An Archaeological exhibition has been organized by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House in Al Shindagha as part of the Heritage and Cultural programmes lined up for the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) until February 2.  The unique show offers insights into lifestyles of the residents, including currency, weapons and utensils, of the present day emirate ages ago.
     Dr. Hussain Kandil, DTCM Archaeologist, said the exhibits and antiques on public display are from Sarug Al Hadeed, one of the five archaeological sites in the emirate of Dubai. Sarug Al Hadeed is the largest and most important site, stretching 13.75 square kilometres. The finds here date back to the Neolithic Period (7000-4000 BCE) and the first millennium BCE. The exhibition gives an idea of the history of the settlements around Dubai. Evidence shows that they started in the deserts around 7,000 years ago.
     From the Sarug Al Hadeed (situated 100 kilmetres south of Dubai in a sand dune area), the archaeological teams recovered huge quantities of bronze tools, grinding stones, carnelian beads, rings and fragments of soft stone vessels. The excavations also led to the discovery of large settlements engaged in copper production. Copper ore, slag heap, furnace fragments, copper ingots, large number of grinding and crushing stones found at the site, suggested that the site was one of the ancient copper-smelting villages in the region.

Source: Dubai City Guide (22 December 2006)