Discover Hegra: Saudi Arabia's Historic Treasure and UNESCO World Heritage Site

When Saudi Arabia opened its doors to non-Muslim international tourists in 2019, it unveiled a hidden gem: Mada’in Saleh, an archaeological wonder also known as Hegra. This 2,000-year-old Nabatean city, located in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia, bears striking resemblances to Jordan's Petra but offers a more serene and less crowded experience. In this article, we will delve into the captivating world of Hegra, exploring its significance, history, accessibility, and more.

Where is Hegra, and How Do I Get There?

Hegra, or Mada’in Saleh, is situated in the Medina Province, nestled within the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. To reach this remarkable site, travelers can fly to the city of AlUla, which boasts an international airport with convenient connections to Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Damman. From AlUla, it's a mere 35-minute drive (approximately 26 miles) to reach Hegra. Moreover, visitors to Hegra will find themselves just 11.6 miles away from the astonishing Maraya Concert Hall, the largest mirrored building in the world, making it an ideal destination for cultural enthusiasts.

Are Petra and Mada’in Saleh the same?

While Petra and Mada’in Saleh (Hegra) share striking similarities, they are distinct archaeological sites located in different countries. Petra graces Jordan, while Mada’in Saleh resides in Saudi Arabia. Both sites, however, bear witness to the architectural prowess of the Nabateans, an ancient Arab people who once dominated the caravan trade in the Arabian Peninsula. Petra served as the Nabatean Kingdom's capital and largest city, while Mada’in Saleh was its second-largest settlement. The common thread between these sites lies in their captivating Nabatean rock-hewn monuments, featuring highly adorned tombs. Both also showcase the Nabateans' ingenuity in water management, evident through structures such as wells, water tunnels, cisterns, and reservoirs.

Photo: Lubo Ivanko/Shutterstock

The Significance of Hegra or Mada’in Saleh

Mada’in Saleh, known as Hegra, stands as an immense and exceptionally well-preserved archaeological site in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It represents one of the most extensive remnants of the Nabatean civilization, an ancient nomadic people who eventually settled in Jordan during the fourth century BC, giving rise to Petra. At its zenith, the Nabatean Kingdom spanned across regions in Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.

While Mada’in Saleh began as a city, it eventually evolved into a necropolis, or a vast cemetery. Today, the site's stunning rock-cut structures comprise 111 tombs constructed between the first century BC and the first century AD. Among these, the iconic 72-foot-tall Qasr al-Farid, known as the Lonely Castle, stands out. Additionally, remnants of rock-hewn water wells provide evidence of the Nabateans' expertise in water harvesting and conservation within the desert landscape.

Beyond its impressive tombs, UNESCO recognizes Mada’in Saleh for its pre-Nabatean inscriptions and cave drawings, offering insights into human presence preceding the Nabatean civilization.

Hegra: Saudi Arabia's First UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 2008, Hegra, also known as Mada’in Saleh, achieved the distinction of becoming Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Today, Saudi Arabia boasts seven UNESCO-listed sites and an additional 14 sites on the tentative list. The seven UNESCO-listed sites are as follows:

1. Hegra Archaeological Site

2. At-Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah

3. Historic Jeddah

4. Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia

5. Ḥimā Cultural Area

6. Al-Ahsa Oasis

7. ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid

The most recent addition to Saudi Arabia's UNESCO list is 'Uruq Bani Ma’arid, inscribed in 2023, further showcasing the nation's rich cultural heritage and historical significance.

Photo: Lubo Ivanko/Shutterstock

The History of Mada’in Saleh in Saudi Arabia

The rock-cut monuments of Mada’in Saleh, or Hegra, span from the first century BC to the first century AD, a testament to the achievements of the Nabatean people. During this era, Saudi Arabia as we know it did not exist, and the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited by various peoples. Mada’in Saleh predates the advent of Islam by many centuries; the revelations to Prophet Muhammad in Mecca occurred in the year 610. Subsequently, Islam spread across the globe, and by the eighth century, the Islamic Empire extended from Spain to China. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as we know it today, was established on September 23, 1932. Notably, the Nabateans were not the first inhabitants of Saudi Arabia, with evidence of human presence dating back 15,000 to 20,000 years.

Can Muslims visit Mada’in Saleh?

In the past, Mada’in Saleh and the surrounding AlUla region were believed to be cursed and haunted by jinn, malevolent spirits in Arab folklore. It was even believed that Prophet Muhammad had warned against visiting this area. However, in the contemporary era, as Saudi Arabia emerges as a prominent tourist destination, the curse has largely been relegated to history. Today, Muslim and non-Muslim visitors alike are encouraged to explore the beauty of this region.

It is essential to note that while Mada’in Saleh welcomes tourists of all backgrounds, the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, located in Saudi Arabia, remain restricted to non-Muslim visitors.

Hegra, or Mada’in Saleh, offers a captivating journey into the past, showcasing the marvels of the Nabatean civilization and the rich history of Saudi Arabia. As Saudi Arabia continues to open its doors to the world, this UNESCO World Heritage site stands as a testament to the nation's cultural heritage and historical significance, inviting travelers from all walks of life to explore its wonders.

The History of Writing: Tracing the Development of expressing Language by Systems of Markings

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by dimosthenis vasiloudis

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Protowriting, ideographic systems, or early mnemonic symbols came before more advanced writing systems in the evolution of writing in human societies (symbols or letters that make remembering them easier).

A subsequent development is true writing, in which the content of a spoken language is encoded so that another reader may reasonably reconstruct the identical utterance written down. It differs from proto-writing, which frequently forgoes recording grammatical words and affixes, making it harder or even impossible to reassemble the precise meaning intended by the writer unless a substantial amount of context is already known in advance.

Writing innovations

The idea that writing originated in a single civilization and was called "monogenesis" persisted for a long time. According to academics, all writing originated in Mesopotamia's ancient Sumer and spread around the world as a result of cultural diffusion. This argument holds that traders or merchants traveling between geographical locations passed on the idea of representing language by written signs, though perhaps not necessarily the specifics of how such a system operated.

The finding of ancient Mesoamerican scripts, far from Middle Eastern sources, demonstrated, however, that writing had been created more than once. In at least four ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia (between 3400 and 3100 BCE), Egypt (about 3250 BCE), China (1200 BCE), and lowland portions of southern Mexico and Guatemala, writing may have independently originated (by 500 BCE).

Some academics have suggested that ancient Egypt "The earliest authentic examples of Egyptian writing differ from Mesopotamian writing in both structure and style, indicating that they must have emerged independently. Although there is still a chance that Mesopotamian "stimulus dispersion" occurred, the influence could not have extended beyond the dissemination of an idea."

Because there is no evidence of communication between ancient China and the Near Eastern literate civilizations, as well as because Mesopotamian and Chinese approaches to phonetic representation differ, it is thought that ancient Chinese characters are independent creations.

The Vinča symbols.

The Rongorongo script of Easter Island, the Vina symbols from about 5500 BCE, and the Indus script of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization are all controversial. Since none have been translated, it is unclear if they all represent real writing, protowriting, or something entirely different.

The earliest coherent texts date from around 2600 BCE, and Sumerian archaic (pre-cuneiform) writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs are usually regarded as the earliest authentic writing systems. Both developed out of their ancestors' proto-literate symbol systems between 3400 and 3100 BCE. The Proto-Elamite script belongs to roughly the same time frame.

writing methods

Writing systems are distinct from symbolic communication systems. For most writing systems, reading a text requires some knowledge of the spoken language that goes along with it. In contrast, it's not always necessary to have a prior understanding of a spoken language to use symbolic systems like information signs, paintings, maps, and mathematics. Every human group has its own language, which is thought by many to be a natural and essential aspect of mankind.

Writing system development has been intermittent, uneven, and delayed, and old oral communication systems have only been partially replaced. Writing systems generally develop more slowly after they are formed than their spoken counterparts and frequently preserve traits and idioms that have been lost to the spoken language.

Three writing standards are thought to apply to all writing systems. First, writing must be comprehensive; it must have a meaning or purpose, and it must make a point or be able to convey that message. Second, whether they are physical or digital, all writing systems must include some kind of symbol that can be created on a surface. In order to facilitate communication, the writing system's symbols must resemble spoken words or speech.

The greatest advantage of writing is that it gives society a way to regularly and thoroughly preserve information—something that the spoken word could not previously do as successfully. Writing enables communities to communicate knowledge, transmit information, and

stages of development

Sumer

An ancient civilization of southern Mesopotamia, is believed to be the place where written language was first invented around 3200 BCE.

Beginning with the Neolithic pottery phase, when clay tokens were used to keep track of particular quantities of animals or other goods, writing first appeared. These tokens were initially imprinted on the exterior of spherical clay envelopes, which were later used to keep them. Afterwards, flat tablets were gradually introduced in place of the tokens, and signs were recorded using a stylus. Towards the end of the fourth millennium BCE, Uruk was where actual writing was first discovered. Other areas of the Near East quickly followed.

The earliest recorded account of the development of writing is found in a poem from ancient Mesopotamia:

The Lord of Kulaba patted some clay and wrote on it like a tablet because the messenger's mouth was heavy and he couldn't repeat the message. It has never been possible to write on clay before.

Enmerkar and the King of Aratta, a Sumerian epic written around 1800 BCE

Although there is agreement among scholars as to the difference between prehistory and the history of early writing, there is disagreement as to when proto-writing became "real writing." The criteria are somewhat arbitrary. In the broadest sense, writing is a way of keeping track of information. It is made up of graphemes, which in turn can be made up of glyphs.

Many centuries of shattered inscriptions typically follow the advent of writing in a particular region. The presence of coherent texts in a culture's writing system is how historians determine a culture's "historicity".

Standard reconstruction of the development of writing. There is a possibility that the Egyptian script was invented independently from the Mesopotamian script.

A conventional "proto-writing to true writing" system follows a general series of developmental stages:

Picture writing system: glyphs (simplified pictures) directly represent objects and concepts. In connection with this, the following substages may be distinguished:

• Mnemonic: glyphs primarily as a reminder.

• Pictographic: glyphs directly represent an object or a concept such as (A) chronological, (B) notices, (C) communications, (D) totems, titles, and names, (E) religious, (F) customs, (G) historical, and (H) biographical.

• Ideographic: graphemes are abstract symbols that directly represent an idea or concept.

Pre-cuneiform tags, with drawing of goat or sheep and number (probably "10"): "Ten goats", Al-Hasakah, 3300–3100 BCE, Uruk culture.

Transitional system: graphemes refer not only to the object or idea that it represents but to its name as well.

• Phonetic system: graphemes refer to sounds or spoken symbols, and the form of the grapheme is not related to its meanings. This resolves itself into the following substages:

• Verbal: grapheme (logogram) represents a whole word.

• Syllabic: grapheme represents a syllable.

• Alphabetic: grapheme represents an elementary sound.

Designs on some of the labels or token from Abydos, carbon-dated to circa 3400–3200 BC and among the earliest form of writing in Egypt. They are remarkably similar to contemporary clay tags from Uruk, Mesopotamia.

The best known picture writing system of ideographic or early mnemonic symbols are:

• Jiahu symbols, carved on tortoise shells in Jiahu, c. 6600 BCE

• Vinča symbols (Tărtăria tablets), c. 5300 BCE[24]

• Early Indus script, c. 3100 BCE

In the Old World, true writing systems developed from neolithic writing in the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC).

Locations and timeframes

Comparative evolution

from pictograms to abstract shapes, in Mesopotamian cuneiforms, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Chinese characters

Proto-writing

The first writing systems of the Early Bronze Age were not a sudden invention. Rather, they were a development based on earlier traditions of symbol systems that cannot be classified as proper writing, but have many of the characteristics of writing. These systems may be described as "proto-writing". They used ideographic or early mnemonic symbols to convey information, but it probably directly contained no natural language. These systems emerged in the early Neolithic period, as early as the 7th millennium BC, and include:

• The Jiahu symbols found carved in tortoise shells in 24 Neolithic graves excavated at Jiahu, Henan province, northern China, with radiocarbon dates from the 7th millennium BCE. Most archaeologists consider these not directly linked to the earliest true writing.

• Vinča symbols, sometimes called the "Danube script", are a set of symbols found on Neolithic era (6th to 5th millennia BCE) artifacts from the Vinča culture of Central Europe and Southeast Europe.

• The Dispilio Tablet of the late 6th millennium may also be an example of proto-writing.

• The Indus script, which from 3500 BCE to 1900 BCE was used for extremely short inscriptions.

The Dispilio Tablet

The Dispilio tablet is a wooden tablet bearing inscribed markings, unearthed during George Hourmouziadis's excavations of Dispilio in Greece, and carbon 14-dated to 5202 (± 123) BC.

It was discovered in 1993 in a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island near the modern village of Dispilio on Lake Kastoria in Kastoria, Western Macedonia, Greece.

Even after the Neolithic, a number of societies used proto-writing as a transitional form before adopting formal writing. Such a mechanism might have existed in the quipu of the Incas (15th century CE), often known as "talking knots". Another example is the pictographs created by Uyaquk before the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language developed the Yugtun syllabary around 1900.

Ancient writing

The Bronze Age saw the development of writing in a wide range of cultures. Indus script, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Cretan hieroglyphs, Chinese logographs, Sumerian cuneiform writing, and the Olmec script of Mesoamerica are a few examples. Around 1600 BCE, the Chinese script most likely evolved apart from the Middle Eastern scripts. It is also generally accepted that the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican writing systems, which include the Olmec and Maya scripts, had separate origins. In 2000 BCE, it is believed that the first real alphabetic writing was created for Hebrew laborers in the Sinai by assigning Semitic values to mostly Egyptian hieratic characters (see History of the alphabet and Proto-Sinaitic alphabet).

Ethiopia's Geez writing system is regarded as Semitic. With roots in the Meroitic Sudanese ideogram system, it is most likely of semi-independent origin. The majority of alphabets used today are either direct descendants of this one invention, many through the Phoenician alphabet, or were designed in direct response to it. The early Old Italic alphabet and Plautus (c. 750–250 BCE) were separated by around 500 years in Italy, while the Elder Futhark inscriptions and early works like the Abrogans (c. 200–750 CE) are separated by a similar amount of time in the case of the Germanic peoples.

Cuneiform writing

The first Sumerian script was derived from a system of clay tokens used to denote different types of goods. This had developed into a system of keeping accounts by the end of the fourth millennium BC, utilizing a stylus with a circular form that was impressed into soft clay at various angles to record numbers. A pointed stylus was used to gradually add pictographic lettering on this to show what was being counted. Writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the name "cuneiform") began to include phonetic features by the 29th century BCE and gradually replaced writing with a round stylus and a sharp stylus by about 2700–2500 BCE.

Cuneiform first started to represent Sumerian syllables around 2600 BCE. Ultimately, cuneiform writing evolved into a general-purpose system for writing numerals, syllables, and logograms. This alphabet was adapted to the Akkadian language starting in the 26th century BCE, and from there to others like Hurrian and Hittite. This writing system resembles Old Persian and Ugaritic scripts in appearance.

Hieroglyphics from Egypt

Literacy was concentrated among a well-educated elite of scribes, who played a crucial role in upholding the Egyptian empire through writing. To become scribes in the employ of temple, royal (pharaonic), and military authority, one had to come from a certain background.

According to Geoffrey Sampson, the general concept of expressing words from a language in writing was likely transmitted to Egypt via Sumerian Mesopotamia. Egyptian hieroglyphs "came into being a little after Sumerian script, and, possibly [were], invented under the influence of the latter." Despite the significance of early Egypt-Mesopotamia links, "no definitive judgment has been established as to the genesis of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt" due to the lack of direct evidence. However, it is stated and agreed upon that "a very compelling argument can also be made for the independent development of writing in Egypt" and that "the evidence for such direct influence remains fragile."

Egyptian writing does suddenly appear at that time, but Mesopotamia has an evolutionary history of sign usage in tokens dating back to around 8000 BCE. Since the 1990s, discoveries of glyphs at Abydos, dated to between 3400 and 3200 BCE, may challenge the conventional idea that the Mesopotamian symbol system predates the Egyptian one. These glyphs were discovered in tomb U-J at Abydos; they were written on ivory and most likely served as labels for other items discovered there.

Even though he acknowledged that Egypt's geographic location made it a receptacle for many influences, Egyptian scholar Gamal Mokhtar maintained that the inventory of hieroglyphic symbols originated from "fauna and flora used in the signs [which] are essentially African" and that in regards to writing, "we have seen that a purely Nilotic, therefore African origin not only is not excluded, but probably reflects the reality."

Elamite writing

The unintelligible Proto-Elamite writing first appears around 3100 BCE. Around the latter third millennium, it is thought to have evolved into Linear Elamite, which was later supplanted by Elamite Cuneiform, which was adapted from Akkadian.

Indus script

Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not these symbols constituted a writing system used to record the as yet unidentified language(s) of the Indus Valley civilisation.

The Indus script has been assigned to markings and symbols discovered at numerous Indus Valley civilization sites due to the hypothesis that they were used to transcribe the Harappan language. It is disputed whether the script, which was in use from roughly 3500 to 1900 BCE, is a Bronze Age writing script (logographic-syllabic) or merely proto-writing symbols. According to analysis, it was written in boustrophedon or from right to left.

early SEMITIC ALPHABETS

Around 1800 BCE in Ancient Egypt, the first "abjads," which mapped individual symbols to individual phonemes but not necessarily each phoneme to a symbol, appeared as a representation of the language created there by Semitic workers. However, by that time, alphabetic principles had only a remote chance of being ingrained into Egyptian hieroglyphs for upwards of a millennium.

Did the Proto-Canaanite alphabet take its symbols independently of the hieroglyphs?

It is only until the end of the Bronze Age that the Proto-Sinaitic script separates into the Proto-Canaanite alphabet (c. 1400 BCE), Byblos syllabary, and the South Arabian alphabet (c. 1200 BCE). These early abjads remained of minor significance for several decades. The untranslated Byblos syllabary most likely had some influence on the Proto-Canaanite, which in turn provided inspiration for the Ugaritic alphabet (c. 1300 BCE).

Anatolian hieroglyphs

The Luwian language was written down using Anatolian hieroglyphs, a native hieroglyphic script found in western Anatolia. Around the fourteenth century BCE, it initially appeared on royal seals of the Luwians.

Chinese characters

The corpus of inscriptions on oracle bones and brass from the late Shang dynasty is the earliest authenticated example of the Chinese script that has been found so far. The oldest of these is believed to date from about 1200 BCE.

There have been recent finds of tortoise-shell carvings from around 6000 BCE, such as Jiahu Script and Banpo Script, but it is debatable whether or not the carvings are complex enough to be considered writing. 3,172 cliff carvings from the period between 6000 and 5000 BCE have been found near Damaidi in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. They contain 8,453 different characters, including images of the sun, moon, stars, gods, and scenes of grazing or hunting.

Replica

of ancient Chinese script on an oracle turtle shell

These pictographs are thought to resemble the first Chinese characters that have been confirmed to be written. Writing in China would predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, traditionally recognized as the first manifestation of writing, by about 2,000 years if it were to be considered a written language. However, it is more likely that the inscriptions represent a type of proto-writing, comparable to the modern European Vinca script.

Early Greek and Cretan scripts

Cretan relics include hieroglyphic writing (early-to-mid-2nd millennium BCE, MM I to MM III, overlapping with Linear A from MM IIA at the earliest). The Mycenaean Greek writing system, Linear B, has been decoded, but Linear A has not yet been. The three overlapping, but distinct, Aegean pre-alphabetic writing systems can be categorized according to their chronological order and geographic distribution as follows:

• Cretan Hieroglyphic / Crete (eastward from the Knossos-Phaistos axis) / c. 2100−1700 BCE

• Linear A / Crete (except extreme southwest), Aegean Islands (Kea, Kythera, Melos, Thera), Greek mainland (Laconia) and west Minor Asia (Miletus and maybe Troy) / c. 1800−1450 BCE

• Linear B / Crete (Knossos), and mainland (Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns) / c. 1450−1200 BCE

The archaeological finds with signs of pre-alphabetic scripts in the Aegean

(Up) The finds with signs of Linear B script reach about 6,000 and constitute the majority of the pre-alphabetic written monuments of the Aegean.

(Middle) About 1,400 are the finds which imprint Linear A and make up a 11% of all pre-alphabetic inscriptions.

(Down) Cretan hieroglyphics occupies 2% of the available finds with only 400 finds.

Illustration: Dimosthenis Vasiloudis

Mesoamerica

The Cascajal Block, a stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing that predates the first Zapotec writing from around 500 BCE, was found in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere.

Stela 12 and 13

from the southern end of Building L, in the Zapotec city of Monte Albán, Outside of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Maya script is one of numerous pre-Columbian scripts found in Mesoamerica, and it appears to have been the most well-developed and extensively deciphered. The earliest clearly identifiable Maya inscriptions date to the third century BCE, and writing continued to be used until just before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century BCE. A combination of logograms and syllabic symbols, utilized in Maya writing, is somewhat reminiscent of current Japanese writing.

IRON AGE WRITING

The Proto-Canaanite alphabet, which was used into the Iron Age, is all that the Phoenician alphabet is (conventionally taken from a cut-off date of 1050 BCE). The Greek and Aramaic alphabets were derived from this alphabet. They eventually gave rise to the writing systems that are currently used everywhere, from Western Asia to Africa and Europe. The Greek alphabet, on the other hand, was the first to use specific symbols to represent vowel sounds.

By Matt Baker

In the first centuries of the Common Era, the Greek and Latin alphabets gave rise to a number of European scripts, including the Runes, Gothic, and Cyrillic alphabets, while the Aramaic alphabet developed into the Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac abjads, the latter of which spread as far as Mongolian script. The Ge'ez abugida originated from the South Arabian alphabet. According to some academics, the Indian Brahmic family also descended from the Aramaic alphabet.

GRAKLIANI HILL WRITING

At Georgia's Grakliani Hill, behind a fallen altar from a temple dedicated to a fertility goddess from the seventh century BCE, an obscure script was uncovered in 2015. Grakliani's other temples' inscriptions, which depict animals, people, or decorative features, are different from these ones. Although its letters are rumored to be connected to ancient Greek and Aramaic, the script has no similarities to any known alphabet. In contrast, the earliest Armenian and Georgian letters come from the fifth century CE, right after the respective nations converted to Christianity. The inscription looks to be the oldest local alphabet ever uncovered in the entire Caucasus region. An portion of the inscription measuring 31 by 3 inches had been unearthed by September 2015.

Grakliani script on the basement of altar of goddess of fertility (XI-X c. BC)

Vakhtang Licheli, director of the State University's Institute of Archaeology, claims that "The writings on the temple's two altars have been kept in remarkably good condition. While the pedestal of the second altar is entirely covered with writings, the first altar has few clay letters carved into it." Unpaid students made the discovery. Inscriptions from Grakliani Hill were sent to Miami Laboratory in 2016 for beta analytic radiocarbon dating, which revealed that they were created between c. 1005 and c. 950 BCE.

WRITING IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

When the Greeks adopted the Phoenician script for use with their own language in the early eighth century BCE, the history of the Greek alphabet officially began. The Greek and Phoenician alphabets share a lot of similarities in terms of their characters, and both alphabets nowadays are written in the same order. The Phoenician system's adapter(s) added three letters to the conclusion of the series, known as the "supplementals." The Greek alphabet evolved into a number of different forms.

Early Greek alphabet on pottery in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

One was utilized in southern Italy and west of Athens and is known as Western Greek or Chalcidian. The other variant, known as Eastern Greek, was spoken by the Athenians and in modern-day Turkey before spreading over the rest of the Greek-speaking world. The Greeks initially elected to write like the Phoenicians, from right to left, but subsequently switched to left to right. The lines would then alternately read from left to right, then from right to left, and so on. On occasion, though, the writer would begin the next line where the preceding one ended. Up until the sixth century, this style of writing, called "boustrophedon," mirrored the course of an ox-drawn plough.

Italic scripts and Latin

Cippus Perusinus

Etruscan writing near Perugia, Italy, the precursor of the Latin alphabet

All of the contemporary European scripts have their roots in Greek. The Latin alphabet, named after the Latins, a central Italian people who came to rule Europe with the emergence of Rome, is the most widely used descendant of the Greek script. Around the fifth century BCE, the Etruscan civilization, which employed a multitude of Italic scripts descended from the western Greeks, taught the Romans how to write. The other Old Italic scripts have not survived in very large quantities due to the cultural hegemony of the Roman state, and the Etruscan language is largely extinct.

WRITING DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

Roman rule in Western Europe fell apart, and the Persian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire became the main centers of literary development. Latin, which was never a major literary language, lost prominence quickly (except within the Roman Catholic Church). Greek and Persian were the two main literary languages, but Syriac and Coptic were also significant.

Arabic quickly became a significant literary language in the area as a result of the development of Islam in the 7th century. Greek's status as a scholarly language soon lost ground to Arabic and Persian. The Turkish and Persian languages now use Arabic script as their principal writing system. The development of the cursive scripts for Greek, the Slavic languages, Latin, and other languages was also greatly inspired by this script.

The Hindu-Arabic numeral system was also extended throughout Europe thanks to the Arabic language. The modern Spanish city of Cordoba had emerged as one of the world's leading intellectual hubs by the start of the second millennium and was home to the largest library at the time. Its location at the meeting point of the Islamic and Western Christian worlds encouraged intellectual growth and written exchange between the two cultures.

THE MODERN ERA AND THE RENAISSANCE

By the 14th century, Western Europe had experienced a renaissance, which had temporarily increased the significance of Greek while slowly restoring Latin's status as an important literary language. In Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, a comparable but smaller emergence took place. As the Islamic Golden Era came to an end, Arabic and Persian also started to slowly lose ground. In order to codify the phonologies of the various languages, the Latin alphabet underwent several alterations as a result of the rebirth of literary development in Western Europe.

Writing has undergone steady change throughout history, in large part because of the emergence of new technologies. Technology advancements such as the printing press, computer, mobile phone, and pen have all changed how and what is written as well as the medium in which it is generated. Characters can now be generated with a button press rather than a hand motion, especially with the development of digital technology like the computer and the smartphone.

Egyptologist claims Prophet Mohammed of Egyptian roots

Egyptologist Wassim al-Sisi, who claimed that Prophet Mohammed had Egyptian, not Arab, origin, explained the reasons that led him to make his claim.

“The prophet, peace be upon him, has roots from Egypt, and we are his descendants, from Bani Abd Manaf,” Sisi said, referring to Prophet Mohammed’s roots.

“God has chosen Kenana, and from Kenana has chosen Bani Abd Manaf, and from Bani Abd Manaf has chosen Quraysh and from the Quraysh has chose Bani Hashim. So I am the best of the best. Also, Hajar is one of us,” he said.

Sisi added, during televised statements on the Al-Hadath Al-Youm channel: “There is a mural showing that the Pharaohs prostrated on their chins, and this is what was stated in the words of God Almighty in Surat Al-Isra: ‘for when it is read to those who had received the knowledge that were sent before, they bow down and prostrate themselves before the Lord.’”

Egyptians currently repeat some words in some songs of Pharaonic origin, for example, the Ramadan song lyrics, “Wahawi Ya Wahawi Eyoha”, which means “welcome, welcome Queen Ahhotep,” he continued.

Queen Ahhotep raised armies and her husband was killed in war. His mummy is in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, he added.

Hegra (Mada'in Salih); Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage Site

Mada’in Saleh, not far from al-Ula (22 km), was known as al-Hijr, or Hegra, by the Nabataean people who carved its magnificent tombs into the golden Quweira sandstone outcrops. The delicate details on the entrance portals and the smooth surfaces of its 111 tomb façades reflect the great skills of the masons of their time. The splendor of the natural setting here must have reminded the Nabataeans of their capital, Petra, hewn into the rosey sandstone cliffs to the north in modern-day Jordan. It is no wonder that they chose this very spot to build their second city, Hegra. Based on the many dated tomb inscriptions, Hegra thrived between 1 BCE -74 CE.

Qasr al-Farid, an unfinished tomb that stands alone.

The Nabataeans began as pastoral nomads, raising their sheep, goats, and camels in the desert as so many other Arabian tribes have done through the millennia. They also practiced oasis agriculture, utilizing a set of wells dug into the rock. Their origin is uncertain, but there is a strong possibility that they came from the Hejaz region of northwest Saudi Arabia. The deities they worshipped were similar to those honored by ancient cultures in that area and the root consonants of their name – n, b, t, w – occur in the early Semitic of the Hejaz. From early in their history, they had connections with Mesopotamia and may have been the Nabatu Arabs mentioned by the Assyrians in the eighth century BCE. Alexander the Great’s officer Hieronymus of Cardia wrote of the Nabataeans as having an ascetic life with harsh laws. They were also known for their incredible familiarity with the desert and their ability to fade into it to evade enemy tribes. Their system of hidden cisterns dug deep in the interior provided water for their livestock and their people.

Area C

The real cause of the success of the Nabataeans, however, was control over much of the spice trade. Frankincense, myrrh, and other spices from southern Arabia were brought up to the north along trade routes to be purchased by the Greeks, Romans Egyptians, Phoenicians, and others around the Mediterranean and in the Near East. The Nabataeans built their empire as the middlemen. Hegra was a crossroads where the major north-south incense route intersected a road from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Before the Nabataeans chose Hegra as their most southerly outpost for caravans on the spice route, the settlement was occupied by their predecessors in the trade, the Dedanites and then the Lihyanites. The Qur’an refers to a Thamudic settlement even earlier. The Romans annexed the area controlled by the Nabataeans and incorporated it into its Arabian province in 106 CE.

Qasr al Bint, “Palace of the Daughter or Maiden,” is the largest tomb façade at Mada’in Saleh, with a height of 16 m. It lends its name to the group of adjacent tombs. The portal is raised above ground. Above the doorway an inscription plaque indicates that it dates to circa 31 CE.

The ruins of the town of Hegra lie on the plain some distance from their tombs. The buildings, still for the most part unexcavated, were made of unimpressive sun-dried mudbrick. What is known about Hegra comes primarily from the tombs, the many inscriptions carved into their façades, and references found elsewhere.

The tomb façades are finely carved and fairly uniform in their style. At the top of most is a pair of crowsteps rising up from a central point. One or two cornices are just below, resting on the delicate capitals of two pilasters. A portal in the center of the façade provides the entrance to the tomb. Inside are recesses carved into the walls where the bodies of the deceased were placed. The interiors remain roughly chiseled in stark contrast to the smoothly finished façades.

Nabatean Inscription

Qasr al Bint, “Palace of the Daughter or Maiden,” is the largest tomb façade at Hegra, with a height of 16 m. It lends its name to a group of adjacent tombs. The portal is raised above ground. Above the doorway is an inscription plaque saying that the tomb was carved by the sculptor Hoor ibn Ahi for Hani ibn Tafsy, his family and descendents, in the 40th year of the reign of the Nabataean King Aretas IV (al-Haritha), dating it to circa 31 CE.

The most photogenic and most iconic symbol of Mada’in Saleh is Qasr al-Farid, a single tomb carved into a small dome that stands alone in the open. The façade was never finished, so the heavily chiseled surface of the lower third documents how the tombs were fashioned from the top down.

Pediment above tomb portal. The eagle above the portal is thought to represent the primary Nabataean deity Dúshara, “Lord of the Mountain.” The face with snakes coming out of the sides like Medusa shows Greek influence. On either side are two urns and below is a row of rosettes.

The Jebel Ithlib is a monumental outcrop topped with a complex of spires in the northeastern part of the site. In the middle is a natural slit that measures 40 m (131 feet), called the Siq, after a similar corridor at Petra. At its entrance, to the right is a square chamber containing three stone benches that served as a triclinium for sacred feasts. Today, the chamber is known as al-Diwan (court). Its large entrance suggests that the feasts extended into the open space before it.

By walking through the Siq, one enters a larger, natural alcove known as the Jebel Ithlib sanctuary where a canal channeled water into a cistern. Its enormous cliff faces have small sacred niches and altars carved into their otherwise unhewn surfaces. Jebel Ithlib was thought to have been a holy place to worship the Nabataean deity Dúshara, “Lord of the Mountain”.

Mada’in Saleh has been s a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

AlUla: A mysterious Cult that Predates Stonehenge

Spread over a vast, remote landscape in north-western Saudi Arabia are millennia-old archaeological remains that could change our understanding of prehistory.

By Demi Perera

The car was gliding smoothly along the immaculately maintained highway in AlUla, a region in north-western Saudi Arabia, when my driver abruptly veered off the road. "I missed the turning," he said. I looked out of the window in confusion as I couldn't see an obvious bend. "Here," he exclaimed, as the car jolted across basalt rocks to join a barely discernible path into the desert.

We drove into a vast, flat landscape. A bright blue sky enclosed us on all sides and a smattering of white clouds hung low. After a few minutes, we stopped by acircle of stacked stones. I climbed out of the car, waiting to meet Jane McMahon, part of a team of archaeologists from the University of Western Australia that has been working in AlUla since 2018. All around me was an arid plain of grey-black rocks lightly dusted in pink-hued sand. There was something otherworldly about it all: the lack of a single tree or a blade of grass; the stillness of the air that was only occasionally interrupted by a bitter gust of wind that chilled you to the bone.

I'd come here because recent discoveries in AlUla are shining a light on a fascinating period of history in Saudi Arabia. Since the nation only opened for international research a few years ago (and to tourists in 2019), many of its ancient sites are being studied for the first time. While historians are familiar with the ruins of the 2,000-year-old cities Hegra and Dadan and their place on the Incense Route (Hegra's tombs and monuments are a Unesco World Heritage Site), they didn't have much knowledge about the civilisation that came before, until now.

What has been discovered is that spread over AlUla's vast, remote landscape are millennia-old archaeological remains that could change our understanding of prehistory. Work by McMahon and her colleagues is shedding light on some of the earliest stone monuments in world history – predating Stonehenge and the earliest pyramid in Giza.

The Nabataean city of Hegra was Saudi Arabia’s first Unesco World Heritage Site (Credit: Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Getty Images)

When McMahon arrived, she explained that the circle of rocks next to me was the remains of a house occupied in the Neolithic period (from 6000 to 4500 BCE), and that this area was once scattered with thriving settlements. Until recently, the prevailing wisdom was that this region had little human activity until the Bronze Age after 4000 BCE. But McMahon and her colleagues' work has unearthed a very different story: that Neolithic Saudi Arabia was a dynamic, intensely populated, complex landscape spread over a vast area.

Around me were more than 30 dwellings and tombs, and that was just a tiny fraction of the remains here. I tried to imagine the landscape as it may have been thousands of years ago: green, lush and teeming with people as they moved noisily round, herding goats and calling out to each other.

"The climate and inert landscape of Saudi Arabia means most of the archaeology is pretty well preserved on the surface from 5,000 to 8,000 years ago. So exactly as you see it is how it was all that time ago," McMahon said, explaining that understanding more about the lives of these early peoples could also shed light on how the large, dense settlements of Hegra and Dedan developed, and how cultural and technological changes in the region, such as irrigation farming, metalworking and written texts, came about over the following millennia.

"The cultural changes that took place following the Neolithic are huge, but we don't know a lot of how those changes happened," she said.

However, even in the hands of such experienced archaeologists, one AlUla discovery has continued to elude explanation. Spread over an area of a staggering 300,000 sq km and built to a fairly consistent type, are 1,600 monumental rectangular stone structures that also date to the Neolithic period. Initially named "gates" due to their appearance from the air, the structures were later renamed "mustatil", which translates to "rectangle" in Arabic.

Archaeologist Jane McMahon has been working in AlUla since 2018 (Credit: Demi Perera)

"It makes the mind race that we have structures as big as five to six football fields, made of thousands of tonnes of stone, that not only cover such as massive geographic region but that also are 7,000 years old," said Dr Hugh Thomas, co-director of Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Projects (AAKSAU). He has been working alongside McMahon for the past two years conducting aerial archaeology surveys and targeted excavations to understand the mustatil's purpose.

In my opinion, mustatil are some of the most unique archaeological structures so far identified in the world

Mustatil are certainly impressive, and the only real way to get a sense of their size is from the air. When I flew over them in a helicopter, I could see the large stones laid out in straight lines across the sand, about the length of four football fields and a width of at least two.

"In my opinion, mustatil are some of the most unique archaeological structures so far identified in the world," Thomas said. "When we look at other structures dating to the Neolithic that are just as impressive in their construction, I am hard-pressed to think of any that cover such a large geographic region."

While Thomas's team has recorded mustatil of varying sizes and complexity, they've also noted consistent characteristics. They're all constructed in a similar manner, by piling rocks to form low walls that are filled with gravel, and they include a head (the top of the structure), a base, and long walls connecting them. Some have entrances and multiple narrow interior courtyards. The stones used for building have been especially chosen to fit together to support the large structures, displaying a deep understanding of local materials.

These prehistoric monuments were first recorded in the 1960s by a local team carrying out ground surveys, but at that point, no one knew what they were. Remote sensing surveys carried out by Professor David Kennedy (also from the University of Western Australia), in 2017 intensified interest, and initial theories suggested they were used as territorial markers for ancestral grazing grounds. Yet, as more and more were found, all dating to the same period, a different understanding emerged.

First recorded in the 1960s, mustatil are monumental rectangular stone structures that date to the Neolithic period (Credit: Royal Commission for AlUla)

Thomas, McMahon and their teams have since unearthed evidence that suggests cultic practice. They've uncovered large numbers of cattle, goat and wild gazelle skulls and horns in small chambers in the heads of the mustatil, but found no indication that these were kept for domestic use. Since no other animal's body parts were found, it led the team to deduce that these were sacrificial. It further suggested that the animals were sacrificed elsewhere. This is important because it is evidence of a highly organised, cultic society, much earlier than was previously thought – predating Islam in the region by 6,000 years.

"Excavation of several mustatil have revealed artefacts suggestive of ritual practices taking place inside the structures," said Thomas. "The people who built them had a shared culture and belief system and this was not a practice that was localised. It spread across a huge swathe of Arabia about the size of Poland."

Thomas added: "Saudi Arabia has had the appearance of being an arid and inhospitable landscape, viewed in isolation from the rest of the world other than a few notable sites, such as Dedan and Hegra. However, archaeological evidence, such as the mustatil, demonstrate that the region had a rich and complex history. To have a structure so widely dispersed across such a massive area suggests a shared belief system, language and culture on a scale that I personally never imagined possible."

The people who built them had a shared culture and belief system and this was not a practice that was localised. It spread across a huge swathe of Arabia about the size of Poland

Munirah Almushawh, co-director of an archaeological project in Khaybar (another area of AlUla), agrees, noting that not only did this society share a single belief system, but they travelled huge distances to share the knowledge that allowed them to build the structures. Some of the mustatils weigh as much as 12,000 tonnes; more than the Eiffel Tower. Their construction would have required knowledge, skill and organisation over long periods of time.

"The mustatil suggests large social networks, innovative architectural skills and vast exploration in prehistoric Arabia," Almushawh said.

McMahon and her team believe that mustatil may be evidence of a highly organised, cultic society (Credit: Royal Commission for AlUla)

Despite these exciting discoveries, knowledge of mustatil is still in its infancy, with just five of the 1,600 excavated so far. What is certain is that AlUla will only continue to reveal its mysteries. As the region reopens for tourism post-pandemic, plans are in place to construct a massive, open-air museum where visitors can self-navigate around various archaeological sites or be taken through by a guide. Travellers will be able to learn about the Neolithic period, see the ancient ruins of homes and mustatil and imagine for themselves how this seemingly highly organised society lived and moved through the landscape.

McMahon and Thomas are as excited for AlUla's future as much as for its past. "The significance of what we've discovered is rewriting the history of the Neolithic in north-west Arabia," said McMahon. "Our work has so far uncovered only what has always existed: the complexity of the Neolithic period in this region, which had previously been considered either uninhabitable or merely unimportant in this time."

Source: BCC

Kuwait's island of Failaka: Archaeologists have been uncovering a complex history extending back 4,000 years

More than 4,000 years of history in only 16 square miles

An aerial view of Kuwait’s Failaka Island shows four different sites representing thousands of years of civilization. (Courtesy Flemming Højlund, Kuwaiti-Danish Mission)

A forgotten sliver of land in the far north of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait’s Failaka Island is home now mostly to camels. Its only town is a sprawling ruin pockmarked with bullet holes and debris from tank rounds, and the landscape beyond seems empty and bleak. Even before Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait prompted its sudden evacuation, Failaka in the past century was little more than a quiet refuge for fishermen and the occasional Kuwaiti seeking relief from the mainland’s fierce heat. But just under the island’s sandy soil, archaeologists are discovering a complex history extending back 4,000 years, from the golden age of the first civilizations to the wars of the modern era.

The secret to Failaka’s rich past is its location, just 60 miles south of the spot where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers empty into the Gulf. From the rise of Ur, the world’s largest metropolis in the late third millennium B.C., until Saddam Hussein’s attack during the First Gulf War, the island has been a strategic prize. For thousands of years, Failaka was a key base from which to cultivate and protect—or prey on—the lucrative trade that passed up and down the Persian Gulf. In addition, there were two protected harbors, potable water, and even some fertile soil. The island’s relative isolation provided a safe place for Christian mystics and farmers amid the rise of Islam in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D., as well as for pirates a millennium later.

Currently, archaeological teams from no less than half a dozen countries, including Poland, France, Denmark, and Italy, are at work on Failaka. Given the political volatility of neighboring nations such as Iraq, Iran, and Syria, the island offers a welcome haven for researchers unable to conduct their work in many other parts of the region. “I started encouraging teams to come in 2004,” says Shehab Shehab, Kuwait’s antiquities director. “And I want to encourage more.”

The oldest settlement on Failaka was long thought to have been founded in about 1800 B.C. by the Dilmunites, a maritime people who likely hailed from what are today’s Bahraini and Saudi Arabian coasts, and who controlled Persian Gulf trade. But on Failaka’s southwest corner, a team from Denmark’s Moesgård Museum has uncovered evidence that Mesopotamians arrived at least a century before the Dilmunites. The finds are centered on a recently unearthed Mesopotamian-style building typical of those found on the nearby Iraqi mainland dating from around 2000 B.C. The structure was later partially covered by a Dilmunite temple.

In the mythology of ancient Sumeria (modern Iraq), Dilmun is described as an Eden-like place of milk and honey. But by 2000 B.C., Dilmunites were leaving their homeland to become seagoing merchants and establish a powerful trading network that eventually stretched from India to Syria. Mesopotamian clay tablets refer to ships from Dilmun bringing wood, copper, and other goods from distant lands. By the nineteenth century B.C., Failaka had become a linchpin in the Dilmunites’ operations. At this point, after the Dilmunites had either ousted the Mesopotamians or merely succeeded them, there are no further signs of a Mesopotamian presence. The Dilmunites constructed a large temple and palace complex almost on top of the houses built by the earlier Mesopotamian residents. A French team that excavated the temple in the 1980s suggested that it was an oddity, possibly related to Syrian temple towers. But recent work by a team from the Moesgård Museum in Denmark points to a building remarkably similar to the Barbar sanctuary in Bahrain, considered the grandest Dilmun structure.

Failaka’s name is derived from the Greek word for outpost. But Alexander the Great, according to later classical authors such as Strabo and Arrian, gave Failaka the name Ikaros, since it resembled the Aegean island of that name in size and shape. French archaeologists working on the island in recent years have found several stone inscriptions dating to the fourth and third centuries b.c. mentioning the name Ikaros, as well as architecture and artifacts that reveal a bustling community with international ties during that period. The island’s accessible fresh water, easily defended coastline, and strategic location also attracted the attention of Alexander’s successors, who vied among themselves for control of regional trade routes. Antiochus I, who ruled the Seleucid Empire in the third century B.C., built a 60-foot-square fort around a well on Failaka. Inside the fortress compound, one small, elegant temple has Ionic columns and a plan that is quintessentially Greek, including an east-facing altar. This was no simple import, however, but a fascinating amalgamation of designs. The column bases, for example, are of the Persian Achaemenid style, similar to those in the capital, Persepolis, burned by Alexander’s troops in the fourth century B.C.

The center of Failaka is a low-lying swampy area that is now the province of mosquitoes and wandering white camels that belong to the Kuwaiti emir. But a millennium ago, this was a three-square-mile pocket of fertile and well-watered plain cultivated by a small community of isolated Christians in a region populated by Muslims. Previous French excavations revealed several villages and two churches, including a possible monastic chapel. A Polish team led by Warsaw-based archaeologist Magdalena Zurek is now busy excavating nearby sites to understand the extent of the settlements that flourished in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., several hundred years after the faith inspired by Muhammad swept through the region. “We know nothing about Christians on Failaka,” says Zurek, who suspects that a third church lies near her current excavation of a modest farmstead.

The story of Failaka after the abandonment of the Christian villages remains shadowy. Currently archaeologists are turning their attention to several sites that sit along the northern shore of the island to probe the medieval and early modern periods. The most interesting is located on a high spot overlooking the gulf, facing Iraq. Nearly 30 years ago, a team from the University of Venice surveyed the site, pinpointing a village, called Al-Quraniya, that dates to at least as early as the seventeenth century A.D., and possibly several centuries earlier. In 2010, an Italian team led by Gian Luca Grassigli of the University of Perugia began intensive fieldwork there. The excavators have since uncovered an array of pottery, porcelain, glass bangles, and bronze objects, including nails and coins, dating to between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries A.D. The mound seems to have two large concentrations of building materials, and the archaeologists hope to make a detailed plan of the settlement in future campaigns. Deeper trenches may reveal evidence of earlier settlement, filling in the long gap between the abandonment of Christian villages and more recent times.

What is clear is that Failaka was still a notable outpost two millennia after Alexander. Just to the southeast of the village is a small square rock fort dating to about the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Some researchers believe that this structure was constructed by Portuguese soldier-merchants who did frequent business in the region. others suspect that Arab pirates built the base to attack the lucrative shipping lanes that led to wealthy Iraqi cities such as Basra or to ports along the Iranian coast to the east. In this era, european, Iranian, and chinese elites had a growing appetite for the gulf pearls that dominated the region’s economy. Pirates were a constant threat until the nineteenth century; British guns and diplomacy put an end to their raids.

Pirate hideout. (Courtesy Kuwaiti-Italian Mission)

The mainland of Kuwait is mostly harsh desert, with only a handful of significant ancient sites. Even the old town of Kuwait City, dating back two centuries, was long ago demolished to make way for skyscrapers. Thus Failaka is of prime importance to the country’s heritage. Recently, much of the island’s history was threatened by a plan to transform the barren land with its rocky coast into a major tourist magnet, complete with marinas, canals, spas, chalets, and enormous high-rise hotels and condominiums. In the wake of the global economic recession, however, the $5 billion project foundered, and was recently shelved. Shehab has moved into the resulting vacuum, lobbying hard to turn all of Failaka into a protected site in order to enable archaeologists to uncover, study, and preserve this small nation’s past.

The government already sets aside more than $10 million annually to cover the costs of foreign projects in Kuwait, and hopes to promote science as well as encourage heritage tourism. “Shehab’s dream is to create in Kuwait a kind of research center for Gulf basin archaeology,” says archaeologist Piotr Bielinski from the University of Warsaw, who is digging at a prehistoric site on the mainland just north of Kuwait City. And excavators on Failaka are making the most of this unique opportunity, exposing evidence of Mesopotamian merchants, religious structures representing three cultures and spanning more than 2,500 years, a pirate’s lair, and the remains of Failaka’s last battle, ample testimony to the island’s millennia-long endurance.

By ANDREW LAWLER

USA: Silver Coins Unearthed, May Be Loot from One of the Greatest Pirate Crimes

Henry Every was one of the most famous pirates to ever live.

A handful of Arabian silver coins found in New England may be the last surviving relics of history's most notorious act of piracy — and perhaps one of the most famous pirates who ever lived.

Evidence suggests the distinctive coins were spent as common silver in the American colonies in the late 1690s by the fugitive pirate crew of Henry Every, also known as John Avery, who had fled there after plundering the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-sawai as it was returning pilgrims from the Muslim Hajj.

Researchers aren't certain that the coins are from the Ganj-i-sawai, but their origin, their dates and their discovery in such a distant region suggest they were seized by the pirates and spent in the Americas. 

The coins may have been handled by Every himself, who disappeared a few years later but who came to be portrayed as an almost heroic figure from what some have called the "Golden Age of Piracy."

The 1693 Yemeni silver coin found in 2014 in Rhode Island. Similar similar coins have since been unearthed at American colonial sites. (Image credit: Jim Bailey)

Their discovery has also cast new light on Every's whereabouts shortly before he vanished with his loot. "We can prove beyond a doubt that he actually was in the mainland American colonies," Rhode Island metal detectorist Jim Bailey told Live Science. 

Bailey found one of the first of the Arabian silver coins, called a comassee, in 2014 at the site of a colonial settlement on Aquidneck Island, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Providence. 

More than a dozen similar coins thought to be from the pirate raid on the Ganj-i-sawai have now been discovered by metal detectorists and archaeologists elsewhere in Rhode Island, and in Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina — maybe the last evidence of one of the greatest crimes in history. 

Pirate attack

In 1695, Every and his cutthroat crew on board their ship Fancy joined a pirate raid on a convoy in the Red Sea that was returning to India from Mecca.

Every's ship chased and caught the convoy's flagship, the Ganj-i-sawai, which belonged to the Grand Mughal Aurangzeb, the Muslim emperor of what is now India and Pakistan. Reports say the pirates tortured and killed its crew and 600 passengers, before making off with gold and silver, including thousands of coins, said to be worth between 200,000 and 600,000 British pounds — the equivalent of between $40 million and $130 million in today's money.

Captain Henry Every and his crew take one of the Great Mogul's ships in this illustration. (Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

After an outcry led by the British East India Company, whose profits on the riches of India were threatened by the raid, Britain's King William III ordered what is regarded as the first international manhunt to capture Every and the other pirates.

By this time, however, Every and his crew had escaped to the New World. They lived for several months in the Bahamas, possibly with the collusion of the British governor of the islands; but they fled in late 1696 as the Royal Navy closed in. 

Some of Every's crew went to live in the mainland colonies, where they were eventually tried and acquitted, possibly as a result of bribery; but there were no further sightings of Every. Later reports suggested he had sailed to Ireland while still on the run and that he died there, impoverished, a few years later. Since his loot from the Ganj-i-sawai was never accounted for, rumors long persisted that the treasure had been buried somewhere in secret.

Arabian silver

Bailey is an amateur archaeologist who worked on the recovery of the wreck of the Whydah, a pirate ship discovered off Cape Cod in 1984.

In 2014, his metal detector picked up the first of the mysterious coins in a meadow on Aquidneck Island that was once the site of a colonial township.

"You never field-clean a coin, because you could damage it," he said. "I had to run to my car and get a big bottle of water… the mud came off, and I saw this Arabic script on the coin and I was amazed, because I knew exactly where it'd come from," he said. "I was aware that the American colonies had been bases of operation for piracy in the late 17th century."

Arabian coin (American Numismatic Society)

Studies of the Arabic writing on the coin showed it had been minted in Yemen in southern Arabia in 1693, just a few years before the pirate attack on the Ganj-i-sawai. Another 13 have been found, mostly by metal detectorists, but the latest in 2018 by archaeologists in Connecticut; two Ottoman Turkish silver coins thought to be from the same hoard have also been unearthed in the region. 

Bailey has carefully studied each of the discoveries, while researching historical sources about the pirates who might have brought the coins to the Americas; and in 2017, some of his work was published in the Colonial Newsletter, a research journal published by the American Numismatic Society. 

Several of the coins show the year they were minted, while some are marked with the names of rulers at the time, which can be used to date them. "None of the coins date after 1695, when the Ganj-i-sawai was captured," Bailey said.

Pirate treasure

Every is thought to have sailed directly to Ireland after his time in the Bahamas, but Bailey's research suggests Every first spent several weeks on the American mainland, trading in African slaves he had bought with the loot from the Ganj-i-sawai. 

Historical records relate that a ship Every had acquired in the Bahamas, Sea Flower, sold dozens of slaves on the mainland, and Bailey's research suggests that Every was on board, he said.

Bailey thinks Every probably died in Ireland eventually, as described by some chroniclers. But others portrayed him as a swashbuckling "king" who ruled for years over a fictional pirate utopia in Madagascar.

here's no way to know if Every handled the New England coins himself, but Bailey thinks they were almost certainly part of the hoard looted from the Mughal ship (Some coin specialists, however, are not convinced by his theory.) 

Bailey unearthed other metallic objects from the same period, including these bit-bosses from a horse's bridle, a buckle for a spur and part of a spur itself. (Image credit: Jim Bailey)

While most of the loot was probably melted down to hide the origins, "what we're finding basically are the coins that were being used by the pirates when they were on the run: coins for lodgings, coins for meals, coins for drinking," he said. 

Astonishingly, the coins may also have been referred to in the manhunt proclamation by King William, which stated that Every and the other fugitives had looted many "Indian and Persian" gold and silver coins from the captured ship. 

"How often do you find a coin that's mentioned in the proclamation for the capture of a pirate and the subject of the first worldwide manhunt?" Bailey said. "It's just fantastic."

Originally published on Live Science.

Zayed National Museum: The New Futuristic Museum opening in Abu Dhabi in 2022

The Zayed National Museum is set to open in 2022 after ten years of delay, due to the catastrophic and costly war in Yemen, with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi now confirming that construction is underway in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District on Saadiyat Island.

Zayed National Museum will be the premier museum in the United Arab Emirates. It will tell the story of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), and provide a comprehensive overview of the natural and human history of the UAE. Zayed National Museum celebrates the life and achievements of the founding father of the nation, encourages greater understanding of the history, culture and geography of the UAE; and examines its place in, and connections with, the Middle East and the wider world.

The Saadiyat Island Cultural District has been allocated as the site of location for the Zayed National Museum’s construction and it is designed to showcase the history, rich culture and socioeconomic transformation of the Emirates world. This museum aims to blur the boundaries and serve as an important site of learning and cultural exchange for the visitors and residents of the UAE. A definite must visit if you’re looking for a sneak peek about the founding fathers of the UAE.

With permanent galleries displaying the best of national collections alongside loans from world-famous museums, Zayed National Museum is the place to be for a crystal clear understanding of the emirates history. Expect a unique experience that thoroughly engages the mind, probing it for questions and encouraging discourse, while building on the essence of the Founding Father’s personality and vision.

The highlight here is undoubtedly the core gallery of the museum - ‘Sheikh Zayed: Life and Times’ which follows the Sheikh’s journey in the unification of the UAE. Catch glimpses of photographs, national treasures, key documents, and personal effects belonging to the late ruler.

Zayed National Museum’s Architecture & Design

In November 2010, the designs for the Zayed National Museum were officially unveiled by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Designed by the landscape architect Atelier Dreiseitl and Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Foster + Partners, the museum is said to have five solar thermal towers acting as chimneys. The falcon wings shaped towers are designed in a way to honor the Sheikh's love for falconry and therefore appears as the feather of a falcon. A special indoor area is dedicated to a live display of hunting birds, one of the many hobbies of the Sheikh. Each steel feather rises up to an altitude of 125 meters, comprising of a gallery showcasing the history and culture of the United Arab Emirates.

The Zayed National Museum’s architectural feat aims to blend a highly efficient, contemporary form with traditional Arabic designs and bring forth a museum that is welcoming, sustainable and culturally rich. To commemorate Sheikh Zayed’s legacy and his love for nature, the museum is set within a landscaped garden, with a timeline on defining moments of his life.

The building’s ground floor will boast 2 galleries showcasing the life of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, while the first floor will feature 4 pod-shaped galleries detailing the history of the country.

First stage of Zayed National Museum construction on Saadiyat Island.

Zayed National Museum Galleries & Collections

Zayed National Museum's collection is touted to include the oldest pearl in the world, which was found on Marawah Island last year, as well as a necklace given by Sheikh Zayed to Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum during her visit to Abu Dhabi in 1971.

The museum consists of seven permanent galleries located at the base of each tower as well as an exclusive exhibition program where you can look into the history, heritage, and culture of the UAE. Each gallery is inspired by the ideals of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan like his belief in education, heritage, conservation and culture, all derived from his humanitarianism and deep faith in the ideals of his country and men. Here's what you can expect from each of the 7 permanent galleries at Zayed National Museum.

Sheikh Zayed: Life and Times

This gallery is the main focal point of the museum and follows Sheikh Zayed's journey in the unification of the UAE. Visitors will be introduced to an original narrative through photographs, national treasures, key documents, and personal effects belonging to the late ruler.

Falconry and Conservation Gallery

This gallery celebrates Sheikh Zayed’s passion for falconry alongside the natural world and its conservation.

Land and Water Gallery

This gallery explores the natural resources of the UAE, its cultivation, and trade.

People and Heritage Gallery

One of the most awaited galleries, this space showcases the traditional values of the UAE, which reflect its political and cultural life today. These values emphasize the importance of human relationships, warm hospitality, and living in harmony with nature.

History and Society Gallery

This gallery uses archeological evidence and historical records to charter the course of human settlement in the area, from the Stone Age to the creation of the modern state by Sheikh Zayed.

Science and Learning Gallery

This collection focuses on Sheikh Zayed’s passion for education which transformed a traditional society into a modern one where literacy and numeracy are available to all. This space also explores various Arabic disciplines of language, literature, navigation, and medicine, and the influence they have had on the world.

Visitors will be introduced to an original narrative through photographs, national treasures, key documents, and personal effects belonging to the late ruler.

Faith and Islam Gallery

This gallery sheds light on the role of faith in Sheikh Zayed’s life, which ultimately drove his humanitarianism and vision for the future of the nation.

The museum also flaunts a collection of different spaces for performances. You’ll find a colossal auditorium lined with a variety of Emirati textiles, providing an evocative space for films and presentations. Make sure you don’t miss a show here if it coincides with your visit!

The lobby area covers more informal spaces for a variety of cafes, shops, and venues for music, dance and poetry readings. Round up in a circle and enjoy the atmosphere and extravaganza of traditional performances. You’ll feel like an Arab in the yesteryears.

The restaurant’s interior design draws the opulence and warmth of the Bedouin tent, with tastefully designed furnishings. The VIP spaces open onto a beautiful central courtyard, offering you a breathtaking view of the wind towers and museum in the foreground.

The Sheikh Zayed Library

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was a man of wide learning and great wisdom, and to commemorate his love for books and learning, the Zayed National Museum will house a state of the art library within the museum. This particular educational attraction will offer a platform for visitors to deep-dive into historical resources.

Zayed National Museum Location

The Zayed National Museum which is being constructed on Saadiyat Island Cultural District is located 500 meters off the Abu Dhabi coastline and is the single largest multipurpose development in the Gulf. Seven districts have been arranged in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District which will also include the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a Performing Arts Center and Maritime Museum as well as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum. This development for the UAE is significant because this is the only place in the Middle East where the history of the entire region can be examined and it is very important that it is applicable for a proper understanding of the region’s history be made accessible for the public.

For more information on Zayed National Museum, visit www.zayednationalmuseum.ae