Marawah Island

Marawah<ref name="ADIAC">Marawah, Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey</ref><ref name="OBG2015">Template:Cite book</ref> (Template:Langx) is a low-lying island off the coast of the Al Dhafra region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Geography

Marawah is Template:Convert north of the Khor al-Bazm (lagoon) along the Abu Dhabi coastline in the southern Gulf. It lies Template:Convert west of the city and capital, Abu Dhabi. It is about Template:Convert from east to west and about Template:Convert from north to south. There are three islands in proximity to Marawah: the small island of Al Fiyah to the west, the island of Junaina to the southeast, and the island of Abu al Abyad in the east.Template:Cn

Geology

Current research indicates that the island was formed from relict Pleistocene limestone platforms linked by Holocene sand and beach deposits and intervening patches of sabkha.

Environment

Marawah island is in the Marawah Biosphere Reserve, as recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and is one of the six marine protected areas in the Zayed Network of Protected Areas, a network managed by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The coastline of the island, with its extensive tidal mudflats, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports both passage and wintering populations of many waders, including grey plovers, Siberian sand plovers, bar-tailed godwits, great knots and crab-plovers.<ref name=bli>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

The west first became aware of the island around 1829 when the East India Company recorded its location in a nautical survey of the Persian Gulf.Template:Cn

Archaeology

Although privately owned, the island is a key center of archaeology. Recent excavations yielded a small natural pearl that was carbon dated to 5800/5600 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1992, the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS) completed a preliminary survey of the island. Archeologists identified 13 sites dating from the Neolithic to the Islamic Period (12-13 AD).Template:Clarification needed

In 2004, ADIAS discovered the oldest human skeleton ever found in the region amid the remains of Neolithic buildings and over 200 flint tools. DNA was extracted from teeth that were recovered from the site, and it was determined that the remains were about 7,500 years old.Template:Cn

References

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External links

• UAE History, 20,000 - 2,000 years ago
• UAE Interact, Map Room