What's new? - 2010

16 January 2010

Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago: fossils help paint ancient portrait (Source: The National)

23 January 2010

Important new fossils found in Abu Dhabi (Source: abudhabicityguide.com)

Important new fossils found in Abu Dhabi (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

24 January 2010


8 million year old fossils discovered in Al Gharbia (Source: Al Bayan)
[download a jpg scan of the article]


8 million year old fossil crocodiles discovered in Al Gharbia (Source: Al Hayat)
[download a jpg scan of the article]

8 million year old fossils in Al Gharbia discovered (Source: Al Ittihad)
[download a jpg scan of the article]


8 million year old fossils found in Al Gharbia (Source: Al Khaleej)


Ancient fossils found in Al Gharbia (Source: Alrroya Aleqtissadiya Newspaper)


8 million year old fossils discovered in Al Gharbia (Source: Emaratalyoum)

New rare fossils found in Al Gharbia area (Source: Emirates Business 24-7)
[download a jpg scan of the article]

8-m-year-old fossils discovered in Al Gharbia (Source: Gulf News)
[download a jpg scan of the article]

New fossils found in Abu Dhabi (Source: Gulf Today)
[download a jpg scan of the article]

Important New Fossils Found in Abu Dhabi (Source: Khaleej Times)
[download a jpg scan of the article]

Important new fossils found in Abu Dhabi (Source: Middle East Online)

New fossil discoveries in Abu Dhabi (Source: The Voice of Russia)

Important new fossils found in Abu Dhabi (Source: UAEInteract.com)

Eight-million-year-old crocs (Source: 7Days)

10 February 2010

Smuggled Iraqi treasures seized at Dubai airport (Source: The National)

15 February 2010

For sale: Iraq's smuggled heritage (Source: The National)

15-17 March 2010

Attending GISWORX 2010 in Dubai on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

29 March - 1 April 2010

ADACH Intangible Heritage Department - Symposium on Heritage Education.

22-24 April 2010

WOMAD Abu Dhabi

To catch a flavour of this see on YouTube:
Hanggai's Mongolian Country Music Rock
Hanggai's Funniest Moment
Tinariwen at WOMAD
WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2010 report

My favourite moments were Femi Kuti and his dancers doing Beng Beng Beng! plus discovering Hanggai, a Mongolian Folk Rock band. Listen to Haar Hu and the Drinking Song.

26 April 2010

Womad brings desert cultures together in Abu Dhabi (Source: BBC News website)

4-6 May 2010

Attended 2nd Adumatu Conference - Man and Environment in the Arab World in the light of Archaeological Discoveries - Sakaka, Saudi Arabia, where I presented a paper entitled: "In the Land of the Ichthyophagi: Prehistoric occupation of the coast and islands of the southern Arabian Gulf - a regional review".
Abstract: This paper provides a regional review of the prehistoric occupation of the coast and islands of the southern Arabian Gulf. The earliest archaeological evidence for settlement in this region dates to the Middle Palaeolithic, between around 200,000 to 150,000 years ago. The site of Jebel Barakah, whilst located on the present day coastline of Abu Dhabi emirate's Western Region, was at that time a hill overlooking the eastern edge of the Sabkha Matti river valley, which flowed northwards into the Gulf basin. Innundation of the Gulf took place from around 18,000 years ago. The earliest radiocarbon dates for occupation of the coast and islands of the southern Gulf suggest that human occupation flourished here by the mid to late 6th millennium BC These were Ubaid-related sites founded soon after the filling up of the Gulf to its maximum sea level stand, nearly two metres above present at around 6000 BC. The results of the author's excavations on Dalma and Marawah Islands will be discussed. New evidence will be presented which demonstrates that the people of the southern Gulf formed a cohesive social group distinguishing themselves from the peoples of the central and northern Gulf. Evidence for coastal activities during the Bronze and Iron Age periods is also discussed.

7-8 May 2010

Visited the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, as well as the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

11 June 2010

Added link to the publication by Beech et al. (2009). Cultural Heritage Resources in Abu Dhabi Emirate. AGEDI Report - Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi. This can be obtained as a pdf (1.9 MB) - click here to download via the AGEDI website.

11 June 2010

Added link to the publication by Beech et al. (2009). Cultural Heritage Resources in Abu Dhabi Emirate. AGEDI Report - Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi. This can be obtained as a pdf (1.9 MB) - click here to download via the AGEDI website.

13 June 2010

Archaeology law in the offing (Source: UAEInteract.com)

14 June 2010

Abu Dhabi launches ’Special Summer’ activities (Source: Abu Dhabi City Guide) .... I am amusingly described as "Mubarak Beteesh, archaeology expert at the Department of Historic Environment at ADACH" lol !

16 June 2010

Visit the Abu Dhabi Coastal Atlas, produced by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. Select the "Cultural" and "Archaeology Sites Layer". This is not absolutely complete and up to date, but it does show some of the major archaeological areas situated on the coast and islands of Abu Dhabi emirate. I am currently working on updating the ADACH sites database for the Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC) and the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), so these data and those on the Abu Dhabi Geospatial Portal will be updated during the summer.

17 June 2010

Read Friendship, history and interests unite Britain and the UAE by David Cameron, British Prime Minister (Source: The National), in which he mentions "His Highness Sheikh Zayed wisely said: “He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn.” So I am delighted that the British Museum is partnering with the Sheikh Zayed National Museum and that British archaeologists continue to work with Emiratis to uncover the UAE’s fascinating past."

20 June 2010

Abu Dhabi eyes world heritage status boost (Source: BBC News website)

21-22 June 2010

Undertook two school visits in Abu Dhabi, to the Al Sokour Model School and Umm Ammar School, to give a "What is Archaeology?" presentation and workshop. This forms part of the ’Special Summer’ activities programme, a joint initiative between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and Abu Dhabi Education.

29 June 2010

Added link to a new publication:

Beech, M.J. 2010. Mermaids of the Arabian Gulf: Archaeological Evidence for the Exploitation of Dugongs from Prehistory to the Present. Liwa (Journal of the National Center for Documentation and Research) 2 (3): 3-18.
[ click here to download this article in Acrobat .pdf format (1.66 MB) ].

22-24 July 2010

Seminar for Arabian Studies at the British Museum, London.

23-28 August 2010


click here for arabic news item on "Camel experts meet in Paris" (featured in the ADACH Aug-Sept 2010 This Month magazine). An english version is also available.

11th International Council for Archaeozoology, Paris, France. Dr Marjan Mashkour and myself co-organised a session on "Old World Camelids" (S1-3) on Wednesday 25th August 2010 from 9.00 - 12.30. This took place at the Amphitheatre Astier, Université Pierre and Marie Curie Paris 6 (UPMC). To download the programme click here (pdf).



1 September 2010

Added details of the new Castle Mall publications, 2 volumes, as well as a separate volume entirely devoted to the archaeozoological remains from the site. [ click here to download this book in Acrobat .pdf format (6.69 MB) ].


5 September 2010

Added details of a major new publication, a chapter on the Animal and Fish bones from the site of H3, an Ubaid-related site on the north-east coast of Kuwait.

Beech, M. 2010. Chapter 7: The Animal and Fish Bones. Pages 129-156, in: R. Carter and H. Crawford (eds.), Maritime Interactions in the Arabian Neolithic - The Evidence from H3, As-Sabiyah, an Ubaid-related site in Kuwait. American School of Prehistoric Research Monograph Series, 8. Hardback. Number of pages: xxiv, 384 pp. ISBN-13: 978 90 04 16359 1. ISBN-10: 90 04 16359 X. Price: 50.00 Euros / 50.00 USD. To order this book, click here.

14 September 2010

Abu Dhabi's 200 islands, every one a treasure (Source: The National)

20 September 2010

Lost town unearthed in Qatar by Lampeter archaeologist (Source: BBC News)

22-25 September 2010

Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) during which there will be the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference (23-25 September 2010). This is the first time ever that a world conference is being held with a special focus on Arabian horse racing, bringing together hundreds of experts, researchers and others involved with Purebred Arabian horse racing from over 20 countries from around the world. The World Arabian Horse Racing Conference will be broadcast live from Abu Dhabi Sports TV. For more details about the conference, click here.

10 October 2010

Mobile museums part of school heritage drive (Source: The National)

9-12 October 2010

ADACH Education Strategy workshop, Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi. More than 22 researchers from ADACH, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, and experts from UAE, the Arab World, international experts from Europe, Australia, the United States, as well as cultural and educational activists from different parts of the World, took part in the workshop. Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazroui, Director General of ADACH said that the authority is currently developing a strategy for education in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and direct coordination with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, whereas education is considered one of the most important pillars in the vision and development agenda of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

12 October 2010

ADACH to continue education strategy development (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

11 November 2010

ADACH to organise international conference on archaeology in the UAE in March 2011 (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)



ADACH to organise international conference on archaeology in the UAE in March 2011 - in arabic (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

ADACH to organise international conference on archaeology in UAE in March 2011 (Source: Middle East Online)

12 November 2010

Adach to hold global archaeology conference (Source: Emirates 24-7)

17 November 2010

International GIS Day

22-27 November 2010

4th International Date Palm Festival, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Abu Dhabi.

28-30 November 2010

Memoirs of the Emirates through Oral Narratives - Within the context of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR) will organize a three-day seminar entitled: Memoirs of the Emirates through Oral Narratives. Scheduled to be held in the period November 28-30, 2010 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chairman of the NCDR, the Seminar will bring together a unique group of elderly figures who have been eye-witnesses to many of the remarkable beginnings of the era of the discovery and exploitation of oil in the Emirates and the numerous aspects of the comprehensive development drive that ensued. Three panels of the seminar shall deal respectively with: Britain’s involvement in the Emirates; UAE: the beginnings; and the role of the Trucial Oman Scouts (TOS). Aspects covered economic and political developments in the Gulf region, early banking, education and health services, identity and heritage, the formation of TOS and its Boys’ School, and the outstanding personality and wisdom of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. A photo gallery exhibiting the collection left by the late Gertrude Dyke, better known in the Emirates as Doctora Latifa, who, as you well know, came to Abu Dhabi in 1962 to join the staff of the Oasis Hospital in Al-Ain, will also be inaugurated. For more information visit the NCDR website.

29 December 2009 - 15 January 2010

Member of ADACH and Yale University (Peabody Museum of Natural History) team investigating Late Miocene fossil sites in Abu Dhabi's Western Region.

31 December 2010

Read an interview I gave with Gulf News Friday magazine called Digging for History (Source: Gulf News, Friday magazine)

[ Page last updated by Dr Mark Beech - 27 January 2011 ]


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