From: pnmideast@igc.apc.org
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic
Date: 31 Aug 92 22:11 PDT
Subject: UAE: BURIAL SITES UNEARTH ANCIENT G
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1471800186:000:3887
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!pnmideast    Aug 31 22:11:00 1992


From: <pnmideast>
Subject: UAE: BURIAL SITES UNEARTH ANCIENT G

/* Written 12:03 am  Aug 27, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "UAE: BURIAL SITES UNEARTH ANCIENT G" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Opecna Morning Transmission
Title: UAE: BURIAL SITES UNEARTH ANCIENT GULF CIVILISATION /REPEAT/


abu dhabi, aug 24 (ips/christine hauser) -- ancient graves recently
unearthed in the united arab emirates (uae) show an advanced
civilisation existed here thousands of years ago, but many
inconsistencies in the burial sites are confusing experts.

more than 50 cemeteries with thousands of graves have been
discovered beneath the sands of this oil-rich desert sheikhdom
located in the eastern flank of the arab peninsula. most of the
burial sites date back to between 1,000 and 6,000 years ago.

some of the objects found in the graves are already providing
clues about the past. in the al-qasis site in dubai, for instance,
some of the buried items have writings on them, proof a literate
society once lived within the area.

obaid al-shamsi, dubai municipality archaeology director, said
many other objects also indicate that a prosperous civilisation
existed there in 1,600 b.c.. this contradicted a prevailing belief
that those times were the dark agr d
aqoe said.

''our archaeologists haveugyfviikjlthese objects were made with
great skill as they have accurate and beautiful engineering
shapes,'' al-shamsi added. ''they establish that the people who
lived here were advanced in industries.''

but the graves are baffling archaeologists because of their
variety in shapes -- round, square and rectangular -- and the
inconsistency in the manner of burials.

some of the sites are individual graves while others are mass
graves that have more than ten corpses. a few of the graves also
appear above the ground while others are buried beneath the sand.

jars, coins and other personal belongings accompany some of the
dead, but other graves have the objects buried in a separate plot
beside the corpses.

''we should not keep on guessing and wondering,'' sharjah museum
director naser al-aboudi told a local magazine here recently.
''there must be a specialised symposium and studies to unravel the
mystery of these cemeteries.''

archaeologists say a study of the sites will lead to a better
understanding of civilisations ranging from the stone and bronze
ages to hellenistic and contemporary eras.

but while teams from france, britain, germany and denmark have
visited the sites, they could not agree on any explanation regarding
the burial sites5,20-)0:6 2. '-)3;, director of the ajman museabnrzam.943/i
ps)


(story received incomplete)
n054



o p e c n a   n e w s   s e r v i c e
monday, 24 august 1992
(morning transmission)



basket

opec basket price rises to 19.16 dollars

vienna, 24 aug. 92 (opecna)--the price of opec's basket of
seven crudes rose to 19.16 dollars a barrel last week, compared
with 19.07 dollars in the second week of august.
according to figures released by the opec secretariat here
today, the price of the basket so far this year (up to 21
august) has averaged 18.18 dollars.
for the month of july, the basket price stood at an average
of 19.80 dollars, as opposed to 20.18 dollars in june and 18.70
dollars in may.
for the second quarter of this year, the basket price
averaged 18.77 dollars, as against 16.74 dollars in the first
three months of the year.
for 1991 as a whole, the price of the basket averaged 18.66
dollars, compared with 22.26 dollars the previous year.
the opec basket comprises algeria's saharan blend,
indonesia's minas, nigeria's bonny light, saudi arabia's arabian
light, dubai of the united arab emirates, venezuela's tia juana
and mexico's isthmus crude.
==end