Two historical sites unearthed

A French archaeological team has discovered two important historical sites of an old temple and a defensive construction in Al Bithna village which date back to the Iron Age.

The archaeological survey started on March 1 and will run until April 29 after the signing of a scientific cooperation agreement between the French National Research Centre and the Fujairah Department of Archaeology and Heritage.

The survey is a completion of the excavations conducted by a Swiss archaeological expedition in the same location in Al BithnA village during 1987 and 1988, and later in 1994.

"Al Bithna village, 13 kilometres west of Fujairah city, is yet another important historical site in the emirate which includes many archaeological traces similar to those unearthed in other parts of Fujairah such as Dibba, Al Bedya, Qidfa, Murbeh and Al Qurayyah," Ahmed Khalifa Al Shamsi, Director of the Fujairah Department of Archaeology and Heritage, told Gulf News.

He pointed out that the archaeological survey carried out by the Swiss expedition led to the discovery of several historical sites which represented human settlements, group graveyards, defensive constructions, cooper melting furnaces and others.