Archaeologists look for wrecks off Qatar coast

A team of maritime archaeologists will conduct extensive underwater surveys in the northwest coast of Qatar from October to look for signs of ancient trade and human inhabitation before the Gulf was flooded by sea level rise thousands of years ago. “Considering that the Gulf has been part of a maritime trade network extending back into the 7th millennium, the region has the potential for shipwrecks from both the historic and prehistoric periods,” Qatar National Historical Environmental Record (QNHER) Project co-director Richard Cuttler told Gulf Times. QNHER is being developed as part of the Remote Sensing Project, a joint initiative between the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) under the guidance of Faisal al-Naimi (Head of Antiquities), and the University of Birmingham, where Cuttler is a research fellow. More recent work by the team of marine archaeologists included underwater inspections of areas in advance of the dredging of new channels for the New Doha International Port to the south of Wakrah. Recently concluded under the supervision of Cuttler’s colleague Eoghan Kieran, the project did not lead to any substantial findings other than two anchors, abandoned fish traps and several old reefs. Kieran and his team of maritime archaeologists Jamie Lewis, Konstantina Vafidou, Jenny Breslin, Saad al-Naimi, master scuba diver Rosheen Khan, and scuba cameraman Cathal Twomey were engaged in the geophysical survey and marine inspections since February. The exercise investigated the archaeological potential of the north and south channels before dredging commences for the new port project. “A major issue is that the seabed is very rocky and corralled and if anything did sink hundreds of years ago in the area we surveyed it would be smashed up and would probably erode very quickly,” Kieran observed.A team led by Cuttler recently concluded this season’s archaeological excavations at Wadi Debayan, situated on the northwestern side of Qatar, where human occupation has been radio carbon dated back to about 7,500 years. Discovery of an unmarked grave with remains of a skeleton was among the highlights of the exploration, also part of the QNHER Project. Cuttler believes it is very likely that people used to live in the area between Qatar and Bahrain long ago and were pushed out due to sea level rise to Wadi Debayan and other areas around the western coast of Qatar. “The excavations and explorations on the land and sea in the coming seasons have all the potential to unravel more surprises,” he added.from gulf times.