The UAE is participating, with 50 historical artifacts from the area, in the 5th Joint Periodic Exhibition on the Archaeology of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Arab States, which is being held in the Omani capital, Muscat, from October 20th - November 19th.

The exhibition, which opened in Bait Al Zubair Museum in Muscat, celebrates the archaeological history of the GCC region with 300 artifacts representing the journey of civilisation stretching from prehistoric times through the ancient and modern eras, the Bronze Age, pre-Islamic and Islamic eras.

Salim bin Mohammed al Mahrouqi, Under-Secretary in Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Culture, said that the exhibition highlights the common fabric that brings together the GCC peoples, the region's cultural heritage, and diversity resulting from the confluence of civilisations.

The exhibition's guidebook refers to findings of archaeologists and experts who agree that the earliest human settlement in the GCC region dates back one million years and that stone tools used by ancient human inhabitants were discovered in the area.

Research, scientific studies and archaeological excavations began in the UAE in 1959, when a Danish archaeological mission carried out an excavation on Umm Al Nar Island. Excavations in the western region of Abu Dhabi revealed fossils dating back more than six million years. Further research uncovered findings of human existence during the stone ages in Jabal Baraka, Marawah Island, Umm Al Zamool in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Fayha, Fili and Jebel Al Buhais in Sharjah, and the site of Al Akaab in Umm Al Qaiwain.