The Disappearing Petroglyphs of the UAE: An ongoing and avoidable tragedy

The cultural heritage of Syria is being deliberately destroyed by militants and extremists using bulldozers and explosives. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), history is also being destroyed by bulldozers and explosives—but this time in the name of ‘progress’.

The Hajar Mountains of the northern and eastern Emirates are particularly rich in rock art of petroglyphs, most of them only discovered in the last 20 years. So far around 500 petroglyphs have been identified at 70 different sites, most of them in Fujairah and Ras al Khaimah. They most often show animals and people, sometimes hunting scenes or battles, and sometimes geometric designs.

Fujairah mountain view. (CC BY-SA 3.0)