page_title: Archaeology of Qatar
section_title: Rock art
hierarchical_section_title: Archaeology of Qatar / Rock art
caption_attribution_description: We were taken by friends to visit Jebel Jassassiyeh in the north of Qatar; the site is very difficult to find without a guide. This rocky ridge is well known for its extensive and ancient rock carvings. Apparently the meaning of the carvings is unknown. We saw a large number of carvings with this type of shape - perhaps an eye? A boat? Or an insect?
context_page_description: Archaeology of Qatar as a field study began in 1956. Three major expeditions were carried out in Qatar throughout the mid-20th century, with the first being launched by a Danish team who began work in the 1950s. This was followed by British and French expeditions in 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Approximately 200 archaeological sites were discovered during these expeditions, with the most extensive being the coastal areas of Al Da'asa, Ras Abrouq and Al Khor Island. Artifacts such as flint tools, Ubaid and Barbar pottery and encampments were found in situ.
  Apart from the discovery of ancient artifacts, many prehistoric rock art sites containing over 900 varieties of petroglyphs were uncovered during the 1950s and 1960s. Most carvings are cup and ring marks. These are accompanied by less numerous depictions of animals, boats and symbols. The Qatar National Museum was established in Doha in 1975. Qatar passed an antiquities law in 1980 to protect its archaeological sites. In the late 2000s, the Qatar Museums Authority began organizing joint archaeological projects with numerous European universities and institutions.
context_section_description: Ancient rock carvings have been discovered in eight separate locations: Jebel Jassassiyeh, Jebel Fuwayrit, Freiha, Al Ghariyah, Al Jumail, Simaisma, Al Wakrah and Al Qassar. Most of these sites were discovered by Danish archaeological teams in the 1950s and 1960s. The rock carvings are classified in a number of categories, including human and animal representation, boat representation, cup-marks, large cavities, geometric designs, tribal marks, and hand and footprints.
caption: Rock carvings in Jebel Jassassiyeh depicting an object.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SX100 IS", "Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2008:12:16 13:15:02", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "214", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3598", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8399", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1250", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:12:16 13:15:02", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:12:16 13:15:02", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "329/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "6", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2448", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3264", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "2448", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3264", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3450", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "43520/3", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2448000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Night", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "c8ad6e55c384c98356865dbe7822e422"}