Julfar |
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TELL OF KUSH – FIRST JULFAR
LOCATION: Shimal district. Drive north along Oman Rd towards Rams. You will pass the crossroad with Al Mamourah St and after 1.5km you will arrive at the last traffic lights on that road. After 2.7km from the traffic lights, you should see the Emirates Market, and then a sign saying: Shamal Folk Art & Theatre Society and People Heritage Revival Association. There is also a small blue sign with Shamal written on it. Here you have to turn right. Shortly after you will have a walled complex on your right; the Shamal Folk Arts & Theatre Society is situated inside. Once you reach the end of the building’s wall turn right onto a dirt path (a 4WD is not needed). Continue to drive along the east side of the wall and when you come to its corner tower, drive further between two small fenced football fields and then turn left. Shortly after, you should see a fenced mound in the distance on the left. Drive in the direction of the mound (300m) as this is the Tell of Kush. GPS: N25o49’ 27.77” E56o00’ 27.42” PERIOD: 300-1400AD
A mound or a group of mounds in the Shimal area, locally known as Kush, attracted the attention of archaeologists and excavations started in the mid 1990s. Often, a mound like this (in Arabic language described as tell), is built up through the accumulation of remnants of long human habitation on one site. The building materials used in this area, such as palm tree branches or mud bricks naturally eroded more rapidly than other building materials, such as stone or coral, and therefore needed to be replaced periodically. The new houses were usually built on the ruins of previous dwellings, thus in the long term this process created sedimentation of the site. The Tell of Kush is no different as proven by the remains of houses from previous centuries that were revealed hidden under the mound.
The remnants of structures showed that the site was already occupied in the 3rd century AD and continued to be extensively inhabited up to the 14th century. The settlement was under the influence of several empires of that time, namely the Sassanid Empire and Abbasid Caliphate, and survived the transition period between the pre-Islamic and Islamic times. After further investigations it is almost certain that the Tell of Kush was the first town of Julfar, the predecessor of Ras Al Khaimah.
The finds at the Tell are remarkable. When digging up earliest levels of the Tell, archaeologists found the remains of a 2.5-3m long wall and a tower from the Sassanian Period (300-700AD). Traces of mud and arish houses from different periods indicate that the settlement was fairly large and well developed. The remains of building construction are clearly visible at the site and wonderfully present to visitors how the ruins of the dwellings and other structures are hidden underneath these mounds.
Archaeologists have found typical Sassanian and Abbasid pottery, objects from Iraq, India and China. It reflected the wide range of mercantile activities at that time and suggested how wealthy this community must have been. At that time, the seashore was closer to the Tell, creating favourable conditions for a settlement to grow.
Apart from numerous pots, household items, beads and coins, the major find was a carbonised coffee bean located in one of several rubbish bins. This discovery is remarkable as the bean was dated as being 12 centuries old, which made it the oldest coffee bean ever located in the region. Until then, the assumption was that coffee had been present in the UAE only from the 14th century onwards. Not only does this find indicate that people knew coffee 200 years earlier than expected, but it also shows an early trade relationship with Yemen.
In the 12th century, sand bars that were created by the siltation were affecting navigation in the area of earlier Julfar. By the 14th century, the harbour became not navigable and it was necessary to move to the new location. The people of Julfar kept the name of the settlement although they had moved further north.
LATER JULFAR
LOCATION: Al Mataf district. Drive north along Al Muntasir Rd in the direction of Rams. Once you reach the roundabout (the only roundabout on that street) go straight. After 1 km, you will come to a semi-roundabout, continue to drive straight. After travelling for about 1.2km, take a U-turn (second one from the semi-roundabout) and go back 300m. Turn right, just before the Adnoc Al Sherisha Petrol Station. Drive to the end of the road and once you reach a T-junction turn right. You should see a large area fenced, this is Julfar. There is also a small simple white building on your right near the seafront. Drive along the dirt track to this small compound where the guard lives and where you can enter the area of Julfar. GPS: Grand mosque of Julfar - N25o49’ 56.00” E55o59’ 06.76” PERIOD:14th–17th Century !NOTE: Recently the area has been fenced and is inaccessible to the public at the moment, unless the guard will let you in.
Around the 14th century the inhabitants of the Tell of Kush choose a new site for their settlement. In 1969, new Julfar was discovered in the district now known as Al Mataf. The area was largely covered by groups of raised grounds and suspicion was that it might have contained the remains of old town structures. In 1973 the first group of archaeologists from Iraq started excavations, followed by teams from Germany, France, Japan and Britain. The results of their search were amazing and now it is known that the area of Julfar was a large, thriving settlement with rows of arish and mud brick houses.
Although, most of the area is still covered by soil, also for protection, the remains of an old mosque can be seen by visitors. It was a large construction, rebuilt at least five times over a long period of time, presumably to increase the area of worship for the growing Muslim community. Near the mosque you can also find foundations of a square tower, which probably were part of a building with massive walls, such as a fort. A large water cistern, built from mountain stones was also discovered close by. A pattern of streets was also evident between houses. Al Mataf area was the walled centre of the town, but Julfar’s territory extended further north and south.
The silting of the harbour accounts for the decline of this Late Islamic town. It occurred sometime after the 17th century. The place became once again a village of arish huts.
The RAK Archaeological Department plans to present these discoveries to the public and partially reconstruct the famous town of Julfar. The finds from the area are already displayed in the RAK National Museum and they include stone vessels and tools, khol sticks, glass vessels, beads of various materials, pieces of glazed pottery and also unglazed wares produced mostly locally. Hard porcelain bowls and jars imported from countries as far away as China were also unearthed together with over 250 coins from the Kingdom of Hormuz, which dated from the 14th to 16th century.
WADI SUR FORTIFICATIONS - JULFAR WALL
LOCATION: Shimal district. Drive north along Oman Rd and at the crossroad with Al Mamourah St turn to the right. After around 800m, you should see the Hudaibah Tower on your left side, Saif bin Gobash Hospital on the right. Continue towards the crossing with Sultan Al Kabeer West Rd and here turn left. Shortly after (300m), you arrive at a semi-roundabout and here you have to turn right. Take the first turn left 400m further. Soon, you reach a Y-junction; go right and immediately take a U-turn to enter the left road of the junction. From here, drive 1.6km until the next intersection and then you need to turn right. Shortly, only 100m further, you need to pull in to the left side. The wall runs along the old stone houses situated on the left. GPS: N25o48” 11.55” E056o00’ 41.29” PERIOD: 13th-16th Century
In the 1970s archaeologists noticed a ditch, locally known as Wadi Sur, which runs for 7km from the edge of the mountains in the Shimal area towards the sea. After further investigation it was apparent that this ditch had the remains of some sort of built construction.
The ditch was first constructed between 9th and 12th century and originally, it was a barrier that kept out the floods coming from the nearby mountains. This flood deflector redirected flooding water away from the settlement towards the band of palm groves and gardens. This purpose of Wadi Sur was mentioned by a 12th century Arab geographer Idrisi, when he described Julfar. However, in the following periods a mud brick wall was added to serve as an extensive fortification. It is assumed that the wall was built to protect fertile grounds and palm gardens of Shimal from internal tribal attacks. Shimal, being close to Julfar, needed to be secured as it provided food reserves for the growing town.
The wall was constructed as a straight line that ran from the Sheeba’s Palace in the south-western direction. It was about 2m high, 2.5m thick, with around 50 round towers built 150m apart. The 2.5m ditch in front of the outside wall further increased the height of the construction, making it more than 4m tall.
Nowadays, the remains of this wall can be found in a few places in the Shimal area, but you should not expect to see a clearly visible wall or towers for that matter. The directions given here will take you to a part where the remains of the wall are fairly noticeable. Although, at first, the wall may resemble a small long mound, you can observe a continuous structure, reaching 2m high at some points. The fortification, after losing its importance and function, was used as a back wall of stone houses constructed in the later periods. Along the wall several of these old stone houses can be seen today. Interestingly, they help to visualize the wall and track its line. |
