UAE | General
8m-year-old fossils discovered in Al Garbia
The fossils included two complete large skulls belonging to crocodiles that had inhabited the river area about eight million years ago.
- WAM
- Published: 00:00 January 24, 2010
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) announced the discovery of new fossils in the western region of Al Garbia, following recent archaeological expeditions in the area.
The fossils included two complete large skulls belonging to crocodiles that had inhabited the river area about eight million years ago.
The findings came about due to technical cooperation between the Department of Historic Environment at ADACH and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in the USA.
Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazroui, Director General of ADACH, explained that these excavations took up about three weeks of fieldwork and included a working group composed of nine members from the Department of Historic Environment, led by Dr Mark Beech.
The team of fossil specialists consisted of Dr Faysal Bibi from the University of Poitiers in France, Professor Andrew Hill of Yale University, and Dr Matthew Schuster from University of Poitiers.
Better understanding
The team sought to gain a greater understanding of this ancient environment, where evidence of fossil white ants has been discovered for the first time.
Al Mazroui sadi that the team is also working on a project which aims to prepare a comprehensive map of fossils in Abu Dhabi. The majority of these sites are found along Al Garbia.
It is a matter of great importance that the necessary protection is provided to preserve these geological layers deposited from the late Miocene era. They represent the only examples of these layers which have kept their original form in the entire Arabian Peninsula territory.
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