Archaeological conference to span UAE's entire history

The first International Conference on Archaeology of the UAE in the capital is all set to shed light on the entire history of the country from the Late Stone Age, about 7,500 years ago, to the Late Islamic Period.

Dr Hassan Naboodah, Director of the Al Ain-based Zayed Centre for Heritage and History, said the three-day conference, beginning tomorrow, will be attended by leading experts from Australia, Japan, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Britain, Iraq and the UAE.

The event is organised by the Zayed Centre for Heritage and History in association with the Ministry of Information and Culture. The keynote speech will be delivered by Beatrice de Cardi, a renowned archaeologist with 40 years of expertise.

Naboodah said this will be the first international conference to discuss the entire history and archaeological discoveries of the UAE in depth, which include papers on both Late Stone Age and Late Islamic Period sites.

"The sites to be covered include the oldest in the UAE, on Delma Island, which dates back over 7,000 years, and the Pre-Islamic monasteries on Sir Bani Yas Island and Merawah," he said.

The other sites include third millennium BC sites in Sharjah, Iron Age settlements and cemeteries in Kalba and Dubai, the first millennium AD fortifications at Kush in Ras Al Khaimah, and the UAE's only sulphur mines as well as the internationally important Late Stone Age site at Jebel Buhais in Sharjah.

Naboodah said, "The people of the UAE have a fascinating past, stretching many thousands of years. It is our hope that this conference will help to make UAE citizens and residents more aware of the country's heritage.

The Zayed Centre Director, who will make the introductory remarks at the inauguration, said that work on the conference began 18 months ago. He said the reason for hosting the conference in a big way is that that during the past 20 years an enormous amount of work has been done in archaeology in the UAE.

"We have as many as a dozen foreign projects a year, as well as projects covered by local departments. In fact, the UAE has become one of the most active countries in Arabia in terms of archaeology. "But despite this there has never been a major conference devoted to the archaeology of the UAE."

He said the Zayed Centre is organising the event to address three objectives:
* To bring together archaeologists working in the country to share information on their projects;
* To promote cooperation among all notables involved in UAE archaeology;
* To publicise more widely knowledge of the ancient heritage of the people of the country.

Naboodah said the Emirates Heritage Club, of which the Zayed Centre is part, is doing much work on the environment and on UAE traditions. "It is the job of the centre to look further into the past and this conference is part of this," Naboodah said.