RAS AL KHAIMAH // Now that the digging is done, archaeologists have the job of piecing together hundreds of kilograms of porcelain, pottery, bones and glass to tell the story of the medieval port city of Julfar.
The thriving hub at the Gulf's entrance was a fertile harbour, safe from the monsoons of the Indian Ocean. At its height in the 14th to 16th century, Julfar was one of the most important Gulf ports with trade from India, Africa and the Far East.
Traders left Julfar westward for Basra, which led to Arab and Ottoman empires and into European markets. With the arrival of the Portuguese, trade expanded down to the Horn of Africa.
Though referenced in writing, the extent of this trade and daily life in the port city was much of a mystery until recent weeks.
Nearly 50 coins were found, including two silver coins, bronze Mughal coins and a coin from the reign of Shah Ismail, the first Safavid monarch and a prolific poet who had united Iran by 1509. The coins tell us that Julfar was well integrated into the Iranian economy.
At the RAK museum, the conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown scraped away the earth from a coin, a fraction of the size of a fingernail. Coins arrive as chunks of greenish rock before they are X-rayed to test for plating and then put under the scalpel.
She averages about a coin an hour, though it can take days to work through the sandy crust. After a morning's toil on this diminutive coin, Ms Goodburn-Brown began to decipher what looked to be Arabic writing.
"It's going to be nice, there's a nice surface there," she said. "You don't really know when you start. This one is a nice surprise."
Once cleaned, coins are examined by a specialist before they are taken to the UK to reference them in the British Museum.
At a villa on the site, there is dirtier work to be done. Here, archaeologists work at hunks of soil to uncover pots and pottery shards. Daniela Boos Pedroza, an American conservator from University College London, chips at shell speckled soil to uncover an oven made from an inverted clay pot, a technique still used until the 20th century.
At another table, Ben Saunders, a ceramics specialist from Durham University, sorts through 450kg of pottery shards.
As much as 70 per cent of earthenware was locally produced with clay from riverbeds, perhaps fired at the kilns found from the same period in Wadi Haqil.
Known as Julfar ware, the 14th to 16th century pottery was for daily use such as water jugs. Painted motifs included red and white stripes and red globs that represented dates.
"All the sources from Julfar have this red palette," said Mr Saunders, shifting through a collection of rims and spouts on the table before him. "Looking at the colour, texture and the inclusions, nearly everything here is Julfar."
There are a few fragments of blue glazed pots, possibly Iranian.
Shards of porcelain from Myanmar and Longquan, China were also unearthed. Chinese porcelain was highly prized and multiple repairs suggest it was passed through generations as a family heirloom.
There were other surprises, Mr Saunders said.
"We had a very nice piece of porcelain that looked like it was for the European market because it has a crown insignia on it," he said. "Chinese pottery trade went through Iran, through the Tigris and into the Ottoman empire."
High quantities of Damascene glass indicated strong trade links from Basra up the Euphrates. Glass bangles, bottles and sticks for applying kohl were found in abundance, evidence that eyeliner has remained in style through the centuries.
Summer migration to inland date gardens was another Julfar tradition that carried through the centuries. Fertile date gardens a few kilometres inland supported the port city, which had a fluctuating population of 50,000 to 70,000. The date garden population stood at 30,000 to 50,000.
The analysis of old bones revealed the typical diet. "What we've realised is that they are eating a lot of goat, and they ate a couple of camels as well," said Dr Kevin Lane, the field director.
Archaeologists found two date presses for making date syrup identical to those used into the 20th century.
azacharias@thenational.ae
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Company%20Profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Company%20Profile
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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)
SPECS
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Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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.”
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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