Thousands of years ago, the now arid desert plains of the UAE were verdant and filled with an abundance of grassland with lakes dotted about.
Little wonder, then, that the region’s Neolithic ancestors 8,000 years ago decided to settle on the island of Marawah just off the coast of Abu Dhabi, leaving traces that have led to the most exciting archaeological discovery for years.
For instead of wandering as nomads, the remnants they left behind are thought to be the oldest signs of civilisation discovered in what is now the UAE.
The foundations on Marawah suggest up to 10 surprisingly sophisticated houses forming a village, which have been painstakingly reconstructed digitally to show what life must have been like eight millennia ago.
Each of the houses contained several rooms and yards outside to keep sheep and goats and work is underway to piece together how they lived and survived to add a vital and intriguing piece to the jigsaw, which, piece by piece, is giving a vivid picture of a history that pre-dates what most might have thought existed here.
Crucially, it connects the dots in a narrative of civilisations over centuries and thousands of miles, one which stretches all the way from India via Middle Eastern silk and spice routes to the West.
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Read more:
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The lost city on the UAE-Oman border
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The discovery shows Abu Dhabi formed part of a rich superhighway for goods, an essential stop-off on the route to prosperity.
Archaeologists will now feed their findings into a wider story – one which also takes in the 1,400-year-old pre-Islamic monastery and church discovered on Sir Bani Yas island, the 7,000-year-old Mesopotamian-style pottery previously found on Marawah and the mud and clay homes from the Abbasid period uncovered in Al Ain.
They speak to thousands of years of global trade and civilisation in the Arabian Gulf, a meandering route that brings us all the way, today, to the portals of Louvre Abu Dhabi, which currently holds a delicate ceramic jar, the oldest known evidence of porcelain trade in the UAE.
It is incredible that the team of archaeologists at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi are still making these discoveries but they tell us what many might not realise – that the story of the emirate as a flourishing global port is not one of overnight success but a trail which goes back millennia.
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: M'A Yaromoon, Jesus Rosales (jockey), Khalifa Al Neydai (trainer)
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: No Riesgo Al Maury, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Mahmouda, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AS Jezan, George Buckell, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Dolman, Antonio Fresu, Bhupath Seemar
MATCH INFO
Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)
Charles 57, Amla 47
Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)
Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9
Bangla Tiger win by five wickets
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Salem Rashid, Mohammed Al Attas, Alhassan Saleh
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Yahya Nader, Ahmed Barman, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
