| Bennu heron Temporal range: Holocene, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Representation of the Bennu deity in Egyptian mythology, possibly based on the Bennu heron | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Genus: | Ardea |
| Species: | †A. bennuides |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ardea bennuides Hoch, 1977 | |
The Bennu heron (Ardea bennuides) is an extinct, very large heron from what is now the United Arab Emirates at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula.
Found in 1977, remains of the heron have been dated to 2700–1800 BCE, coinciding with the Umm al-Nar period. [1] [2] Based on remains discovered, it was approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and had a wingspan up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft), thus surpassing the size of the largest living species in the heron family, the goliath heron. [3] It may have been the inspiration for the Bennu deity in Egyptian mythology, hence the specific name. [1]
It has been speculated that the Bennu heron went extinct because of wetland degradation. Another likely cause of their extinction would be humans overhunting their population. [4]
The United Arab Emirates is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirates and was founded on 2 December 1971 as a federation, after UK armed forces left the region. Six of the seven emirates declared their union on 2 December 1971. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972. The seven sheikdoms were formerly known as the Trucial States, in reference to the truce treaties established with the British in the 19th century.
The Emirate of Umm Al Quwain is one of the seven constituent emirates of the United Arab Emirates, located in the north of the country. It is the second smallest and least populous emirate in the UAE and borders the Persian Gulf. Umm Al Quwain lies between Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah/Ajman on the west coast, with a location along the vital trade route between the Middle East and India. It has a coastline stretching to 24 km.
Magan was an ancient region in what is now modern day Oman and United Arab Emirates. It was referred to in Sumerian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BCE and existed until 550 BCE as a source of copper and diorite for Mesopotamia. As discussed by The Archeology Fund founded by Juris Zarins, "The Sumerian cities of southern Mesopotamia were closely linked to the Gulf. Archaeologists and historians have linked sites in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar to the Sumerian geographical term of Dilmun. Oman, was most likely the Sumerian Magan".
Bennu is an ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation, and rebirth. He may have been the original inspiration for the phoenix legends that developed in Greek mythology.
Umm Al Nar is a Bronze Age culture that existed around 2600-2000 BCE in the area of the modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The etymology derives from the island of the same name which lies adjacent to the city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, which provided early evidence and finds that came to define the period.
Shimal is the name of a settlement in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is associated with the Shihuh tribe of the Northern UAE and Oman and with the foundation of the Islamic era port of Julfar, and was once the seat of the Ruler of Julfar. It is also the location of an important archaeological site dating back to the Umm Al Nar culture.
Emirati cuisine is the local traditional Arabic cuisine of the United Arab Emirates. It is part of Eastern Arabian cuisine and shares similarities with cuisines from neighboring countries, such as Omani cuisine and Saudi Arabian cuisine, as well as influences from different Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines.
Hili Archaeological Park is the location of a Bronze Age site in Al Ain, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
Tell Abraq was an ancient Near Eastern city. Located on the border between Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates about 50 kilometers north-east of Dubai, the city was originally on the coastline of the Persian Gulf but changing sea levels have placed the remains of the city inland. It is located on the main road from Umm Al Quwain to Falaj Al Mualla.
Meliha Archaeological Centre is a visitor centre and exhibition based around the history and archaeology of the areas surrounding the village of Mleiha in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. Built around a preserved Umm Al Nar era tomb, the centre details the excavations and discoveries made over the past 40 years at Mleiha and surrounding areas, particularly the important Faya North East find, which provides evidence that 'anatomically modern humans' were in the Mleiha area between 130,000 and 120,000 years ago. These finds point to the spread of humanity from Africa across the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf region, and onward to populate the world through Iran, India, Europe and Asia.
Ed Dur, also known as Al Dour and Ad Dour is an Ancient Near Eastern City, today located in Umm Al Quwain, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the largest archaeological sites in the emirates, comprising an area of some 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi), the coastal settlement overlooks Al Beidha Lake. One of the most important archaeological finds in the UAE, and closely associated with the inland trading centre of Mleiha, Ed Dur has been dubbed 'one of the most significant lost cities of Arabia'.
The Wadi Suq culture defines human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the period from 2,000 to 1,300 BCE. It takes its name from a wadi, or seasonal watercourse, west of Sohar in Oman and follows on from the Umm Al Nar culture. Although archaeologists have traditionally tended to view the differences in human settlements and burials between the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods as the result of major external disruption, contemporary opinion has moved towards a gradual change in human society which is centred around more sophisticated approaches to animal husbandry as well as changes in the surrounding trade and social environments.
Jebel Buhais or Jebel Al-Buhais is a geological feature, an extensive rocky outcrop, as well as an archaeological site located near Madam in the central region of the Emirate of Sharjah, the UAE, about 48 kilometres southeast of the city of Sharjah. The area contains an extensive necropolis, consisting of burial sites spanning the Stone, Bronze, Iron and Hellenistic ages of human settlement in the UAE. Burials at Jebel Buhais date back to the 5th Millennium BCE. The site is located to the side of a limestone outcrop rising to some 340 metres above sea level and which runs almost contiguously from the town of Madam north to the town of Mleiha, itself an important archaeological site.
The Hafit period defines early Bronze Age human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the period from 3200 to 2600 B.C. It is named after the distinctive beehive burials first found on Jebel Hafit, a rocky mountain near Al Ain, bordering the Rub Al Khali desert. Hafit period tombs and remains have also been located across the UAE and Oman in sites such as Bidaa bint Saud, Jebel Buhais and Buraimi.
The archaeological site of Al-Ashoosh is a third-millennium BC settlement located 70 km (43 mi) south of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an important example of inland desert occupation in the period following the Holocene Climatic Optimum period and of human occupation in the Rub' al Khali during the Umm Al Nar period. Archaeologists believe Al-Ashoosh was a seasonal settlement occupied by a hunter/pastoral community, probably occupying structures of perishable materials, during the second half of the third millennium BC. It is thought the water table would have been higher, supporting inland settlement in what is now a plain and arid site with a brackish well. The site was used for the production of stone tools.
Bidaa Bint Saud is an archaeological site in Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E., notable for its Hafit Period tombs, Iron Age irrigation systems and rare remains of an Iron Age building thought to have been a distribution centre for water from two aflaj. It is a listed UN World Heritage Site. Finds from the site are displayed at Al Ain National Museum.
The area currently known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formerly populated by inhabitants of a number of coastal and inland settlements, with human remains pointing to a pattern of transmigration and settlement as far back as 125,000 years. Prehistoric settlement in the UAE spanned the Neolithic, with a number of distinctive eras of ancient settlement including the Stone Age Arabian Bifacial and Ubaid cultures from 5,000 to 3,100 BCE; the Hafit period with its distinctive beehive shaped tombs and Jemdet Nasr pottery, from 3,200 to 2,600 BCE; the Umm Al Nar period from 2,600 to 2,000 BCE; the Wadi Suq culture from 2,000 to 1,300 BCE and the three Iron Ages of the UAE.
Wadi Asimah is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. It runs broadly westward from the village of Asimah to join the Wadi Fara, its confluence forming the locus between Wadi Fara and Wadi Sidr.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a relatively new country – it was formed in 1971. However, the history of the land that the UAE occupies dates back to the Neolithic Age, which is evidenced by inscriptions, drawings and archaeological finds uncovered in the seven emirates during the period from the early 1950s to the present day.
Karen Frifelt was a Danish archaeologist and librarian. Frifelt was a pioneer of Arabian Gulf Archaeology. In 1959 she was the first woman to participate in Peter Glob’s Archaeological expedition to Bahrain. Later she directed the expedition’s field operation in Abu Dhabi from 1966 becoming the first female archaeologist to work in the future UAE, and most notably in 1972 Frifelt became the first archaeologist to lead an expedition into the Sultanat of Oman.
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