Exhibition of ancient fossils opens in Abu Dhabi
The opening of the exhibition coincides with the discovery over the weekend of nine new sites containing fossils belonging to the Late Miocene period in the Western Region. The latest discovery includes elephant, ostrich eggshell and catfish fossils and fossil tree roots extending ten metres in length, Peter Hellyer, Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, told a press conference here today.
"The western region has an extensive area ranging 200 km in length and 20 to 30 kms wide, where fossils are found. The fossils in this region are of unique scientific importance as they not found any where else in the world. We are working along with EAD on the basis of scientific recommendations to identify areas which can be preserved," he said. Discussions are also underway to have one of the world's top universities carry out research work as there has been a lot of interest evinced by top scientists to work in the western region, Hellyer said.
Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD, said "We are proud to have these fossils displayed at the Agency. They convey a very important story from the UAE's history and show that it possesses the most diverse palaeontological heritage of any country in the Arabian Peninsula. This exhibition deserves to be viewed by everyone and studied by researchers and scientists." Hellyer said that the exhibition features some of the most important fossil specimens found in the emirate's western region.
Among the items on display are a fossil elephant tusk, nearly 2.5 metres long, discovered by ADIAS near Ruwais in 2002, and the near-complete skull, jaws and leg bone of an elephant uncovered, by a team from London's Natural History Museum, at Shuweihat in the early 1990s. These bones all belong to the primitive elephant species, Stegotetrabelodon syrticus.
This extraordinary animal was larger than modern day elephants and differed from its modern day relatives by having four tusks, two upper long tusks and two shorter parallel lower tusks. The display features a ca. 20% size scale model of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. Work on the design and production of this model took over one year to complete. The master model was produced by staff of the Taxidermy Unit of the Private Department of the President.
Other important fossils on display at the exhibition include examples of antelope, crocodile, giraffe, hippopotamus, horse, hyaena, monkey, ostrich, saber-toothed cat and wolverine. The fossil remains on display also include the remains of freshwater catfish and turtles, as well as freshwater clam shells. These indicate the presence of large rivers at that time. Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago was not only a land of fertile plains and rivers but also had significant numbers of trees, as witnessed by fossil acacia wood.
The backdrop of the fossil exhibition is a large painting of the environment of Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago. This was produced by a UK-based artist, Gemma Goodall, together with the assistance of her partner, Nigel Larkin.
A book and DVD are also available accompanying the fossil exhibition.
The book entitled "Abu Dhabi 8 Million Years Ago - Late Miocene Fossils from the Western Region" is edited by Dr Mark Beech and Peter Hellyer of ADIAS. The DVD features three films: a presentation about the recent fossil work carried out by ADIAS at Ruwais and Mleisa, as well as a short film called "Hot Fossils from Abu Dhabi" and a longer film called "Abu Dhabi - the Missing Link" about the earlier work on fossils carried out by the Natural History Museum, UK, and Yale University teams. Visitors to the fossil exhibition can watch all these films on the integrated display unit. Dr. Mark Beech, ADIAS Senior Resident Archaeologist, acted as scientific consultant for the fossil exhibition and supervised the design and construction of the display The display has been organised by ADIAS and EAD, with support from the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), Takreer and BP, and with technical help from the Taxidermy Unit of the Private Department of the President.
"We have around 10,000 fossils of which many more are suitable for display. We have been asked to prepare for a larger exhibition at a future date," Hellyer added.
Over the last fifteen years, research in Abu Dhabi's Western Region on ancient fossils from the Late Miocene period, has shown that Abu Dhabi was once a land of fertile plains and large rivers, a bit like today's East Africa, with numerous large animals, including ancestors of today's elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, gazelles, horses, ostriches, turtles and other species.
Work by London's Natural History Museum, Yale University in the United States and the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS) has recovered some remarkable fossil bones - including tusks and skulls of elephants, skulls of crocodiles and gazelles, horse and hippopotamus teeth, and much more.
Sites with Miocene fossil faunas are distributed from Jebel Barakah in the far west of Abu Dhabi to Rumaitha in the east.
The importance of these sites to the cultural and scientific heritage of the UAE lies in the fact that that they are the only locations in Arabia where the remains of fossil animals and plants have been recovered that are of international significance. The Baynunah Formation crops out in an area of about 1800 sq km, the fossils identified so far only come from a 560 sq km area, and that has not yet been surveyed in detail. More work therefore still needs to be done.
Hellyer said: "Many of the fossil sites originally discovered in the 1990s have now disappeared and others are under threat from coastal development. At the same time, there are many areas which have not been surveyed and more important sites wait to be discovered. Together with the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, and in line with Abu Dhabi's existing environmental protection legislation, ADIAS continues to work for proper designation of and protection of the most important sites and the areas in which they lie. They should be preserved for the long- term cultural, educational and scientific benefit of the people of the UAE." WAM-VV 14 07 CCCCQQE