- ABU DHABI - A group
of stone houses more than 7,000 years old have been found on Abu Dhabi's
Western island of Marwah. They are the oldest buildings of their type ever
discovered in the UAE.
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- The discovery was made by a team from the Abu Dhabi Islands
Archaeological Survey (Adias), working in association with the Environmental
Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA), which is responsible
for the management of the island's wildlife and environment as part of
the Marwah Marine Protected Area.
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- "We are delighted by these latest results from Marwah,"
the ADIAS Executive Director, Peter Hellyer, said.
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- "The island has one of the most diverse groups of
archaeological sites anywhere in the country, ranging from the Late Stone
Age to the Late Islamic period, covering the country's history from the
very earliest settlement.
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- "It is, therefore, particularly appropriate that
Marwah is now fully-protected as part of the ERWDA-managed Marwah Marine
Protected Area," he added.
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- During work at a site known as MR-11 in spring 2003,
Adias examined a group of stone mounds, and uncovered three buildings.
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- One of these structures was fully excavated and revealed
a well-constructed house with stone walls still surviving to a height of
almost a metre in some places.
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- During the excavations, a fine flint spear and flint
arrowhead were found as well as a fragment of a stone pestle, probably
used for grinding food items. The latest discovery confirms the importance
of Marwah, north-west of the port of Mirfa, as an important settlement
site during the late Stone Age.
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- During earlier work on the island, ADIAS discovered traces
of a number of intriguing stone structures at another site, MR-1, to the
west of MR-11.
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- Large numbers of flint arrowheads were also found at
MR-1, which was probably an important hunting settlement.
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- The importance of Abu Dhabi's islands during the late
Stone Age is also underlined by the results of ADIAS excavations on the
island of Dalma in 1993-4 and 1998.
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- Analysis of the pottery and radiocarbon dates from these
and other sites has shown that around 7,000 years ago there was an extensive
settlement on the offshore islands.
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- Interestingly, people of the time were also trading by
sea with Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), the beginning of the UAE's well-established
tradition of maritime trade.
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- A new season of archaeological fieldwork is due to commence
on Marwah next March and April.
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- Directed by Dr Beech, the work will include more excavations
at MR-11 and also further survey on the neighbouring island of Liffiyah.
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- The work is being carried out in partnership with ERWDA
and all information collected will be added to the Abu Dhabi Environmental
database being developed by ERWDA.
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- http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=107156
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