What's new? - 2007

3 March 2007

ADACH expert gives heritage lectures at Zayed University (Source: AME Info)

27 March 2007

Four-tusked Elephants, Sabre-Toothed Cats, and Hyenas roamed Abu Dhabi Years Ago (Source: EAD)

13 May 2007

Restoring Historic Al Ain (Source: UAEinteract.com)

12 June 2007

World's top architectural firms vie for Sheikh Zayed Museum design competition (Source: UAEinteract.com)

24 June 2007

ADACH to continue archaeological survey (Source: UAEinteract.com)

Archaeological Remains of 7000 Year Old Settlement at Sila (Source: WAM)

Draft law on tourism and archaeology council discussed (Source: Gulf News)

25 June 2007

Ancient fossils found in Western Region (Source: Khaleej Times)

Archaeological remains of 7000 year old settlement at Sila (Source: UAEinteract.com)

9 July 2007

ADACH readies law to protect Abu Dhabi’s heritage (Source: Middle East Online)

10 July 2007

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage works on law project to preserve heritage (Source: UAEinteract.com)

17 July 2007

Human activity in Abu Dhabi dates back to Old Stone Age (Source: Middle East Online)

18 July 2007

Palaeolithic finds in Western Abu Dhabi (Source: UAEinteract.com)

19-21 July 2007

I attended the 2007 Seminar for Arabian Studies at the British Museum in London, where I co-presented a paper entitled: "Barakah: A Middle Palaeolithic site in Abu Dhabi" by Ghanim WAHIDA (Cambridge, UK), Walid YASIN and Mark BEECH (both Department of Historic Environment, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, UAE)

Abstract:
Recently collected lithic artifacts from Jebel Barakah, the well known Late Miocene fossil locality situated in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi emirate, provide clear evidence for a Middle Palaeolithic presence in the region. The artefacts come from three localities around Barakah: one lies to the west of the Jebel, the other to the southwest and the third, to the east, which may be the site first described by McBrearty. The three cluster sites represent a single techno-typological industry. Most artefacts were collected from Locality 1 (on the western side of the Jebel), that lies between the sea-cliffs and the first line of ridges, some 40 metres from the sea. The area that lies immediately beyond the cliffs was devoid of archaeological material. The presence of Mousterian points, a single hand axe and the Levallois technique of manufacturing flakes, place the Barakah assemblage in the Middle Stone Age. The total absence of blade implements was immediately noted. Previous reporting on the Barakah material had suggested a date ranging between the Middle Pleistocene and the Mid to Late Holocene. The Barakah material complements the recent discovery of Palaeolithic material elsewhere in the UAE and in Oman.

22 July 2007

History-laden Jebel Hafit set on road to World Heritage Site (Source: UAEinteract.com)

29 July 2007

Qasr al Hosn - A new look at this national treasure (Source: UAEinteract.com)

19 September 2007

Updated CV with details of new publications.

Cuttler, R., M. Beech, H. Kallweit, A. Zander and W.Y. Al-Tikriti. 2007. Pastoral nomadic communities of the Holocene climatic optimum: excavation and research at Kharimat Khor al Manahil and Khor Al Manahil in the Rub al-Khali, Abu Dhabi. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 37: 61-78. [ to download this article in Acrobat.pdf format click here (1.67MB) ]

Beech, M. 2007. Chapter 10 - The Large Mammal and Reptile Bones. Pages 154-197. In: A. Poulter (ed.), Nicopolis Ad Istrum III: A Roman to Early Byzantine Site: the Finds And Environmental Evidence. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Oxbow Books. ISBN-10: 1842171828. ISBN-13: 978-1842171820. 280 pages, 114 b/w illus, 54 tabs. Oxbow Books for the Society of Antiquaries 2007.

Beech, M. 2007. Chapter 16 - The Mollusca. Pages 292-296. In: A. Poulter (ed.), Nicopolis Ad Istrum III: A Roman to Early Byzantine Site: the Finds And Environmental Evidence. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Oxbow Books. ISBN-10: 1842171828. ISBN-13: 978-1842171820. 280 pages, 114 b/w illus, 54 tabs. Oxbow Books for the Society of Antiquaries 2007.

Beech, M. and B. Irving. 2007. Chapter 12 - The Fish Remains. Pages 223-240. In: A. Poulter (ed.), Nicopolis Ad Istrum III: A Roman to Early Byzantine Site: the Finds And Environmental Evidence. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Oxbow Books. ISBN-10: 1842171828. ISBN-13: 978-1842171820. 280 pages, 114 b/w illus, 54 tabs. Oxbow Books for the Society of Antiquaries 2007.

Boev, Z. and M. Beech. 2007. Chapter 13 - The Bird Bones. Pages 241-252. In: A. Poulter (ed.), Nicopolis Ad Istrum III: A Roman to Early Byzantine Site: the Finds And Environmental Evidence. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Oxbow Books. ISBN-10: 1842171828. ISBN-13: 978-1842171820. 280 pages, 114 b/w illus, 54 tabs. Oxbow Books for the Society of Antiquaries 2007.

Beech, M. 2006. Chapter 2, Barrow Investigations - "Animal bone" (p.36). In: C. Evans and I. Hodder: Marshland communities and cultural landscapes from the Bronze Age to present day. The Haddenham Project Vol.2. McDonald Institute Monograph, Cambridge. ISBN-10: 1-902937-32-5. ISBN-13: 9871-902937-32-8. ISSN: 1363-1349.

Beech, M. 2006. Chapter 7, The Shrine Complex: Situating Ritual (HAD III) - "Animal remains: evidence of animal sacrifice" (pp.369-396). In: C. Evans and I. Hodder: Marshland communities and cultural landscapes from the Bronze Age to present day. The Haddenham Project Vol.2. McDonald Institute Monograph, Cambridge.. ISBN-10: 1-902937-32-5. ISBN-13: 9871-902937-32-8. ISSN: 1363-1349.

Beech, M. 2006. Chapter 8, The Roman Landscape: Queensholme excavations - "Animal bone" (pp.435-440). In: C. Evans and I. Hodder: Marshland communities and cultural landscapes from the Bronze Age to present day. The Haddenham Project Vol.2. McDonald Institute Monograph, Cambridge. ISBN-10: 1-902937-32-5. ISBN-13: 9871-902937-32-8. ISSN: 1363-1349.

Stewart, J.R. and M. Beech. 2006. The Miocene birds of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) with a discussion of the age of modern species and genera. Historical Biology: A Journal of Paleobiology 18(2): 103-113. To read the abstract click here.

Beech, M. 2006. Book review of "Hans-Peter Uerpmann, Margarethe Uerpmann and Sabah Abboud Jasim (eds.), 2006. Funeral Monuments and Human Remains from Jebel al-Buhais. The Archaeology of Jebel Al-Buhais, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Vol.1. Department of Culture & Information, Government of Sharjah, UAE, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters Universität Tübingen, Germany, and Kerns Verlag, Tübingen. 385 pages. Hardback. ISBN: 3-935751-06-0", in Tribulus (Journal of the Emirates Natural History Group) 16.2: 36-37.

7 November 2007

Gave a lecture in Doha, Qatar to the Qatar Natural History Group entitled:

An Archaeological Perspective on the Exploitation of Dugongs in the Arabian Gulf

Abstract:
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the three species of manatee, is one of four extant members of the order Sirenia, the only fully-aquatic herbivorous mammals. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae. It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific. Although the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia, the Arabian Gulf maintains the second largest population group in the world.
Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hindlimbs, instead possessing paddle-like forelimbs used to manoeuvre itself. It is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth.
The dugong is heavily dependent on seagrasses for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats where they grow, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels and the lee sides of large inshore islands. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for grazing and uprooting benthic seagrasses.
Although the dugong is today a protected species they have been exploited by humans as long as 7500 years ago in the Arabian Gulf. Dugongs were primarily hunted in the past for their meat and hides. This paper discusses the archaeological evidence for their exploitation. It highlights the sites and locations where dugong remains have been discovered and provides a historical synthesis of the relationship between human populations and dugongs in the region.
Urgent conservation requirements are required today to protect the existing population of dugongs within the Arabian Gulf. This can only be successful if all the Gulf States co-operate with extensive networks of marine protected areas to endure its survival.!

1 December 2007

Digging in the Dirt (interview with Dr Mark Beech - pdf 1.9 MB) (Source: Etihad Inflight magazine, December 2007)

13 December 2007

Foster + Partners Ltd wins Sheikh Zayed Museum design competition (Source: UAEinteract.com)

14 December 2007

Yale-Abu Dhabi Research Team Finds Evidence of Ancient Subtropical Environment in the Arid Emirate (Source: Yale University - Office of Public Affairs)

[ Page last updated by Dr Mark Beech - 7 Sept 2010 ]


[ HOME - WHATS NEW - RESEARCH - PUBLICATIONS - PROFILE - USEFUL LINKS - FUN ]