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Mysterious 3,000-year-old fingerprints have been found in bricks at an archaeological site in the United Arab Emirates. The fingerprints were found at the Hili 2 site in Abu Dhabi, which is part of the Al Ain UNESCO World Heritage Site. In a Facebook post, Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism said that the fingerprints could offer vital clues to archaeologists. The fingerprints, they explain "indicate the adoption of an advanced technique in construction." The National reports that ancient craftsmen used their hands to make indentations in the mud bricks. The indentations would be used to contain the mortar that...

Excavation unearths oldest archaeological site in UAE By Prerna Suri 8 February 2005 DUBAI — The oldest archaeological site in the UAE dating back to 7,000 years, has been discovered on the island of Marawah, located about 100km west of Abu Dhabi, according to Dr Mark Beech, Senior Resident Archaeologist for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS). Dr Beech disclosed the findings at a lecture organised by the Dubai Natural History Group which was attended by a large crowd. The lecture covered important findings and discoveries by ADIAS during their excavation in 2004 including a skeleton of what is...

Remains of oldest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi found (By a staff reporter) 30 June 2004 ABU DHABI - Remains of the earliest-known inhabitant of Abu Dhabi have been found on the western island of Marawah by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, as part of their spring excavation season, it was announced on Tuesday. Marawah is part of the Marawah Marine Protected Area, MPA, which is managed by Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA). The excavations were carried out at the site of a 7,000 year old village which has the best-preserved and most-sophisticated stone buildings...

The skeleton of one of Abu Dhabi’s earliest inhabitants has been uncovered on Marawah Island in what historians believe was a “house for the dead”. An archaeological dig on the Western Region island, about 100 kilometres west of Abu Dhabi city, has also revealed the first use of stone-built architecture in the Arabian Gulf, dating back 7,500 years, the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) said on Thursday. “This partial skeleton was inserted into one of the already semi-collapsed rooms of the house, indicating that the structure had originally been used as a house for the living, and then...