The big trick in this cache is finding a SAFE parking spot. And
there is a very safe one (look between the highway and golf course
road - next to the electrical pylon). DO NOT park anywhere else -
it will be dangerous there - especially not on the highway!
The island of Umm al-Nar, adjacent to Abu Dhabi island, has
given its name to one of the major periods in the history of
southeastern Arabia, the Umm al-Nar period, which lasted from
around 2700 BC to 2000 BC.
First excavated in 1959 by a Danish team, and subsequently
surveyed by archaeologists from the UAE and Iraq, the island of Umm
al Nar has yielded up finds that have made an enormous contribution
to our understanding of the culture and lifestyle of the early
inhabitants of the UAE. From around 2500 to 2000 BC the island was
involved in fishing and the smelting of copper, and traded as far
afield as Mesopotamia and the Indus valley.
The indigenous people established a relatively large settlement
here and archaeologists have discovered a cemetery comprising 50
above-ground tombs. Some of these are circular in shape, from 6 to
12 metres in diameter, several metres high, and divided into
chambers accessed through small, trapezium-shaped entrances. Each
chamber was designed to contain several bodies; it is difficult to
determine numbers because skeletal remains have been scattered by
the ravages of time and the intrusion of early grave robbers.
The tombs were dome-shaped and constructed using dressed stones,
some of which were employed in the restoration of a number of tombs
during the 1970s. The ring walls of the larger buildings were
sometimes decorated with carvings of oryx, ox, snakes and
camels.
Much can be determined about the activities of the islanders
from the objects found within the tombs and throughout the
settlement area. These include personal adornments such as
necklaces, jewellery and a gold hairpin; copper weapons and
imported red pottery vessels, finely crafted and decorated with
elaborate designs. Fish hooks and net sinkers clearly illustrate
the people’s dependence on the sea for food. Dugong or sea-cow
seems to have been a staple of the diet and the hide and oil were
also utilised. Now a protected species, dugongs must have once been
plentiful, for many of their bones have been identified from the
organic material found on the site.
It is almost certain that the region underwent a significant
climate change since there is no archaeological evidence of large
stone buildings on the coast and islands of Abu Dhabi after around
2000 BC. This suggests that the Bronze Age people could not survive
in the increasingly arid environment and developed a more nomadic
lifestyle, returning to the islands only during the cooler winter
season. The view that temperatures rose whilst rainfall decreased
is further supported by the analysis of the bones of birds no
longer native to the region. These include the Darter, now found no
nearer than the marshes of the Tigris/Euphrates Delta and Bruce’s
green pigeon which is found no closer than Dhofar in Oman. Dugong
bones were also found in the remains.
Although the island is very small, the special characteristics
of its ancient history have made “Umm al Nar Culture” an
internationally recognised term for the civilization that prevailed
throughout the Arabian Gulf and southeast Arabia over four thousand
years ago.
WILL THIS BE PSEACRAFT's 100th CACHE??? - YEP - even with the
co-ord confusion. Well done & And a joint FTF with Viga001.
Sorry for the confusion Camel Master - you had a good crack at FTF
too - if it wasn't for my error.
More info from the National in March 2009 -
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090329/NATIONAL/900160589/1183/enewsletter
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