ENHG Lecture: The coral masonry of Jazirat Al Hamra, Ras Al-Khaimah by John A. Burt, Noura Al Mansoori and Julie Retrum

TIME: Refreshments, Membership sign-up and Bookstall from 7:15pm, talk begins at 7:30pm

LOCATION: Salon 1, Alyazya Ballroom, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island

ABOUT THE TALK: The coastal village of Jezirat Al Hamra, Ras Al Khaimah, is a mysterious cluster of over 500 buildings, all of which were abandoned over a half a century ago. These buildings are almost entirely constructed from coral, and the unique architecture is a snapshot of life in the pre-oil history in the Emirates. In this seminar we introduce the audience to this fascinating village and walk back through time to explore the evolution of the community. We then  examine the practice of coral masonry, using geochemical dating techniques to develop an understanding of this history of these structures and calculating the type and volume of corals that had been mined from the sea to support the expansion of this early urban setting. Jezirat Al-Hamra represents a unique archaeological and architectural asset for the Emirates, and we close with a brief discussion on the future of this unique development.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Dr. John Burt is an Associate Professor of Biology and head of the Marine Biology Laboratory at NYU Abu Dhabi. Burt studies coral reefs across the region and has published over 60 scholarly articles and book chapters on the unique ecology of regional coral reefs and their associated fauna over the past decade. He was the recipient of the ENHG's 2017 Sheikh Mubarak Bin Mohammed Prize for Natural History of the United Arab Emirates. 

Noura Al Mansoori is a Research Assistant in the NYUAD Marine Biology Laboratory and an active diver who is studying coral reef and seagrass ecology in the UAE. She is an author of an upcoming book chapter reviewing the marine ecology of the Arabian Gulf.