Archaeological body identifies 15 Yemeni sites for expedition

Archaeological body identifies 15 Yemeni sites for expedition
Web posted at: 3/31/2008 1:24:23
Source ::: THE PENINSULA
Doha • Close to 15 historical sites have been proposed for study as part of the largest ever archaeological expedition in Yemen.

A workshop discussing the proposals and development of Qatar International Archaeological Yemen Project (QIAPY) under the Qatar Archeological Mission in Yemen (QAMY) was opened at Al Sharq Village and Spa yesterday.

Sheikh Hassan bin Muhammed bin Ali AlThani, Vice Chairman, Qatar Museum Authority (QMA) said that Qatar has overcome security obstacles to induce better expedition conditions and called upon experts in the field to form a scientific co-ordination committee to work under the QIAPY umbrella. Major ancient state capitals like modern Ma'in, Ma'rib, Hjar Kuhlan and Hajar Abu Zayd and religious capitals like Baraqish will be excavated. Some of these places like the kingdom of Saba' are strongly related to Islamic and Arab history and mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. Some of these places have a history dating back to the 10th century BC.

QAMY is a part of QMA's plan to establish international excavation stations under its management and financing. The project was launched last year to investigate major archaeological sites in order to promote archaeological science and tourism in Yemen under the guidance of the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Though archaeological studies have been going on in Yemen for the last 50 years, adverse security, financial and climatic conditions prevented their full completion. These sites have been exposed to looting, vandalism and destruction. Due to this, some antiques have become mere objects of roadside sale. Many archeological sites have been acquired as private property with houses and farms developing on them.

For the protection of such sites and valuable antiques, QAMY aims to provide the infrastructure and security. Various teams and organisations dealing with archaeological studies in Yemen have been brought together to achieve these goals. New standard methods will be applied for the research.

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