UAE | General
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.
- By Tahseen Shaghouri
- Published: 00:00 April 12, 2002
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.
 Dr. Anne Benoist |
Gulf News visited the new archaeological locations in Al Bithna and met the members of the French archaeological team who were busy excavating two main sites which date back to the Iron Age.
Dr Anne Benoist, Archaeologist and head of the French team which is from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, told Gulf News that Fujairah is an ideal place for archaeologists to work due to the history of the region and the many historical places spread throughout the whole emirate.
"Al Bithna village is one of the emirate's important historical sites, and the Old Fort of Al Bithna, which was built in 1735, is still a vivid example of the ancient history of the area," said Dr Benoist.
She said that they had been for the last 40 days unearthing two important sites behind the Old Fort of Al Bithna.
The first site, 'Bithna 44', represents an old temple which was later occupied by Muslims who built a small Islamic village protected by the surrounding mountains.
"This site was first discovered by the Swiss expedition in 1994 when they found some pottery parts which go back to the Iron Age, 1,000 years before Christ. We came to continue our excavations which led us to discover an old building with pillars which have snake shaped engravings," explained Dr Benoist.
"The snake shape on the pillars revealed that the place was a temple during the Iron Age where people worshipped snakes. The snake for them meant life, power, eternity and water for irrigation. Such evidence was also found in Bahrain, Iran and some parts of the Arab peninsula," she noted.
 A couple of the artefacts found at the site. |
"In this site, we discovered the houses of the villagers which stretch over an area of 5,000 square metres. The relics found here are similar to relics found in Bahrain dating back to the Iron Age, and that reveals the commercial relation between these two countries a long time ago," Dr Benoist said.
On the top of a nearby mountain, some other archaeologists from the same French expedition were unearthing another historical site called, "Bithna 24". The site was once a defensive construction built on the sharp edges of a small mountain over an area of 8,000 square metres to protect the first site of the ancient village.
"The defensive site was surrounded by strong walls and a watch tower which were almost destroyed. The foundation of the tower, as well as the foundation of the walls of this defensive site, were well preserved for the last 3,000 years," said Dr Benoist.
The French team found some pieces of pottery and bronze arrowheads which all date back to the Iron Age.
"What brought thrill and excitement to our excavations at this site was the 3,000 square centimetre black rock on which some prints and engravings of two camels, some plant leaves and letters were found. It should be from the Iron Age, too, as well as the pieces of pottery which were found beside the rock which also go back more than 3,000 years," she added.
Dr Benoist said that there are two mining sites in the village of Al Bithna which have not yet been excavated.
"But the slag found at the site gave us an initial idea that there must be some mines here, which were believed to be the main income of the villagers," she noted.
The slag found near the supposed mines will be compared with some relics unearthed at the first site of the temple. A mineral analysis will be carried out at the laboratory at their centre in Paris to make sure that the site includes real mines.
"It will take time to know the answer, but we are sure we shall know something about the mines when we come back to the site next year. We will continue the excavation work here because the area includes so many archaeological traces which should be unearthed to get a better idea about the history of the emirate," Dr Benoist added.
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