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For hundreds of years, the Rub' al-Khali has stood. desert near Saudi Arabia and Dubai — referred to as the Empty Quarter — was considered an unlivable desert wasteland.
But now, it's revealing an astonishing secret.
In 2002, during a flight over the desert, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who leads Dubai, noticed peculiar sand patterns and a substantial dark patch below him.
This resulted in the uncovering of Saruq Al-Hadid, an archaeological location abundant with traces of copper and iron processing. It is currently thought to be part of a 5,000-year-old civilization hidden under the desert sands.
Scientists have recently discovered remnants of this old civilization about 10 feet below the desert ground, concealed in plain view and largely ignored because of the unforgiving climate and moving sand dunes of the Empty Quarter.
Spanning over 250,000 square miles, the Rub' al-Khali is the planet's biggest uninterrupted sandy area.
This finding infuses new vitality into the tale of an enchanted metropolis said to have been engulfed by the sands as divine retribution.
Furthermore, individuals held the belief about the Empty Quarter desert. Buried deep was a hidden city known as Ubar. .
As per folklore, Ubar ended up buried under the sands following its destruction—either due to a calamity of nature or, according to certain tales, because a deity punished its sinful inhabitants.
T.E. Lawrence, the renowned British officer and author known for his involvement in the Arab Revolt of World War I, referred to Ubar as the 'Atlantis of the Sands.' He portrayed it as a place with 'limitless riches,' which was annihilated by divine wrath due to its pride and has since vanished into the endless dunes of the Rub'al Khali desert.
Today, advanced scientific research might finally be aligning with age-old legends.
Scientists from Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi utilized Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology to see through the desert’s surface, a method that enables researchers to examine what lies below the sand dunes without altering them.
SAR functions by emitting bursts of energy and gauging how much returns.
Here, archaeologists merged SAR data with high-resolution satellite imagery from WorldView-3 to probe underneath the sand dunes at Saruq Al-Hadid.
The radar picked up buried constructions and showed distinct evidence of metalworking activities, relics, and layers of animal remains within what experts refer to as midden deposits.
Through the examination of radar data using sophisticated machine learning techniques, scientists were able to recognize patterns and forms indicative of past human presence. This approach facilitated the discovery of sections from the vanished metropolis.
The results indicate a sophisticated, interlinked community that flourished in the area many millennia past.
Scientists discovered formerly unrecognized villages and pathways, suggesting substantial evidence of prolonged settlement and structured society.
The layers at the location reveal bedrock, sand dunes, and areas rich with gypsum deposits. Throughout these levels, numerous artifacts, remnants of ancient metals, and animal bones have been discovered.
The integration of SAR technology with artificial intelligence is progressively transforming archaeological surveys, particularly in areas where conventional digging methods are almost unfeasible.
According to the research published in the journal, 'The case study of the Saruq Al-Hadid site demonstrates how these technologies can improve archaeological surveys and support efforts for heritage preservation.'
To validate the remote sensing data, researchers compared it with existing archaeological records and conducted field checks.
The results were precise enough to encourage intervention from Dubai Culture, the governmental entity responsible for the site. Excavation work has now been greenlit in the recently pinpointed zones.
"These areas are still mostly uncharted, but we understand that they contain rich cultural heritage," Francis stated.
Although we know very little about the inhabitants from 5,000 years past, this finding is already reshaping our comprehension of ancient societies within the Arabian Peninsula.
The Arabian Desert has been home to humans from as far back as the early Pleistocene era. Artifacts like Neolithic and Paleolithic tools have been discovered in the southwestern part known as Rub' al-Khali. The Bedouin nomadic people developed ways to thrive in this harsh environment through activities such as raising camels, cultivating dates, and sharing stories orally—practices that reflect the enduring spirit of ancient desert communities.
Even though the area is now extremely dry, it went through phases of higher moisture levels from about 6,000 to 5,000 years back, leading to the creation of small lakes because of substantial rain occurrences. These bodies of water fostered various ecological systems such as vegetation, wildlife, plant species, and microorganisms—critical hints for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of existence where survival seemed impossible before.
As each sweep of the radar and layer of sand is uncovered through scientific efforts, the Empty Quarter is showing that it was never actually void.
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