A Qatar 365 feltárja Katar múltját a homok alatti elfeledett világoktól a tengerben rejlő kincsesbányákig. Laila Humairah ellátogat az Ain Mohamed régészeti lelőhelyre, hogy megvizsgálja a korai iszlám korszak nyomait. Johanna Hoes Al Zubarahba utazik, hogy feltárja Katar víz alatti örökségét.
00:00Connecting with archaeology provides you a sense of identity and connects Qatar to the rest of the world.
00:07By making this event we promote and encourage not only the states but also the public and you know all the communities around Zubara to protect their marine and cultural heritage, underwater cultural heritage.
00:21Hello and welcome to Qatar 365 with me Laila Humaira. On this episode we take a look at how the country is preserving both archaeological sites and its intangible cultural heritage.
00:36Let's first start here at the northern tip of Qatar in a village called Ain Mohamed.
00:42As I found out, it's one of a few dozen historical sites where researchers are conducting excavations to dig into the history of the early Islamic period.
00:53In the study of human history, nothing comes quite close to the thrill of discovering an ancient site.
01:00Dr. Robert Qatar is leading the research at Ain Mohamed excavation site.
01:05What he and his team have found tells a fascinating story about the area in Qatar's history.
01:11Well, there were definitely people living here, so they were not only undertaking production activities, they were also living around the factory as well,
01:19because we have their food remains in little hearths, you know, cooking places.
01:24In fact, we have evidence from the site that they were growing crops.
01:27So we have a settled population and they're farming and they're making textiles. And they're in Qatar.
01:33In the last 15 years, Ain Mohamed has been one of more than 30 sites identified by Qatar Museum's archaeologists,
01:40giving a glimpse of how life was like in the 19th century.
01:44But more recent findings have indicated that these sites existed way before then, between the 7th and the 9th century,
01:51which was also the time period that witnessed the birth of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
01:57Qatar Museums launched the Landscapes of Faith project to trace the intersection of when Christianity and Islam first overlapped.
02:05So far, we haven't found any good evidence either way for whether the people at the sites that were excavating a Christian or Muslim.
02:12But what we have found is some very interesting facts about the activities they were performing, the lives that they were leading, and the connections they had with the outside world.
02:22After two excavation seasons, Dr. Carter and his team have collected a few pieces that make up the human history puzzle.
02:31We have a complete grinding stone, two halves of a rotary quern, we call it, still together in position, which is very unusual.
02:40We have several finds relating to textile production. We have spindle whorls, which are weights, and we have spindles, brass rods, which are used to spin.
02:49So we believe they were producing wool on this site.
02:52Here we've got a very nicely made basin with a nice lip, gypsum plaster, and a drainage hole going through into a pit on the other side.
03:00And the pits where these basins empty out tend to be filled with this ashy sediment, which is one of the reasons we believe that they were washing something, probably a fleece, in ashy water to clean it.
03:13Among the finds was also this, the skeletal remains of a small dog in one of the rooms.
03:19While it's yet to be dated, it could indicate domestication of pets or perhaps the owning of sheepdogs.
03:26Every year, the museum holds an open day. It's a chance for the public to experience, explore, and learn about the excavation site.
03:35We have a group of people that can excavate with us. They can sieve the finds and the spoil that we find.
03:42They can wash pottery. They can take some photography. So it's a very hands-on day.
03:49Connecting with archaeology provides you a sense of identity and connects Qatar to the rest of the world.
03:55Angie Altam grew up watching Indiana Jones movies, so signing up to such an opportunity was a no-brainer.
04:02It was my first time here, and yeah, I found it fascinating just digging, finding, and all these.
04:09And there is a very ancient and vibrant history in Qatar.
04:13Beginner's luck was on her side as Angie found a piece of broken pottery that looks like what the archaeologists are looking for.
04:21The team thinks they've only scratched the surface at Ain Muhammad and are hopeful that future digs will bring them more artefacts to help solve the mystery of Qatar's earliest dwellers.
04:33Preserving ancient sites is one important aspect of making sure past civilisations don't get lost through the ages.
04:46But so is spreading the knowledge to future generations.
04:50I'm here at Masheret Museums in the heart of Doha to meet General Manager Abdullah Al-Nama, who gives us an insight to the museum's role in keeping Qatar's heritage alive.
05:05Mr. Abdullah, thank you so much for having us here today. I wanted to start first with where we are.
05:11This is the Muhammad bin Jasim house. What is the historical and cultural significance of this building?
05:18Muhammad bin Jasim is one of our four museums here at Masherib Museums.
05:23Muhammad bin Jasim is very significant to the downtown Masherib. It covers the history of Masherib as an area.
05:29Plus, it explains the seven steps that the new architecture language that the city was built upon, how it was established.
05:38And it's also a testimonial of the education that here in downtown Masherib properties were trying to spread the knowledge of building a smart and sustainable city to the younger generation.
05:50And there are a few other historical houses that make up Masherib Museums. Can you tell us more about those buildings?
05:57We have, as well, Beit bin Jolmut, which is the first and only museum in the world that talks about the story of slavery in the Indian Ocean world.
06:06And also, we have the Company House, which is a museum that focuses on the Qatari pioneers who were working in the oil industry.
06:13The fourth museum is Ravwani House. Ravwani House is a prototype of the old Qatari houses, pre-oil and post-oil.
06:21The four museums, the four stories, actually, it's a social and economical study of the history of Qatari the past 120 years.
06:30So what are the ongoing outreach programs that you have at the museum right now?
06:36When Masherib Museums, maybe it's not your traditional kind of museum.
06:41You focus a lot on the narrative. It's a narrative storytelling museum, more than artifact-based museum.
06:47For example, we have a bimonthly, very active program, which is the Science Cafe in collaboration with CEDRA, for example.
06:56We have a research program with Hamad bin Khalifa University. So we try to diverse our offering because lots of initiatives happening here in Qatari.
07:06And finally, how do you see Masherib Museums continuing to stay relevant as the world modernizes?
07:12I think it's very important, especially through programming, to be relevant within the community.
07:19As long as the programs and the initiatives that we keep organizing are part of what interests people,
07:27I think this will make museums relevant to the evolving and changing communities.
07:33At the end of the day, our role is not only to showcase history, but also to be part of history.
07:46From forgotten worlds under Qatar sands to treasure troughs in its coastal waters,
07:51Joanna Hoos gets her hands and feet wet at the Al-Zubara archaeological site
07:55to explore Qatari history submerged in the Arabian Gulf.
08:01At first glance, this beach on Qatar's north-western coast might not seem all that remarkable.
08:06But dig a little deeper, literally and figuratively, and hidden under the glistening waters,
08:11you will find traces of a bygone era, remnants of the ancient coastal town of Al-Zubara,
08:16a settlement that was once at the heart of Qatar's pearl trade.
08:20Today's dive in Al-Zubara's past is organized by Qatar museums and UNESCO in collaboration with Seashore and the Poseidon Dive Center.
08:33The open day offers curious minds from Qatar's diving community a rare chance to get hands-on and learn how to uncover, document, and preserve the country's underwater cultural heritage.
08:58Today's day we are in a special day about mining in Al-Zubara,
09:03but with research on the importance of the sea and the nature of the sea in the past.
09:09One of the main areas that we have seen in the coastal areas of the sea is,
09:14The materials, the
09:19materials, the materials, the materials, the materials, etc.
09:22The materials used to work in this project.
09:26The materials used to be trained in the research
09:31and today they are using the tools to teach them
09:35what they were doing in the work.
09:37By making this event and this is actually one of our
09:43outstanding collaboration with Qatar, with Qatar Museums. We promote and encourage not only the
09:50states but also the public and you know all the communities around Zubara to protect their marine
09:57and cultural heritage, underwater cultural heritage. Zubara was first identified as an
10:02archaeological landmark in the 1950s and received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2013. It's Qatar's
10:10largest heritage site but only a small part of the town has been excavated, leaving plenty to dust off
10:15or dredge on land and here at sea.
10:40So this site was inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013 and since its inscription, it's no
10:53longer become a Qatari site. It's become a site important for humanity. It has an outstanding
11:00universal value. So it's no longer Qatari, it's become for the whole world. It's important for the whole
11:07world. Wafa has dedicated her career to conserving underwater cultural heritage but she says digging
11:14up the past isn't just about preserving history. It's about understanding human behaviour and the
11:19valuable lessons the past can teach us for the future.
11:28Uncovering secrets of the past and preserving treasures from ancient civilisations are the
11:34strongest reminders that as Qatar modernises, its commitment to staying true to its roots is as
11:40unwavering as the artefacts that have survived hundreds of years. We hope you've enjoyed this
11:45episode but that's all the time we have for now. For more, check out Euronews.com and connect with us
11:51through our hashtag. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time on Qatar365.
