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QNA
Doha
The continuous exploration and archaeological finds of Qatar Museums (QM) are aimed at learning about Qatar's old geography and help in understanding Qatar's history, Archaeology Department Director Faisal al Naimi has said.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency, Naimi said,"QM's exploration efforts will gather pace after the summer and specialised scientific teams will explore well-known archaeological sites."
QM is currently preparing for new seasons so as to agree on scientific research points, he added."There is contact with competent scientific entities to launch new research projects."
Naimi said one of the most important sites for exploration is Umm Al-Ma' Al Yaghbi, which is close to Murwab area and dates back to the Abbasid period.
"The area is not coastal and has some 200 housing units, constructed in groups, a palatial residence, workshops and two mosques. Excavations have also revealed a group of tombs scattered around the groups of houses. Excavations are being carried out in these areas, as well as further excavations in the historic area of Fuwayrat, located in the northeast of Qatar," he added.
The official said the archaeology department pays special attention to underwater antiquities, which are excavated under Qatari waters to learn about the history of the Qatar peninsula, the human's relation with water and the nature of water.
"The peninsula did not exist about 18,000 years ago. As a result of global warming, the water levels rose and the gulf was formed," he added.
According to specialised studies, the water level has risen again throughout history, creating fossilised beaches in Qatar, which provides an idea of the old climate, land's nature and the formation of Qatar's topography.
Naimi said not all excavation results have been fully announced as some of the pieces discovered are in European laboratories to thoroughly determine their history.
On the efforts of QM in introducing discovered archaeological sites, he said, QM has plans for permanent activities to identify archaeological sites, especially Zubarah, which figures in UNESCO World Heritage List, where educational activities are held during the winter season.
The activities for the past year have included specialised educational workshops in Qatar on how to produce the purple dye of sea snails, where the industry of purple dye is known in Ben Ghannam Island dating back to more than 3,500 years, he said.
It is located on the east coast of Qatar in a protected location in Khor Al-Shaqiq, he added.
"The workshops have been very popular because they have a direct relationship to Qatari history," he said, adding that QM seeks not only to preserve monuments but also to educate about the Qatari history.
On the discovery of a new archaeological site with rock inscriptions recently, Naimi said that it was first discovered by a citizen Ali Matar al Dosari.
"The inscriptions drew his attention, and he knew that there was a relationship between the sites. The new site was located on 15 hectares. It is characterised by a type of inscriptions that takes the shape of a rose, which is a central circle surrounded by many other circles between six or nine," he said, pointing out that this type of inscriptions is found only in Qatar in the Gulf region.
He said it is believed that these inscriptions symbolise one of the ancient folk games that children used to practice and that this discovery will contribute to changing the current map of the rock inscriptions in the state completely.
On the scientific connotations of these inscriptions, Naimi explained that several articles have been published in international forums and Qatar has received a large share of research and exploration through scientific missions, and most of them saw it as symbols of popular games.
"With the last discovery, there were specific inscriptions and to date no age has been identified to which these inscriptions belong, and it is still in the process of being studied, but the analysis of the rock inscriptions was done through the layer on which it was built in Al Jassasiya area. It contains more than 900 engravings, which are estimated to be about 350 years old in Qatar," he said.
Naimi said the stone carvings in Qatar are divided into five types of human or animal forms, or boats, toys, symbols and incomprehensible carvings.
He stressed the importance of these inscriptions to have an archaeological map with inscriptions and geographical location in the peninsula of Qatar and documented correctly because the stones in Qatar are calcareous and not solid, making it easy to engrave.
Regarding the existence of an idea for archaeological exploration in this newly discovered site, Naimi said,"This site has a built-in square form, which exists within the inscriptions and we will know in the future if it has a relation with inscriptions or not, because most of the archaeological sites have a link to more than a period of time."
He pointed out that Qatar Museums welcomes cooperation with the local community in archaeological discoveries.
