In the RAK National Museum we learned that, long ago, copper mines were active in the UAE. (Long ago is something like the Bronze Age,or 4000 years ago) We wondered if, after 4000 years, any trace of these mines would be visible.
Copper ore found at the site.
Intriguing questions...
Today we found it in Wadi Safarfir (tributary to Wadi Al Qawr): what an amazing feeling to stand on these old dwellings, to see a mine shaft, to find the copper slag, to wander through this wadi where so many people have lived and worked centuries ago. (http://www.rakpedia.com/sightseeing/wadi-safarfir.html)
4000 years ago there was already a thriving economy: 1000 kgs of wood were needed to make charcoal which will produce a mere 1 kg of copper... quick deforestation and decay, short profit, devastating for the environment...
The cache is hidden between some rocks, on a hill above the mineshaft (not too steep). We have marked it with a bone (let us know if its human or just a dinosaur bone) Not many muggles around, sometimes a few workres of the farms nearby. It is worth the effort to hike up wadi Safarfir for a few kilometres: traces of old settlements and no signs of nowadays waste (such as plastic bags, bottles atc...)
Find out more about hiking and geocaching in the UAE on www.dubaihiking.org
