first archaeological excavation to be conducted in the Emirates, would produce crucial finds that would eventually give its name to a unique Bronze Age culture that now defines the archaeological record in the same way as sites such as Mycenae, La Tene and Harappa.

If the archaeological value of Umm an-Nar’s crumbling burial chambers was not immediately evident, the significance of the dig was not lost on Sheikh Shakhbut nor on his brother, Sheikh Zayed, the Founding President of the UAE who lived and served at the time as the Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain.

Not only would that first archaeological season at Umm an-Nar lead to a second, in 1960, which revealed evidence of a previously unknown ancient culture, but it also prompted Sheikh Zayed to invite the dig’s English and Danish archaeologists to explore the similar but far more numerous tombs that defined the escarpments, oases and valleys of the area then known as Buraimi.

“This is a period in which Sheikh Shakhbut and Sheikh Zayed both played critical roles in promoting archaeological ­research, when you had someone who was going to become leader who was very interested in promoting archaeology and understanding the history of this region.”

So says the archaeologist and academic Peter Magee, who, alongside Eisa Yousif, director of excavation and archaeological sites at the Sharjah Archaeology Authority, will present on Wednesday evening’s talk.

“But this was also a moment when archaeology had matured as a discipline and when the practice of going to countries throughout the Middle East and extracting large-scale antiquities and putting them in museums in western Europe had come to an end,” says Dr Magee.

As well as having worked on UAE excavations for 25 years, Dr Magee is also professor of classical and near eastern archaeology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and now, as the recently appointed head of archaeology, coastal heritage and palaeontology with Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA), he is charged with organising archaeological research and promoting history and archaeology in the emirate. “It’s about making the history more visible and intelligible to the local population and visitors,” says the Australian.

“In Al Ain, for example, we have a Unesco World Heritage site and it’s important that people visiting should be made aware that there is a unique and important history in that area that is of stunning global importance.”

While he admits that it has taken time for the historical and archaeological importance of the Arabian Peninsula to be recognised, the archaeologist believes that an increasing number of excavations and finds, such as the 125,000-year-old stone tools discovered at the Paleolithic rock shelter at Jebel Faya in Sharjah, have shed new light on the role of Arabia in prehistory and have the potential to rewrite the history of humankind.

“The excavations at Jebel Faya have really placed this part of the Peninsula on the map for the movement of anatomically modern humans out of ­Africa,” says Dr Magee, whose recent book, The Archaeology of Prehistoric Arabia, was published in 2014 .

“And what happens is that you get one discovery like that and it prompts further interest and research, and that’s certainly the case now.

“This is an area that’s been overlooked in the past, but in just 50-odd years there has been a huge amount that’s been discovered about this area and even since the 1970s it’s played an increasing and significant role in scholarship.”

That scholarship includes the academic’s work at sites such as Muweilah, a 3,000-year-old Iron Age town in Sharjah and Tell Abraq, a multiple-layered village and town on the border between Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain that dates back 4,500 years.

One of Dr Magee's recent papers, published last year with 23 other academics in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explores how finds made in the UAE are helping to shed light on the origins of the domesticated camel.

By comparing DNA samples from domesticated camel populations in Australia, India and North Africa with ancient DNA extracted from wild camel bones found at archaeological sites such as Baynunah, Umm an-­Nar and Hili in the UAE, the researchers claim to have identified ­Arabian camels as the founder gene pool for all the domesticated camels in the world.

“The sites have shown that there is a tradition of hunting wild camel that goes back to the Neolithic period and then suddenly, about 3,500 years ago, there’s a decline, then about 3,000 years ago there’s a spike in the presence of domesticated camels,” Dr Magee says.

“That suggests the economic background to the appearance of domesticated camels was hunting and that over-exploitation of the wild population might have been a factor in their domestication.

“We cannot say that this means that domestication first happened here because the genetics of the camels here could be similar to that in other parts of the Peninsula, but it certainly pushes the interpretation in the direction that initial domestication may have happened here.”

When it comes to the practice of archaeology in the UAE the appropriate pattern, Dr Magee insists, was set by people such as Karen Frifelt, a Danish archaeologist from the University of Aarhus who led excavations in Al Ain between 1968 and 1972.

“It was a unique moment because they came to the country with huge respect for the local culture and what was happening throughout the region in pre-history,” says Dr Magee.

“They also came to the archaeological record with an open mind, and that allows you to see things that might not be so obvious if you come in with a more blinkered view.”

He lists his priorities for archaeology in Abu Dhabi as research, promotion, engagement and capacity-building to ensure that a new generation of Emirati archaeologists can investigate their own history.

“Now when we excavate a site we have to think about how it will be presented to the public, but that wasn’t the case and is still not the case with a lot of archaeology in this part of the world,” the professor says.

“Archaeologists excavate, they take away the data, go home and the site is left.

“We can’t do that and we have to think about that even to the extent that it will influence how we excavate.

“When it comes to working with teams in the future, we will ask them to be all the things they should be – rigorous and scientific – but I want them to keep in mind that the way they excavate the site, the way they expose certain features, has to lend itself to the site’s eventual [public] presentation.

“This is not unusual and it’s increasingly the case elsewhere. The days of just digging stuff up are gone, and that’s a good thing.”

nleech@thenational.ae

The Archaeological Story of the United Arab Emirates, the second talk in the current Multaqa Zayed National Museum series takes place on Wednesday at Manarat Al Saadiyat from 7pm to 8.30pm.

To register visit saadiyatculturaldistrict.ae or call +971 (0) 2 657 5800.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowdash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESean%20Trevaskis%20and%20Enver%20Sorkun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERestaurant%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20Judah%20VC%2C%20TPN%20Investments%20and%20angel%20investors%2C%20including%20former%20Talabat%20chief%20executive%20Abdulhamid%20Alomar%2C%20and%20entrepreneur%20Zeid%20Husban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

All the Money in the World

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer

Four stars

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

Biography

Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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