Ubarcalled “Atlantis of the sands”, He is the protagonist of a myth Surprisingly real real. It was a Shining and rich cityfulcrum of ancient trade, crossroads of cultures overlooking the historic Via dell’Avinenso. A place that, like the legendary Atlantis that was submerged by the waters, It vanishes into thin air, swallowed by sands and silence. Also known as “Iram of the pillars” or “Iram of the columns”, this lost city of the Arabic peninsula, is located in the current Omanat 1 040 km south of Muscat, in the southwestern region of the country in correspondence with Shisra village near the border with Yemen, in the Province of Dhofar.
The Iram of the pillars, between legend and reality
For centuries, the name of Ubar has danced between legend and reality: the stories painted it as A very rich citya fundamental station along the Via dell’Avinensowhere caravans full of spices, myrrh and incense made a stop on their journey From Arabia to the great civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and India. Her control over this vital trade made it a strategic and prosperous center, a crossroads of people, languages and traditions. But just like Atlantis, too Ubar disappeared, dissolving over time and in legend.
The city is also called “IRAM from the pillars“, And with this name it is mentioned in Koran which places it in the Rub Us al-Khālī, the vast and inhospitable “fourth emptiness” of the Arabic Peninsula. The oldest Arab sources describe it how A mercantile city of the desertperhaps existed Between 3000 BC and the first century AD And even Te Lawrence, the famous Lawrence of Arabia, seems to have been fascinated so as to call it “the Atlantis of the desert”, which he raised the mystery that surrounded it.
Archaeological excavations and discovery
The turning point came only in 1992when a team of scientists, archaeologists and technologists decided to move from legend to concrete research. Thanks to the use of Satellite images and Techniques of Remoteral Roomstraces compatible with Ancient caravan streets and with the geological profiles evoked in traditional descriptions. At the head of the expedition there was the archaeologist Dr. Juris Zinswhich led the excavations in one of the most prohibitive areas of the earth. The discoveries were exceptional: a central fortress, residential neighborhoods, Water wells and one complex road network they emerged from the sands.
But the most fascinating (and tragic) aspect concerned what was under the city: an intricate system of limestone cavescontaining a precious groundwater reserve, vital for the survival of Ubar in the desert. However, His same treasure was also his condemnation. Over time, and perhaps due to the excessive use of the aquifer, these caves collapsed, bringing with them the above structures. The city literally sink into the ground, in a fate that recalls that of the mythical Atlantis in a disturbing way.
The intuition of Sir. Ranulph Fiennes
To make the story even more epic was the role of Sir. Ranulph Fienneslegendary British explorer defined by the guinness of primates such as the “larger living explorer” eight shipments Looking for Ubar. His tenacity was rewarded in a casual and providential way: in fact, he said that, after days of excavations and research, during a conversation he felt some omine officials questioning the seriousness of the commitment of the expedition. Driven by pride and intuition, Zains urged to start immediate excavations just near the base camp, where a source of water was located.
Three days later, something extraordinary happened: A ceramic chessboard dating back to about 2000 years ago came to light. A simple, but revealing object: it was in fact the material proof of the existence of a human settlement in the exact place that legend indicated. Fiennes document this adventure in his book “Atlantis of the Sands”, helping to spread Ubar’s legend in the world.
The way of incense as a commercial and cultural junction
Ubar’s rediscovery confirmed how much the Pre-Islamic Arabic Culture is advanceorganized and in deep dialogue with the rest of the ancient world, also offering new clues about the role of Via dell’Avinenso as a fundamental artery of commercial, cultural and spiritual exchanges. Some scholars, in comparison with other sites of ancient southern Arabia, such as Mar’ib And Shabwastressed surprising similarities. In fact, even these cities, now reduced to ruins in the desert, thrived thanks to trade and distinguished themselves for complex architectural solutions. Their stories, like that of Ubar, speak to us of an Arabian Peninsula once more fertile, rich and dynamic, now unrecognizable due to the profound climate changes that occurred over millennia.
