- UAE Central Bank releases fifty dirhams souvenir coin to mark 50th anniversary of discovery of Umm Al Nar civilization
On the 50th anniversary of the archaeological excavations in Abu Dhabi, which saw the discovery of the previously-unknown Umm Al Nar civilization, the UAE Central Bank, upon the request of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, released a fifty dirhams souvenir coin to mark this important finding. The Authority, in collaboration with Emirates Post, had previously issued a commemorative stamp to mark this occasion.H E Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of His Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Director General (ADACH) said “The release of this souvenir coin coincided with an exhibition organised by the Authority, celebrating the most important archaeological discoveries in Abu Dhabi. The exhibition titled “Dawn of History: Revealing the Ancient Past of Abu Dhabi†focused on the discoveries made by a Danish archaeological expedition that worked on the island of Umm Al Nar and Al Ain City between 1959 and 1972â€.
The exhibition is held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan- Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, starting February 2nd to May 2nd at Al Jahili fort in Al Ain.
The Al Ain National Museum is hosting this exhibition, whose design was inspired by the round shape of the large Hilli cemetery. On display are 147 artifacts and an array of other traditional pieces.
Since the start of excavations at Umm Al Nar, it was revealed that this small island played a big role in the cultural interaction between the ancient civilizations of the Near East. The island also provided these civilizations with a means of communication. On the island, which contained the remains of buildings and houses dating back to the third millennium BC, a large cemetery of more than fifty tombs was discovered. They were built in the form of great monuments, and these beautiful geometric designs have put the site amongst the ranks of some of the most celebrated and developed funerary architecture in the ancient world, that has been recognised throughout the ages.
Excavations in Umm AL Nar were conducted under the orders of the government of Abu Dhabi. The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, wanted to know the origins of the numerous piles of stone that once covered the island. When the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, visited the island in 1959 when he was the Representative of the Governor in the Eastern Region (1946-1966), he asked the Danish team to study similar piles of stones found in the area of Mount Hafeet in Al Ain. In fact Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, showed these stones to the Danes when they visited Al Ain in the early sixties. They were later found to be older than the tombs of Umm Al Nar, which themselves dated back to the third millennium BC. He also showed them archaeological sites at Hilli, Qarn bint Saud, and Rumaila.
The excavation that took place before this mission, as well as a French team that had followed in the footsteps of the Danish team and other local groups affiliated to the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage had been operating efficiently since the beginning of the1970’s. They had served to prove the existence of ancient civilizations in the region in the form of residential settlements that were contemporary to the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations in Mesopotamia. These consisted of mud buildings and tombs whose stones were expertly cut by sculptors who lived 4,500 years ago. There was also evidence of ancient oases that had been used for irrigation more than 3,000 years ago.
