ACMD Participates in the Annual Seminar of Arabian Gulf Studies at the British Museum in London

Published 22/11/2010

ACMD participated in the annual seminar of Arabian Gulf Studies which was held at the British Museum in London. Dr. Saif Bin Abood Al Bidwawy represented ACMD at the seminar which was attended by experts in archeology and Gulf and Arabian studies, with a paper on the British Cemetery in Sharjah.

In his paper, Dr. Bidwawy pointed out that the British graveyard in Sharjah contributed in shedding new information on the nature of the relationship that existed between Britain and the Gulf.

He said the investigation into the cemetery was important as it provides more information on the British presence in the country and help historians rewrite the UAE history in light of the new findings its reveals on the social life in the Arabian peninsula. Moreover the study chronicles the names of a number of soldiers, officers and military units operating within the British army that were stationed in Sharjah at the time.

The small cemetery was first set up in Sharjah as it proved difficult to repatriate the remains of dead British soldiers during the 1930’s, Dr. Bidwawy explained, adding that some of those buried in the cemetery formed part of the Oman Coastal Force, the army that Britain helped build in Oman in 1951.

“The main aim behind presenting this paper was not the cemetery in itself but rather the information it offered on British-Gulf relationship prior to the establishment of the UAE. The cemetery also indicates a high level of public tolerance and understanding as the local population did not object on the burial of dead British soldiers in Sharjah,” Dr. Bidwawy explained.

He added that although the information presented during the seminar may be known to people in some villages in the UAE, he is the first to investigate and record and prove this information.

The annual seminar is held in cooperation with Al Jaber Institute in London and focuses on shedding the light on the latest international scientific research completed in fields of archeology, history, urban and Arabic studies. Academia and experts from various countries such as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Holland, France, United Kingdom, Australia, UAE, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, attended the seminar.

UAE researchers specializing in history and archeology took part in this seminar including Ahmed Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chairman of the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority and Mohamed Amer Al Neyadi, Director of the Natural History Department in Al Ain.