Oman's Ancient Port of Shisr and the Lost City of Ubar
From The Story of Oman: Maritime Empire and Forgotten Power — Fexingo History · 7:43
Show by Fexingo
For decades, the lost city of Ubar was dismissed as myth, a poetic hallucination born from the Quranic tales of Iram of the Pillars. But in the 1990s, archaeologist Georgina Holland led an expedition into the Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, to find it. This episode explores the tense intersection of legend and science that brought us back to Shisr, the actual archaeological site hidden beneath the dunes. We examine how satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar revealed the foundations of a major frankincense trading hub that flourished between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Lucas walks us through the discovery process, detailing the specific artifacts found at Shisr that confirm its identity as the legendary 'Iram,' while Luna questions the methods used to distinguish myth from mud-brick reality. The conversation delves into the economic power of the Qedarites and the Nabataeans who controlled this route, challenging previous assumptions about what constituted a 'city' in the Arabian desert. It is a story of how modern technology revived an ancient narrative, uncovering a forgotten chapter of Oman’s maritime and overland trade dominance long before the rise of the Al Bu Said dynasty. #Shisr #Ubar #GeorginaHolland #RubalKhali #Frankincense #Qedarites #Nabataeans #IramOfThePillars #ArabiaFelix #Archaeology #OmanHistory #DesertTrade #BoswelliaSacra #AncientMiddleEast #SatelliteImagery #LostCities #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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