ADIAS Press releases and Press coverage - 2004

[ Jan - Feb - March - April - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec 2004 ]

4 January 2004

7000 year-old houses discovered on Marawah island - part 1 - part 2 (Source: WAM)
[ download picture 1 - picture 2 - picture 3 - picture 4 ]


5 January 2004

7000 year-old houses discovered on Marawah island (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

7,000-year-old housing units found in Marawah Island (Source: Khaleej Times)

7000-year-old houses found in UAE - page 1 and main story (Source: Gulf Today)

Stone houses dating back 7,000 years discovered (Source: Gulf News)


7000 year old houses on Marawah (in arabic) (Source: Al Wahda)



7000 year old houses on Marawah (in arabic) (Source: Al Khaleej)

7000 year old houses on Marawah (in arabic) (Source: Al Ittihad)
(download jpeg version)



7000 year old houses on Marawah (in arabic) (Source: Al-Bayan)

7000 year old houses on Marawah (in arabic) (Source: Akhbar al- Arab)


6 January 2004

Stone Age homes found in the Gulf (Source: News.Scotsman.com)

Stone Age homes found in the Gulf (Source: Irish Examiner)

Stone Age homes found in the Gulf (Source: Ireland On-line)

Remains of Late Stone Age houses found on Emirates island - by Rawya Rageh - Associated Press Writer
364 words
6 January 2004
17:21
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2004. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Archaeologists have discovered the remains of Stone Age houses going back 7,000 years on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, an expert said Tuesday. The foundations of three dwellings were found on Marawah island, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, about nine months ago. The site also yielded a flint spearhead about 9 centimeters (3 inches) long, a flint arrowhead and a grinding stick, said Mark Beech, the senior resident archaeologist of the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey. Beech said the team suspected there were more house remains to be found. "These structures are amazing in terms of historic importance. They are the best and most complete structures found in the whole (Gulf) region," Beech said. Less well-preserved remains of houses have been found in Kuwait and Qatar. Samples examined at Britain's University of Glasgow showed the houses date to 6,5000-7,000 years ago, which is about 2,000 years before the earliest Pharaoh in Egypt. "People have settled in that area and were carrying out domestic activities," Beech said. Other sites at Marawah island have produced pieces of Ubaid pottery. As this was produced in southern Mesopotamia, today's Iraq, it shows that Marawah's settlers were involved in maritime trade. The houses belong to what is called the Arabian Neolithic Era, which corresponds to the Late Stone Age. They have walls that are half a meter thick and built of local stone. They are rectangular and oval in shape, Beech said. "We have found sites from different periods (on Marawah), starting from the Late Stone Age until the pre-oil era," including sites belonging to the Bronze Age (3,150-1,200 BC), the Iron Age (1,200-586) and the Islamic period (7th-18th century), Beech said. He said the archaeologists will excavate further on the island beginning in March. Marawah is about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from east to west, and nearly 5.5 kilometers (3 miles) from north to south.

7 January 2004

7,000-year-old housing units found in Marawah Island (Source: Archeonet Archeologisch Nieuws - Dutch website)

7,000-year-old houses found in the Gulf (Source: Stone Pages)

Boffins' 7000-year-old find (Source: Glasgow Evening Times Online)

Stone Age settlement found on Gulf island (Source: The Scotsman)

8 January 2004

Glasgow newspaper reports Abu Dhabi archaeological finds (Source: WAM)

11 January 2004

Audio News from The Archaeology Channel / Archaeologica: Week of 5 - 11 January 2004
This features the news story "Ancient Dwellings Discovered in United Arab Emirates"
N.B. this is an audio file. Click on your choice of media player and download speed:
Windows Media 56k version - Windows Media 300k version
Real Player 56k version - Real Player 300k version
For other archaeology news in audio click here.

18 January 2004

NDC, ADIAS join forces to carry out survey of fossil sites (Source: Khaleej Times)

NDC, ADIAS join forces to carry out survey of fossil sites (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

Abdul Hafeez from the Private Department of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan works on the scale model (1:20) of a Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. This is a primitive 4-tusked elephant which lived in Abu Dhabi 6-8 million years ago (Photograph: Dr Mark Beech).	Detail of the head of the Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (Photograph: Dr Mark Beech).
Life in Abu Dhabi 6-8 million years ago. Reconstruction painting by Gemma Goodall (Photograph: ADIAS).
The 6-8 million year old elephant tusk discovered at Ruwais. The tusk is an upper tusk from Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (Photograph: ADIAS).	Measuring the Ruwais tusk. It is an upper tusk from Stegotetrabelodon syrticus and measures 2.54 metres in length (Photograph: Dr Mark Beech).

23 May 2004

(Source: Al Bayan)

(Source: Al Fajr)

(Source: Al Ittihad)

(Source: Al Khaleej)

(Source: Al Wahda)

Remains of ancient tuskers on display (Source: Gulf News)

Six-million-year-old fossils to go on show - [ scanned version with picture ] (Source: Gulf Today)

6 to 8 million years old fossils to go on display - [ scanned version with picture ] (Source: Khaleej Times)

29 June 2004

Marawah excavations find Abu Dhabi's oldest inhabitant (Source: Emirates News Agency - WAM)

7500 year old house discovered at site MR11 on Marawah island (Photograph: ADIAS).		ca 7000 year old pottery vessel discovered at site MR11 on Marawah island (Photograph: ADIAS).
The earliest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi - The human skeleton was placed on a stone platform at the southern end of the room (Photograph: ADIAS).		The earliest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi - Close-up detail of the human skeleton (Photograph: ADIAS).
7500 year old buttons made from pearl oyster (Photograph: ADIAS).

30 June 2004


Earliest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi discovered - for the full story click here [download jpeg version] (Source: Al Ittihad)


First inhabitant of Abu Dhabi discovered on Marawah island (Source: Al Bayan)


Abu Dhabi's first inhabitant discovered on Marawah island (Source: Al Khaleej)

Excavations unearth oldest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi [download jpeg version] (Source: Gulf News)

Marawah excavations find Abu Dhabi's oldest inhabitant (Source: Gulf Today)

Remains of oldest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi found [download jpeg version] (Source: Khaleej Times)

Marawah excavations find Abu Dhabi's oldest inhabitant (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

A look into the past (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

Ältester Bewohner Abu Dhabis in 7000 Jahre alter Siedlung entdeckt (Source: Web.de - Wissenschaft - Archäologie)

19 July 2004

De Cardi to be honoured (Source: Gulf News)

UAE archaeology will be focus of London seminar (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

UAE archaeology in the spotlight at London seminar (Source: Gulf News)

UAE archaeology will be focus of London seminar (Source: Gulf Today)

UAE to be represented at global Arabian meeting (Source: Khaleej Times)

24 July 2004

Book traces history of date palm (Source: Gulf News)

New book explores various aspects of bride of orchard (Source: Khaleej Times)

2 August 2004

UAE experts fight to save Islam’s earliest mosques (Source: Khaleej Times)

3 August 2004

UAE experts fight to save Islam's earliest mosques (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

4 September 2004

Abu Dhabi Discovery (Source: Archaeology - A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America - Newsbriefs - Volume 57 Number 5, September/October 2004)

14 September 2004

ADIAS to help in Clean-Up Arabia (Source: ADIAS Press Release)

Divers and other volunteers taking part in the Clean-Up Arabia 2004 campaign this Friday are to receive a special briefing on how to recognise underwater archaeological sites and material.

The Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, is collaborating with the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA, to ensure that those taking part in the clean-up of the beach and inshore areas at Abu Dhabi's port of Mirfa are given information on how to recognise sites and material, and what to do if they find them.

The ADIAS Senior Resident Archaeologist, Dr. Mark Beech, will be taking part in the Mirfa clean-up. He will provide the divers and other volunteers with an outline of archaeological material that may be present below the high tide mark, including that to be found in shallow inshore waters. He will also identify any material that might be collected.

Mirfa has been an important port for coastal fishermen for generations, and items that may occur include broken pieces of pottery and stone anchors, once used by fishing boats.

"The coastal inhabitants of Abu Dhabi have made their living from the sea for at least 7,000 years," according to Peter Hellyer, the ADIAS Executive Director. "Many archaeological sites have been found on the coast and islands. In some areas, such as on the island of Marawah, sites and pottery have been found on the shores, below the high tide mark, and there may be others in shallow inshore waters. By taking part in this clean-up campaign, we hope to inform divers and others how to recognise and record these aspects of the country's cultural heritage."

Clean-Up Arabia 2004 is jointly organised by the Emirates Diving Association (EDA) and ERWDA, in association with the United Nations Environment Programme ­ Regional Office of West Asia / UNEP - ROWA. The event is backed by both the Australian 'Clean Up the World' campaign and the USA based 'International Coastal Cleanup' and PADI PROJECT A.W.A.R.E. The objective is to clean rubbish from the beaches and from inshore sites popular with local divers.

15 September 2004

ADIAS to help Clean-Up Arabia (Source: Emirates News Agency - WAM)

Clean-Up Arabia campaign all set for kick-off (Source: Emirates News Agency - WAM)

16 September

800 to take part in nationwide beach clean-up drive (Source: Gulf News)

Clean Up Arabia drive is all set for kick-off (Source: Khaleej Times)

17 September 2004

Huge Pile of Debris Recovered from Al Mirfa Fishing Areas (Source: ERWDA website)

19 September 2004

Abu Dhabi divers plumb depths to remove trash (Source: Khaleej Times)

11 October 2004



BP helps studies of UAE heritage (Source: ADIAS Press Release)

Studies of the geology and archaeology of the United Arab Emirates are being helped by international oil company BP, it is announced today.

The help is in the form of assistance for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, in its research into two distinct aspects of Abu Dhabi's heritage - research into the geology of the island of Balghelam, north-east of Abu Dhabi, and a study programme on Neolithic (Late Stone Age) flint tools from the western island of Dalma.

Archaeological excavations on Balghelam, carried out with the permission of the island's owner, Presidential Court Chamberlain Sheikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, have shown that the island was occupied as much as four thousand years ago, perhaps by traders passing down the Gulf from Bahrain. Balghelam is close inshore, but, like many of Abu Dhabi's islands, is divided from the mainland by a shallow channel.

Earlier this year, two geologists undertaking research for ADIAS collected rock samples from the island, which are now to be dated at Britain's Southampton University. This will help scientists to date the evolution of the shorelines of the islands and of nearby coastal areas of Abu Dhabi over the past few thousand years, adding valuable data to knowledge of the pattern of human settlement in the area. The results from the analysis of the rock samples will be included in a publication being prepared by ADIAS on the archaeology of Balghelam.

Other excavations by ADIAS on the western island of Dalma have identified one of the earliest human settlements known in the United Arab Emirates. It was occupied between 6500 - 7500 years ago, or the Neolithic period.

The inhabitants of the Dalma site were trading by sea with Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), and depended for their food on shellfish, fish, turtles and dugongs, as well as on domestic animals like sheep and goats. In their hunting and fishing, and in processing their food, they depended on flint (stone) tools, and several thousand tools and other flint fragments have been recovered from the site.

ADIAS is now preparing a major publication on the Dalma site, which will include cataloguing and analysis of the stone tools. This work is being carried out by ADIAS associate, Dr Heiko Kallweit, a leading expert on Arabian stone tools from the Neolithic period, who is based in Freiburg, Germany.

BP are helping ADIAS carry out these two important pieces of research by arranging for the shipping of the rock samples to Britain and the Neolithic stone tools to Germany.

"We are delighted to be able to help ADIAS with their research," says David Dalton, General Manager of BP Abu Dhabi. "BP has a history of nearly 70 years of involvement with Abu Dhabi, and has supported scientific research here for decades. Bodies like ADIAS are making important contributions to knowledge of the geology and heritage of the United Arab Emirates, and BP is pleased to be able to support their efforts."

BP helps studies of UAE heritage (Source: Emirates News Agency - WAM)

12 October 2004

BP helps studies of UAE heritage (Source: Uaeinteract.com)

3 November 2004

Enduring Care for Nature (Source: Gulf Today)

6 November 2004

Zayed's interest in heritage praised (Source: WAM, Emirates Press Agency)

7 November 2004

Living by the Sea (Source: Gulf News - Tabloid feature)

Zayed’s interest in heritage praised (Source: Khaleej Times)

Zayed's interest in heritage praised (Source: UAEinteract.com)


9 November 2004

Taking the Lead in Preserving Heritage (Source: Gulf News)

18 November 2004

News story about the discovery of the 7500 year old skeleton on Marawah island (Source: Asharq Al-Awsat - a pan-Arab newspaper based in London)

20 December 2004

Local Press coverage:

Remains of 7,500-year-old man found (Source: Khaleej Times)

International Press coverage:

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: Advertiser, Australia)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: The Australian, Australia)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: Brisbane Courier Mail, Australia)

Remains of 7,500-yr old man found in UAE (Source: The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: Daily Telegraph, Australia)

Remains of 7,500-Year-Old Man Found in UAE (Source: Free Internet Press, NY)

Remains of 7,500-Year-Old Man Found in UAE (Source: India Daily, India)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: The Mercury, Australia)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: NEWS.com.au, Australia)

Remains of 7,500-Year-Old Man Found in UAE (Source: Reuters, UK)

Remains of 7,500-Year-Old Man Found in UAE (Source: Reuters, NY)

7500-year-old body unearthed (Source: South Australia Advertiser, Australia)

7500-Year-Old Man Found (Source: Tiscali News, UK)

Remains of 7,500-Year-Old Man Found in UAE (Source: Yahoo News)

Seated from left to right at the end of the table: Dr Saeid M.E.Shawgi (Head of Forensic Pathology Unit, General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police), Dr Mark Beech (Senior Resident Archaeologist, Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS), Lt. Col. Ahmad Hassan Al-Awadhi (Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police), Peter Hellyer (Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS)


ADIAS held a press conference together with the Forensic Science Laboratory at Abu Dhabi Police Headquarters in Abu Dhabi from 10-11.30 a.m. The following press release was issued:

Forensic Science Laboratory of Abu Dhabi Police identifies the gender (Source: WAM, Emirates Press Agency)

7500 year old house discovered at site MR11 on Marawah island (Photograph: ADIAS).		ca 7000 year old pottery vessel discovered at site MR11 on Marawah island (Photograph: ADIAS).
The earliest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi - The human skeleton was placed on a stone platform at the southern end of the room (Photograph: ADIAS).		The earliest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi - Close-up detail of the human skeleton (Photograph: ADIAS).

21 December 2004

Local Press coverage:




UAE's oldest skeleton found - in arabic (Source: Al Bayan)







Scientist's recover DNA from skeleton - in arabic (Source: Al Ittihad)



(Source: Al Khaleej)


(Source: Al Watan)

Gender of oldest man identified - also download jpeg version (Source: Gulf Today)

Scientists recover DNA from skeleton - also download jpeg version (Source: Khaleej Times)

UAE's oldest skeleton found - also download jpeg version (Source: Gulf News)

Forensic Science Laboratory of Abu Dhabi Police identifies the gender (Source: UAEinteract.com)

International Press coverage:

Remains of 7,500-year-old man found in UAE (Source: ABC Online, Australia)

Archaeologists find 'first man in UAE' (Source: CNN, GA, USA)

Archaeologists find 'first man in UAE' (Source: CNN International, GA, USA)

Hallan restos hombre de 7 500 años en Emiratos Arabes Unidos (Source: Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba)

7,500-year-old man’s remains found in UAE (Source: Gulf Times, Qatar)

UAE archaeologists find 7,500-yr-old skeleton (Source: Hindustan Times, India)

Remains of 7,500-year-old man 'found in UAE' (Source: New Zealand Herald, New Zealand)

UAE uncovers 7500-year-old man's skeleton (Source: People's Daily Online, China)

7,500-year-old skeleton found (Source: The Scotsman, UK)

7,500-year-old remains of man found in Abu Dhabi (Source: The Times of Oman)

7,500-Year-Old Human Remains Found (Source: Xtra News, New Zealand)

22 December 2004

Remains of 7,500-year-old man found in UAE (Source: StonePages.com - Archaeo News)

Sedem tisoc let star Arabec (Source: Svarog.org, Slovenia)

23 December 2004

7,500-year-old man's remains found (Source: Star of Mysore, India).

25 December 2004

Scientists recover DNA from skeleton in Abu Dhabi (Source: Abu Dhabi Police website)