Archaeologists working in Umm Al Quwain believe they may have located the ancient lost city of Tu'am.
It is thought the city was once the capital of a territory, on the Gulf coast of what is now the Emirates, and a pearl fishing centre famed for the quality of its gems.
So renowned was Tu'am at its peak around the sixth century that it was written of in ancient Arabic texts.
After a plague and regional tensions, the city declined and faded from memory. But now experts working at Al Sinniyah Island believe the area where a pearling village and monastery were found over the past few years is probably the location of this lost city.
Archaeologists this year found the remnants of what could be described as ancient tenements – large buildings with residential units tightly packed around narrow alleyways indicating a sophisticated settlement of thousands that was semi-urbanised and with a social class system.
Remarkable discovery
Work at the site has been undertaken by the Umm Al Quwain Department of Tourism and Archaeology under the direction of its chairman, Sheikh Majid bin Saud Al Mualla, and in collaboration with local and international partners.
“This year, excavation has continued at the southern end of the pearl fishing city, with further digging in several rooms within the houses of the pearl fishing city and the Christian monastery area to better understand the layout of the buildings and document the archaeological structures,” said Rania Hussein Kannouma, acting director of the department of archaeology and heritage at the Department of Tourism and Archaeology.
“We remain committed to continuing archaeological research.”
The settlement on Al Sinniyah dates to at least the fourth century and reached its zenith during the fifth and sixth centuries. The city attracted Nestorian monks who established a Christian monastery – the second to be found in modern-day UAE – sometime between the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the seventh century.
Previously, archaeologists thought the settlement might have been a lay community for the monks. But after four seasons of work at the site, it is believed they have stumbled on something much larger.
“Our archaeological work has discovered the largest settlement [of its period] by far ever found on the Gulf coast of the Emirates,” said Prof Tim Power of UAE University.
“And it's exactly the right period for the city described in the early Islamic geographical sources. It's clearly a really important place. No one has ever found it.”
Digs this winter saw archaeologists unearth the remains of densely packed buildings that were homes to scores of people. This shows the progression of the settlement that is now thought to span about 10 hectares.
First came small stone huts surrounded by discarded oyster shells. Then, because of the success of the pearl trade, the town expanded with larger homes with lavish courtyards for wealthier merchants built further away. These tenement buildings underline how droves of workers came to the settlement.
“It looks like the rich kind of flew away from the dense neighbourhood with large compounds built likely more to the north,” said Dr Michele Degli Esposti, head of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Umm Al Quwain and researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences. “We start to see this kind of social stratification.”
A glimpse into the past
Archaeologists paint a picture of a thriving but crowded city with each tenement spanning about 30 square metres. Infant mortality was high. The prevalence of tannour ovens – large clay jars turned upside down and used for fires to bake bread – meant it was probably a smoky environment.
Significant amounts of date wine jars thought to be from Iraq have been unearthed, as well as fish bones.
The residents weren't just fishing in the lagoon though.
“They were going out into deeper waters to get the larger species,” said Prof Power. “We've got quite a lot of tuna.”
Findings also show the inhabitants were connected to wider trade networks that ran through Iraq, Persia and India.
Jars inscribed with the ancient Aramaic language, the dominant language in the region before Arabic, have been found this year indicating a sophisticated level of trade.
“There seems to have been quite a cosmopolitan community, with a wide array of trade goods,” said Prof Power.
The site sits on Sinniyah Island which protects the Khor Al Beida lagoon. From the air, Sinniyah looks like a series of fingers and it is on one of these where Tu'am is believed to have been located.
Today it seems like a remote place. But the lagoon is one of largest in the region and has abundant marine resources.
“It's a really excellent location,” notes Prof Power. “You've got mangroves, which are used for cooking fuel and for possibly even building material. You've got pearl beds. There is trade to other coasts.
Stepping back in time
The city was the predecessor of the pearling towns of the 19th and 20th century.
“The kind of life that you see in those old photographs in Dubai, I think, must have been very similar to the life lived by the people living on Sinniyah Island 1,500 years ago,” he said.
The discovery also sheds light on the region’s pre-Islamic history. Tu’am in Arabic means twins. The town would have been called To'me in Aramaic, however, and this was then rendered into Greek and English as Thomas when the meaning was lost. So it is thought the city was named after St Thomas, who was sent to the East to spread Christianity.
“In the Western tradition, we know him as doubting Thomas,” said Prof Power. “But in the eastern Syriac tradition he is the founding father of eastern Christianity.”
Tu’am was thought to be a Christian settlement for about 200 years before the spread of Islam.
Prof Power said while they have not found irrefutable evidence – such as an inscription stating the name of the town – no other major settlements dating to this period have been found on the coast, strengthening the argument that this is Tu’am. “It's a process of elimination,” he said.
It is believed the site declined from the sixth century due to regional tensions and a devastating bubonic pandemic – the Plague of Justinian – that spread throughout the Mediterranean region, decimating Constantinople and bringing devastation to the population.
Mass graves have been found at the site, but the skeletons don’t show signs of trauma - which shows they did not die a violent death.
“Why else would you have a mass grave? Probably the biggest candidate is plague.”
Dr Degli Esposti said they did not find too many objects in the rooms meaning it may not have been a “sudden abandonment”.
“If the plague hit, they didn't all die the same.”
Historical sources suspected the city's location to be in Al Ain and Al Buraimi but now that is being reassessed in the wake of the findings.
More work is planned at the site and samples taken from some of the skeletons have been sent for DNA testing. Archaeologists also used methods such as radiocarbon dating and paleography to inform their work. It is also envisaged that parts of the site will be opened for tourism.
“Maintenance seasons for the Christian monastery and the buildings of the pearl fishing city will continue with the aim of enhancing their authenticity and preparing them as a cultural tourist area,” said Ms Hussein Kannouma.
The findings reshape ideas about the modern-day UAE and help to provide insight into the history of its early people.
Dr Degli Esposti said the findings will “resound all around the region”.
“It's really exciting,” he said. “This is also a site that is really, really, really promising.
“You could really provide people with the possibility to walk through the streets of an ancient town.”
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
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Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
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The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
