Archaeology of Qatar
Apart from the discovery of ancient artifacts, many prehistoric rock art sites containing over 900 varieties of petroglyphs were uncovered during the 1950s and 1960s.
[6] In the late 2000s, the Qatar Museums Authority began organizing joint archaeological projects with numerous European universities and institutions.
[1] That year, Geoffrey Bibby and Peter Glob embarked on an expedition in Qatar where they discovered two Paleolithic sites in Ras Uwainat Ali (about 10 km north of Dukhan).
In 1960, under the supervision of Holger Kapel and Hans Jørgen Madsen, the Danes excavated the most significant yet-discovered archaeological site in the peninsula, located approximately 5 km south of Dukhan.
[12] A British team led by Beatrice de Cardi undertook expeditions from November 1973 to January 1974 to collect artifacts for the establishment of a national museum.
The project's main focus was coastal sites in northern Qatar, including Ruwayda and Rubayqa.
As part of the agreement, UCL will provide training for the Qatar Museums Authority and conduct joint excavations.
[21] UCL announced its 'Origins of Doha' project in 2012 which aims to investigate the archaeological record of Qatar's capital city.
As part of the agreement, the German Archaeological Institute conducted surveys and excavations in the southern portion of Qatar.
Areas marked by large depressions or with substantial groundwater tend to yield the highest propensity of archaeological findings.
In Qatar, the northern sector contains a higher-quality groundwater supply than does the south, thus, historically, more permanent settlements were founded in the north, particularly near the coast.
Conversely, the south section is typified by temporary nomadic outposts which were most likely constructed during periods of favorable weather that would enable access to surface or groundwater.
Macrolithic tools such as scrapers, arrowheads and hand axes dating to the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods were among the discoveries.
[37] Comparative analysis revealed that at least half of the excavated pottery originated from southern Mesopotamia, mainly from the sites of Eridu, Ur and Tell al-'Ubaid.
The pottery in Ras Abrouq consists of fragments of rims of painted jars and bowls and is dated to the late fourth millennium.
[43] Ras Abrouq, on the western shoreline, contained a ring-like structure, hearths, Ubaid pottery, cairns, and stone tools.
Smith, an excavator of the site, suggested that it was a seasonal encampment and that its inhabitants had trade relations with nearby civilizations.
Archaeologists have attributed this lapse to a lowering of lake levels and increasing desertification around this time, both of which impacted the peninsula's arability and discouraged sedentary lifestyles.
[46] Excavations in Ras Abrouq and Al Khor Island yielded Barbar ceramics originating from the Dilmun civilization dating to the third millennium BC.
[49] Three fragments of red pottery, thought to originate from the Arabian coast, were discovered in excavations conducted in Al Da'asa in 1973.
[50][54] A plethora of jewelry made with beads dating to the mid-Bronze Age were uncovered by a French expedition in Al Khor in 1976.
[58] A burial site containing 50 cairns, found in northwest Qatar in Umm Al Maa and Lisha, dates back to the Iron Age.
[63] A site on the south-east coast of Qatar, near Al Wakrah, revealed the remnants of a structure purported to be a church.
The ceramics are consistent with those found in other Nestorian sites in the Eastern Arabia and the structure bears resemblance to the excavated church in Jubail.
[64] An excavation carried out in 2013 uncovered a Nestorian cross in Umm Al Maradim, a site in central Qatar.
A cluster of Abbasid archaeological sites are found near the north-west coast and include Ar Rakiyat, Umm Al Kilab, Ghaf Makin, Mussaykah, Murwab, and Al-Haddiyah.
[68] A large number of rock carvings were discovered by the Danish team in Jebel Jassassiyeh, in northeast Qatar, in 1961.
[79][80] This theory was disputed by Muhammad Abdul Nayeem, who believes that they are simply abstract symbols or tribal marks.
[79] Al Qassar, a site 5 km (3.1 mi) northeast of Doha, was found to have rock carvings of human and animals by an excavation team in 1979.
Stone blocks containing still-recognizable carvings were cut off and transported to the Qatar National Museum for preservation.
