Mystery deepens: Who lived in Dubai 4,000 years ago?

Museum sheds light into unwritten civilisation that existed at the Rub Al Khali desert in South Dubai

Residents now have the chance to experience the intriguing details of a mysterious civilisation that existed 4,000 years in the Rub Al Khali desert in South Dubai.
Saruq Al Hadid Museum, which officially inaugurated on July 4 at Shaikh Juma Al Maktoum House in the Shindagha Heritage Village, encompasses 800 out of 12,000 antique items discovered at the vast Iron Age site.
The site caught the attention of Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai as he noticed unusually dark coloured sand dunes while flying a helicopter over the area in 2002, 30 kilometres south of where work has begun on the site of Expo 2020.
It happened to be Dubai's oldest and most important archeological site that showed traces of a savannah that turned to a barren desert.

13 mysteries surrounding Saruq Al Hadid > Who were the inhabitants? Which civilisation did they belong to? > Why this place? > How was their daily life and modes of transportation? > Where did the gold and bronze come from and how were they manufactured? > Why are some daggers made of bronze and metals? > Was the pottery locally-based or imported? > What was the local dress, food and drink? > How did the civilisation come to an end? > What's the secret behind snakes? > Where are their homes and graves? > What's behind the so-called "camel anklets"? > How did the olive branches reach the place? >What's the secret behind the number six on shells?

But the temporary museum that will be exhibited for three years is not your conventional museum. It showcases samples of detected rare artifacts made of iron, bronze and gold of a civilisation we know nothing about, highlighting 13 mysteries.
Saruq Al Hadid's items will be shifted to a bigger museum to be built at the entrance of Shindagha area by the end of 2018.
Tender for the museum will be open in September to select the best designs for the project that will gather all UAE's archeological sites and remaining Saruq Al Hadid's items.
Saruq Al Hadid Musuem is open from 8am until 2pm. It will expand its hours in August from 8am to 8pm.
Visitors can expect to see metal weapons like daggers, swords, arrowheads and axe-heads. Other mundane objects include seals, necklaces, bowls, fish bones, camel bones, agricultural tools and peculiar emphasis on snakes and the number six.
"Snakes seems to be a repeated theme in most of the items. Were they just manufacturing snake-shaped produced? Or was there a certain sacredness of snakes like the type witnessed in older civilisations?" Rashad Al Bukhash, CEO of Architectural Heritage and Archeology Department at Dubai Municipality, told Khaleej Times.
He added: "The counts of six were engraved on shells, which we are certain is a symbol of something yet to be discovered."
Wind unveils more
Al Bukhash added that the wind recently unveiled 60 new pieces at the site, which include bronze swords, dagger and arrowheads.
Although 12,000 pieces are currently found, according to Al Bukhash, the number of items may reach up to 100,000.
He said there are 13 mysteries currently under intensive research. Nobody knows who were the people who lived in the isolated site, or the location of their graves or traces of human bones.
Although items as old as BC 600 were found, Bukhash said pieces that date back to BC 200 are coming to surface, which is another mystery.
"We are yet to discover how old was this civilisation and until when did they exist?"
He added: "Studies show that trees existed, but why did the people leave? Did the area suddenly turn into a desert that forced them to move to another place or did a culture change resulted in the move?" Evidence indicated that the site was a trading and manufacturing centre, which was connected with India, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iran.
"Unlike the old Egyptian civilisation that wrote their stories on their temples, the case we are dealing with here has no written history. We purely rely on mere indications that we try to analyse and put the pieces together," said Al Bukhash.
He noted that three more specialised research teams would come on board in September to help solve the mysteries.
Beyond the mysteries is an unfolded beauty. Visitors can see the gold ring that inspired the Expo2020 logo that features 20 tiny heads on the inside and outside of the ornament.
Aspiring young discoverers will have the chance to live the moment through digging into a little sand pool and bringing items hidden. On the way out, visitors can carry souvenirs that would remind them of the place.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

Engineer Rashad Mohammed Bukhash at the newly opened Sarud Al Hadid museum at Heritage Village in Dubai.

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