Atlantis of the Sands

Atlantis of the Sands is the name given to a legendary lost place deep in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Many people also call this place Ūbār, Awbār, Wabār, or Wubār in Arabic. Stories say that this city was destroyed by a natural disaster or perhaps as a punishment from God.

The name "Atlantis of the Sands" became popular in the 20th century, mostly because of explorer Ranulph Fiennes and researcher Nicholas Clapp. Even though some people thought famous explorer T. E. Lawrence might have called it that, he never actually used the name in his writings. Another explorer, Bertram Thomas, was likely the first to use this phrase.

Some people believed Atlantis of the Sands was the same place mentioned in the Quran or the book One Thousand and One Nights, but scholars do not agree with this idea. The confusion started when Nicholas Clapp linked the city of Ubar to another lost place called Iram, but many experts still see these as separate stories.

Introduction

In modern times, the story of the lost city of Atlantis has inspired many books, films, and articles. Similarly, Arabia has its own tale of a lost city, called the "Atlantis of the Sands." This story has sparked debates among historians, archaeologists, and explorers.

In February 1992, The New York Times reported a big discovery: "Archaeologists and explorers found a lost city deep in the sands of Arabia. They believe it is Ubar, an important trading place for frankincense thousands of years ago." This news spread quickly, though some people questioned the findings.

The discovery was made by a team led by Nicholas Clapp. They dug at a site near a Bedouin well at Shisr (18°15′47″N 53°39′28″E / 18.26306°N 53.65778°E / 18.26306; 53.65778) in Dhofar province, Oman. They thought this might be Ubar, also known as Iram of the Pillars, a name from the Quran. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who was part of the team, said it could be the Omanum Emporium mentioned in Ptolemy’s map of Arabia Felix.

Even though a sign at Shisr welcomes visitors to "Ubar, the Lost City of Bedouin Legend," not all scholars agree that this is the real lost city.

Early explorers in Dhofar

In 1930, explorer Bertram Thomas was nearing the edge of the Rub' al Khali, also called "The Empty Quarter." He wanted to be the first European to cross this big desert. His Bedouin guides told him stories about a lost city whose people had done bad things and were destroyed. Thomas marked a path on his map that was said to lead to this city, called Ubar, but he never found it.

Other explorers also became interested in the story of this lost city. The famous explorer Wilfred Thesiger visited a well in 1946 and found old ruins nearby. In 1948, a group of scientists came across an old fort near a cave. Years later, more discoveries were made, and some thought they had found the ruins of Ubar, an old trading place. Some people believed religious stories that the city was destroyed by God as a punishment.

Theories about the location

People have many ideas about where the lost city of Ubar might have been. Some think it was in a place called Dhofar, where an old guide told stories of a city filled with treasure, date gardens, and a red silver fort now hidden under the sands.

Most stories place Ubar in the Rub' al Khali desert, also known as the Empty Quarter. This is a huge area of sand dunes in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, covering parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. An explorer named St. John Philby heard about Ubar from a Bedouin guide, who spoke of ruined castles where a king kept his horses and women before being punished and destroyed. Philby searched for the city but found an extinct volcano or possibly an old meteorite impact instead. Scientists later confirmed that an ancient impact caused the depression in the sands.

Another theory suggests that Ubar was located at the Shisr excavation site, where towers were found. An explorer named Nicholas Clapp believed these ruins could be Ubar, but others thought they were much newer.

Explorer Ranulph Fiennes thought Ubar might be the place called "Omanum Emporium" on ancient maps made by Claudius Ptolemy around AD 150.

Different Arab writers had various ideas about where Ubar was, making it difficult to pinpoint a single location.

The Shisr discoveries

Nicholas Clapp started looking for a lost place called Ubar after reading a book called Arabia Felix. He thought an old map might show where Ubar was, maybe on a trade route in the desert. With help from satellite images, his team found old camel paths that led them to a ruined fort at Shisr.

They dug at Shisr and found walls and towers that were over 2,000 years old. Some thought this was the legendary Ubar, but others believed Ubar was a region, not a single city. They found items from faraway places, showing that Shisr was once an important trading spot. Over time, changes in trade and the climate made the area less important.

Critical reception

Many people in Saudi Arabia were not sure about the discovery of Ubar in Oman. Abdullah al Masri, an important official, said that similar places had been found in Saudi Arabia before. He mentioned a big discovery near Jabreen in 1975 and noted that the name Ubar is similar to Obar, a place in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Some newer research also questions if Clapp’s findings about Ubar are correct. One writer thought Clapp’s book made the story less believable by adding a made-up part about the king of Ubar. Experts have also debated whether Shisr was really an important trading place. Some believe it was a small resting spot for travelers rather than a major city.

Professor Barri Jones said that the important thing is to protect the site, no matter what it is called. A report for UNESCO in 2001 praised the area around Shisr, Khor Rori, and Al-Balid as special examples of old protected towns in the Persian Gulf region.