What's new? - 2011

30 December 2010 - 15 January 2011

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:
Digging for History (Source: Gulf News, Friday magazine)
[ download as pdf ]

4 January 2011

ADACH brings the “Dawn of History” exhibition to Abu Dhabi (Source: Middle East Online)

‘Dawn of History’ exhibition in Abu Dhabi (Source: Khaleej Times)

5 January 2011

Al Jahili Fort to reveal rare findings from Danish dig (Source: The National)

6-8 January 2011

British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) conference, School of World Art Studies at the University of East Anglia, U.K.

23 January 2011

UAE Central Bank releases commemorative Dh50 coin (Source: The National)

24 January 2011

Fossil map of Abu Dhabi planned (Source: Emirates 24/7)

ADACH to organise exhibition on archaeological discoveries in Abu Dhabi (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

Three month exhibition to reveal Abu Dhabi’s ancient past (Source: Middle East Online)

UAE Central Bank releases commemorative Dh50 coin (Source: The National)

26 January 2011

Sheikha Salama highlights the Dawn of History Exhibition (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

The Dawn of history exhibition to reveal Abu Dhabi’s ancient past (Source: Middle East Online)

The Dawn of history exhibition to reveal the ancient past of Abu Dhabi (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

27 January 2011

Ancient toolkit offers new clues to humans' journey (Source: AFP)

Early Humans Left Africa Sooner Than Thought to Land in Arabia (Source: Bloomberg)

Man came out of Africa 'via Arabia' (Source: Financial Times)

Stone tools discovered in Arabia force archaeologists to rethink human history (Source: The Guardian)

Humans 'left Africa much earlier' (Source: BBC News)

Stone Age artefacts to be on display (Source: Gulf News)

28 January 2011

I am quoted in the article "Did Modern Humans Travel Out of Africa Via Arabia?" by Andrew Lawler in Science (28 January 2011: 387) following the publication of: "The Southern Route “Out of Africa”: Evidence for an Early Expansion of Modern Humans into Arabia" by Simon J. Armitage, Sabah A. Jasim, Anthony E. Marks, Adrian G. Parker, Vitaly I. Usik, and Hans-Peter Uerpmann - Science 28 January 2011: 453-456.

The toolkit that proves man left Africa for the Arabian Peninsula 65,000 years earlier than previously thought (Source: Mail Online)

Out of Africa: stone tools rewrite history of man as a global species (Source: The Independent)

29 January 2011

Sharjah find may rewrite history of man (Source: The National)

Early humans left Africa sooner than thought to land in Arabia (Source: Tehran Times)

30 January 2011

I was interviewed by Ivan Bouso from Explorafilms who are making a TV program for the National Geographic channel about Abu Dhabi.

31 January 2011


(Source: Al Ittihad)


(Source: Al Khaleej)

ADACH documents fourteen fossil sites in Western Region (Source: ADACH)

ADACH documents fourteen fossil sites in Western Region (Source: Middle East Online)

Hippo fossil found in Western Region (Source: Gulf News)
[ download also a jpeg version of the article ]

Zöldello, termékeny térség volt Abu-Dzabi nyolcmillió évvel ezelott (Source: Bumm.sk) - a website for ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia!

2 February 2011

Opening of the ADACH exhibition, "Dawn of History" in Al Ain.

Tahnoun Bin Mohammed opens 'Revealing the Ancient Past of Abu Dhabi' exhibition (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

4 February 2011

Exhibition provides rare glimpse of past (Source: Gulf News)

28 February 2011

Rethinking Globalization from the Beginning — The Very Beginning (Source: TIME Ecocentric Blogs)

2 March 2011

I gave a lecture to the Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) entitled "Late Miocene fossils from Abu Dhabi's Western Region" at the English Speaking School in Doha, Qatar. This is the story behind the Yale University and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage Baynunah fossil project, which is helping to reconstruct the environment and the animals and plants which lived in Abu Dhabi's western region between 6 to 8 million years ago. Examples of some of the important fossils discovered will be presented, as well as information about some of the fossil animal trackways which are currently being studied.

QNHG meeting (Source: Gulf Times)

4 March 2011

Prehistoric UAE ... a land rich in fauna and flora (Source: The Gulf Times, Qatar)

6 March 2011

Attended meeting of the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities, held at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, where I presented two sites from Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi emirate for nomination to the World Heritage Site Tentative List: the Baynunah Late Miocene fossil sites and trackways, and the Baynunah Camel Skeleton site.

7 March 2011

Participated in the second day of a two day NYUADI conference, "Beliefs, markets and Empires: Understanding Mechanisms of Integration in Early Societies", organised by Andrew Monson and Walter Scheidel. The event was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

9:00 - 10:30 AM Session 3: Empires and Integration
Peter Turchin (University of Connecticut): "Warfare and empire: evolution of large-scale social integration"
Michael Puett (Harvard University): "Empires and networks: mechanisms of integration in East Asia"
10:30 - 11:00 AM Break & Refreshments
11:00 AM - 11:45 PM Session 3 continued
Victoria Tin-bor Hui (Notre Dame University): "The weakness of integration in the Chinese empire"
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM Session 4: Competition and Interstate Trade
Hamad bin Seray (United Arab Emirates University): "The Palmyrenes in the World of Seas (The Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf): Policy, Commerce and International Trade from the 1st Century B.C. to the 2nd Century A.D."
12:30 - 1:45 PM Lunch
1:45 - 3:15 PM Session 4 continued
Roberta Tomber (British Museum): "Rome in the western Indian Ocean: the archaeology of trading ports and partners"
Steven Sidebotham (University of Delaware): "Results of fieldwork at Berenike (Red Sea Coast), Egypt, 1994-2011"
3:15 - 3:45 PM Break & Refreshments
3:45 - 4:45 PM Concluding responses and discussion: developing a framework for the collaborative study of premodern integration

14-16 March 2011

Attended GISWORX 2011 , GIS Workshops and Exhibitions for Esri Users, at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, including the Gala Dinner on Tuesday 15th March, where I presented one of the Excellence in GIS Implementation (EGI) Awards to the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO).

24 March 2011

Attending the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency 2030 Workshop Part 2 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

27 March 2011

ADACH to organize international conference on archaeology (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

28 March 2011

ADACH sets comprehensive vision to safeguard tangible and intangible heritage, Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

ADACH to hold an International Conference on Archeology (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

29 March 2011

Projects under way to preserve UAE heritage (Source: Gulf News)

Archaeology conference in Capital on March 30-31 (Source: Khaleej Times)

30 March 2011

Al Ain conference highlights Arab world's historical contributions (Source: Gulf News)

Youth have stake in UAE heritage (Source: Gulf News)

30-31 March 2011

Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates conference, Hilton Hotel, Al Ain.

31 March 2011

Archaeologists mourn loss of ancient sites to development (Source: The National)

New archeological discoveries revel at Archaeology of UAE conference (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

1 April 2011

The Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates Conference kicks off (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

2 April 2011

Experts focus on UAE’s past (Source: Gulf Today)

7-9 April

WOMAD Abu Dhabi, on the Abu Dhabi Corniche and at Jahili Fort in Al Ain. Click here also for more information.

I visited on the 7th April and saw the extraordinary...
The Manganiyar Seduction by Roysten Abel
as well as
Paloma Faith singing Etta James

13 May 2011

Added new press story:
Pieces of an ancient jigsaw puzzle (Source: The National)

1 June 2011

Added new publication to my website:

Chen, W., M. Al-Husaini, M. Beech, K. Al-Enezi and S. Rajab. 2011. Discriminant analysis as a tool to identify catfish (Ariidae) species of the excavated archaeological otoliths. Environmental Biology of Fishes 90 (3): 287-299. [ click here to download this article in Acrobat .pdf format (630 Kb) ].

5 June 2011

I gave a lecture to the Dubai chapter of the Emirates Natural History Group (ENHG) entitled "Archaeozoology or Zooarchaeology - How do archaeologists study animal bones".

20 June 2011

UN agency considers Al Ain for heritage list (Source: The National)

Conservation of World Heritage sites under scrutiny: World Heritage Committee meets to examine World Heritage List and inscribe new sites (Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention)

27 June 2011

For more information about today's announcement by UNESCO that the cultural sites of Al Ain are now inscribed onto the World Heritage List, see:
Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) (Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention)

Brief Description:
The Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) constitute a serial property that testifies to sedentary human occupation of a desert region since the Neolithic period with vestiges of many prehistoric cultures. Remarkable vestiges in the property include circular stone tombs (ca 2500 B.C.), wells and a wide range of adobe constructions: residential buildings, towers, palaces and administrative buildings. Hili moreover features one of the oldest examples of the sophisticated aflaj irrigation system which dates back to the Iron Age. The property provides important testimony to the transition of cultures in the region from hunting and gathering to sedentarization.

United Arab Emirates
Location: N24 4 4 E55 48 23
Date of Inscription: 2011
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)
Property : 4,945 ha
Buffer zone: 7,605 ha
Ref: 1343
For an interactive map of the components of the Al Ain World Heritage site, click here.

UNESCO nominates Al Ain for World Heritage list (Source: Khaleej Times)

Another nine historic sites added to UN World Heritage List (Source: UN News Centre)

Al Ain wins World Heritage List honours (Source: The National)

Six new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List (Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention)

28 June 2011

New achievement for UAE and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Source: AMEinfo.com)

Al Ain is first from UAE on World Heritage List (Source: Emirates 24/7)

Al Ain City as first Emirati site on World Heritage List (Source: Khaleej Times)

Al Ain inscribed on World Heritage list (Source: Khaleej Times)

Al Ain voted onto UNESCO World Heritage List (Source: Arabian Business.com)

UNESCO Registers Al Ain City As First Emirati Site On World Heritage List (Source: Abu Dhabi City Guide)

Al Owais hails registration of Al Ain City on World Heritage List (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

UNESCO registers Al Ain City as first Emirati site on World Heritage List/ Add 1st (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

UNESCO registers Al Ain City as first Emirati site on World Heritage List/ Add 2nd (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

UNESCO registers Al Ain City as first Emirati site on World Heritage List/ 3rd and final add (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

Twenty-five new properties inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List which now numbers 936 (Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention)

29 June 2011

Falaj irrigation system, Hili oasis on heritage list (Source: Gulf News)

Al Ain gets world heritage site honour (Source: The Gulf Today)

In celebration of Al Ain (Source: The National)

2 July 2011

Visitors will find a 'spot of heaven in the desert' (Source: The National)

3 July 2011

Al Ain's World Heritage tombs can now rest in peace (Source: The National)

Al Ain registered on World Heritage List (Source: Emirates 24/7)

Visitors will find a 'spot of heaven in the desert' (Source: The National)

Al Ain inscription to UNESCO's World Heritage List will lift tourism potential (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

ADACH to host press conference on inscription of Al Ain City on the UNESCO World Heritage List (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

4 July 2011

Another nine historic sites added to UN World Heritage List (Source: ISRIA)

5 July 2011

Sultan bin Tahnoon attributes Inscription of Al Ain in UNESCO Heritage list to Sheikh Zayed's vision (Source: WAM Emirates Press Agency)

6 July 2011

More Al Ain sites to find place in UN heritage list (Source: Gulf News)

Host of events to celebrate Al Ain’s UNESCO listing (Source: Khaleej Times)

Unesco recognition to be sought for more UAE sites (Source: The National)

7 July 2011

Abu Dhabi sees Al Ain added to UNESCO list (Source: Breaking Travel News)

9 July 2011

An Oasis of heritage (Source: Khaleej Times)

28-30 July 2011

Attended the Seminar for Arabian Studies, British Museum, London.

27 October 2011

Exploring geotourism avenues (Source: Oman Observer)

28 October 2011

Act now … or history is sunk (Source: The National)

31 October 2011

Geotourism conference draws top delegates (Source: Oman Observer)

1 November 2011

Exploring Coastal Heritage of Dalma Island (Source: Middle East Online)

2 November 2011

Ancient settlements detected at Dalma Island and Al Khan (Source: The Nationa)

Tourism experts call for geo focus (Source: Times of Oman)

3 November 2011

Wadi Mayh Bandar Khayran draw geotourism delegates (Source: Breaking Travel News)

7-8 December 2011

Attended the International Conference on Scientific Methods in Arts and Cultural Heritage, organized by the American University of Sharjah, University of Sharjah & The National X-Ray Fluorescence Laboratory, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The conference lasted two full days and was organized by the American University of Sharjah in collaboration with the University of Sharjah and the National X-Ray Fluorescence Laboratory. The conference was held at the AUS campus.

The proposed international conference’s focus is on the use of analytical and spectroscopic techniques in the field of arts, archaeology and cultural heritage. Its aim is to bring together leading experts: academics, researchers, scientists, artists and students from the world’s premiere institutions both in the scientific and cultural aspects of the field. It will provide a forum for scientists in the Gulf region and the Arab World to interact, exchange ideas and possibly start collaborations between various regional institutions and between these and the international community. The conference will promote education and confidence, as well as, showcase the latest technical developments in the field of non-destructive investigations for the diagnosis and conservation of cultural and environmental heritage This includes techniques pertaining to pigments, maps, manuscripts, stones, metals, glass, ceramics, chemometrics on artwork studies, resins, fibers, forensic applications in art history, archaeology and conservation science.

31 December 2011

Went to Coldplay concert at Volvo Destination village, behind Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi.
They played the following setlist:
1. Mylo Xyloto, 2. Hurts Like HEaven, 3. Yellow, 4. In My Place, 5. Major Minus, 6. Lost!, 7. The Scientist, 8. Violet Hill, 9. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, B-Stage - 10. Up In Flames, 11. Us Against the World, 12. Politik, 13. Viva La Vida, 14. Charlie Brown, 15. Fix You, 16. Clocks, 17. Paradise (Followed by New Year Countdown). 18. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.

[ Page last updated by Dr Mark Beech - 15 January 2012 ]


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