Wadi Saham

Last updated

Wadi Saham is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. It is notable for its petroglyphs, including a single rock bearing 26 petroglyphs across four faces.

Contents

Wadi Saham
United Arab Emirates location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wadi Saham
Coordinates: 25°06′46″N56°12′32″E / 25.112808°N 56.208962°E / 25.112808; 56.208962 Coordinates: 25°06′46″N56°12′32″E / 25.112808°N 56.208962°E / 25.112808; 56.208962
Country United Kingdom
Kingdom Fujairah

Petroglyphs and other finds

The Wadi Saham is located to the West of Fujairah City and consists mainly of a rocky wadi floor with scree and mountain walls. The largest petroglyph assemblage in the wadi is focused on a single rock, to the side of the road, with a large number of horse riders depicted, as well as geometric shapes such as the letter I and cruciform images. The petroglyphs have to a large extent been preserved by a natural bacterial deposit, known as desert varnish. Similar petroglyphs have also been found in the nearby sites of Wadi Hayl, Hassat Al Risoom (literally 'Rock with Drawings') close to the village of Roweida, and Wadi Al Shanah. [1] They have been dated to between 1300 and 300 BCE. [2] Some dates for the petroglyphs have been advanced as early as the Bronze Age. [3]

A number of circular tombs were found in the wadi during surveys by the Swiss Liechtenstein Foundation, as well as scattered remains of dwellings from the Islamic period. The ruins of a Late Islamic fort stand at the head of the wadi. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Emirate of Fujairah An emirate, one of the constituents of the United Arab Emirates

The Emirate of Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. The only of the seven with a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf, its capital is Fujairah.

Dibba

Dibbā is a coastal area at the northern tip of the eastern Arabian peninsula on the Gulf of Oman. It is politically divided into three segments:

Al Hayl Place in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

Al Hayl is a suburb of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the mouth of the Wadi Hayl. The old village in the Wadi Hayl is traditionally the home of the Kunud tribe.

Dibba Al-Hisn Town in United Arab Emirates

Dibba Al-Hisn is a pene-exclave of the emirate of Al-Sharjah, one of the seven United Arab Emirates. It is bordered by the Gulf of Oman from the East, Dibba Al-Baya from the North, and Dibba Al-Fujairah from the South. It is also geographically part of the Dibba region. It is the smallest in size among the Dibbas. It is mostly known for its fish market and the ancient fortress from which it got its name. Also, it is known for its high density of population relative to the other Dibbas.

Wadi Wurayah Nature preserve in the UAE

Wadi Wurayah is a 12,700-hectare (31,000-acre) wadi between the towns of Masafi, Khor Fakkan, and Bidiyah in the United Arab Emirates. It has been designated as Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Bithnah is a village in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), long occupying a strategic location in the Wadi Ham, which is the only natural link to the interior of the UAE and the Persian Gulf from the East Coast city, and Emirate of Fujairah.

Wildlife of the United Arab Emirates

The wildlife of the United Arab Emirates is the flora and fauna of the country on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula and the southern end of the Persian Gulf. The country offers a variety of habitats for wildlife including the coast, offshore islands, mangrove areas, mudflats, salt pans, sand and gravel plains, sand dunes, mountain slopes, wadis and rocky summits. Because the terrain is so varied, it supports a greater number of species of plants and animals than might have been expected in this relatively small country.

Qattara Oasis

Qattara Oasis is an area of irrigated date farm in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates featuring a distinctive falaj irrigation system as well as a late Bronze Age archaeological site dated to 1800–1500 BCE. The oasis has been extensively surveyed by students from Al Ain University since 2015, and is home to 19 buildings of varying antiquity, of which nine are mosques. Among these are thought to be some of the oldest buildings still standing in Al Ain.

The UAE's Iron Age I spanned 1,200–1,000 BCE; Iron Age II, 1,000–600 BCE and Iron Age III from 600–300 BCE. This was followed by the Hellenistic Mleiha era, from 300 BCE onwards through to the Islamic era which commenced with the culmination of the 7th century Ridda Wars.

The territory currently known as the United Arab Emirates was home to three distinct Iron Age periods. Iron Age I spanned 1,200–1,000 BCE, Iron Age II from 1,000–600 BCE, and Iron Age III from 600–300 BCE. This period of human development in the region was followed by the Mleiha or Late Pre-Islamic era, from 300 BCE onwards through to the Islamic era which commenced with the culmination of the 7th century Ridda Wars.

Wadi Hayl is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the Fujairah industrial suburb of Al Hayl through the old village of Hayl and Hayl Fort, to reach the Wadi Helo.

Al Hayl Fort is located in the Wadi Hayl, to the West of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. Constructed in 1932 by Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamdan Al Sharqi, the fort formed his principle residence for the following two decades. Consisting of a fortified courtyard house and an associated watchtower with commanding views to the East and West of Wadi Hayl, Al Hayl Fort overlooks the old village of Al Hayl, of which many buildings have now been restored. The village was abandoned in the late 1970s following the resettlement of its inhabitants to a new village further down the wadi, a seasonal watercourse, and protected by the Al Hayl Dam. The village was traditionally settled by members of the Kunud tribe, with evidence that the area has been settled since the Umm Al Nar period, with Umm Al Nar tombs and Iron Age petroglyphs both found in the area. A number of these are now being threatened by ongoing construction in the area.

Wadi Qor is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the mountain village of Al Qor, near the Dubai exclave of Hatta, through the villages of Huwaylat, Rafaq and Al Nasla before crossing the Omani border and fanning out to the Batinah plain and the Gulf of Oman north of the Omani coastal village of Bu Baqarah.

Wadi Siji Place in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Wadi Siji is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the Sharjah city of Dhaid to the mountain town of Masafi, where it meets the Wadi Ham and Wadi Abadila. It has long been a strategic route connecting the interior and East Coast of the UAE.

Wadi Helo is a seasonal watercourse located in the Hajar Mountains of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs northwest to southeast of the eponymous village of Wadi Helo, located on the Sharjah-Kalba highway.

Al Bithnah Fort

Bithnah Fort is a traditional double story rock, coral and mudbrick fortification located in the Wadi Ham, near the village of Bithnah in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The fort has played a significant role in the history of the Emirates, particularly in the emergence of Fujairah as an independent emirate in the early 20th century. With a controlling position overlooking the Wadi Ham, the fort replaced an Iron Age fortification.

Wadi Ejili is a wadi, or seasonal watercourse, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It runs down from the confluence of the Wadi Shawka and Wadi Esfai to run into the Wadi Helo at the village of Fayyad, on the Sharjah-Kalba Highway (E102).

Tayyibah Place in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

Tayyibah is a large village in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It is notable for its hiking trails, its Heritage Museum and the Al Qalaa Lodge, an Emirati heritage themed guest house.

Wadi Shie

Wadi Shie is a seasonal watercourse located in the Eastern Hajar Mountains of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.

References

  1. Ziolkowski, M.C.; Hassan, Salah Ali M. (2000). "Three petroglyphs from the Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 30: 257–265. ISSN   0308-8421. JSTOR   41223716.
  2. 1 2 "Progress threatens rare UAE rock drawings". The National. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  3. "Fujairah's petroglyphs offer glimpse into region's history". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2020-09-21.