DOHA: Qatar was a centre for international trade in the 18th century, recent analysis of graffiti found by archaeologists on 250-year-old buildings at Al Zubarah archaeological site has revealed.
The majority of the centuries-old etchings are of boats, with European, Indian and locally-made vessels among them.
Working alongside Faisal Al Naimi, head of archaeology at Qatar Museums, and Tom Collie of the University of Copenhagen, specialists at the University of Exeter Dr John Cooper and Professor Dionisius Agius spent a year studying the enigmatic depictions of boats etched on the wall plaster of buildings at the site.
After studying 15 images, the team concluded that they represented boats from across the world, including a probable European war vessel, a locally made fishing vessel and trade dhows traditionally made on the Malabar coast of India.
In a presentation at the British Museum in London, Dr Cooper demonstrated that the etchings were made on dry plaster, within finely plastered buildings at the site. Although some of the images are only rudimentary outlines of hulls, others show enough detail to identify their type. These tend to depict large ocean-going ships which were used for trade in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean region.
The technical detail of the rigging, rudders and other aspects of the etchings show that the graffiti artists must have had intimate knowledge of the vessels, emphasising their close relationship with the sea.
Some of the dhow etchings have already been removed from the site by specialist plaster conservators for consolidation and further treatment in the laboratory, while others have been re-buried to protect them from the elements. A plaster impression of one of the removed etchings can be seen in the temporary exhibition at Al Zubarah.
The Al Zubarah archaeological site became Qatar’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 and is open to the public every day from 9am to 4.30pm. A new exhibition on pearling and seafaring opened in Al Zubarah Fort last May.
THE PENINSULA
