Discovery of Shisr (Arabia's 'Ubar') using remote sensing
Hallazgo de Shisr (la 'Ubar' de Arabia) mediante teledetección
- Date
- 1992 · confidence medium
- Place
- Shisr, Dhofar, Oman
- Credited to
- Nicholas Clapp, Juris Zarins and Ranulph Fiennes
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Using satellite imagery and shuttle radar, a team located ancient caravan tracks converging on Shisr, where it excavated a fort and a sinkhole with a fortress. It was proposed as the mythical Ubar, a city of the incense trade.
The identification of Shisr with Ubar (Iram of the pillars) is much disputed, and archaeologists point out that the site is an Iron Age and later fortress. Remote sensing (Landsat and SIR-A imagery) was key to the find.
What it led to
- an early application of remote sensing to archaeology
- the debate over the identity and location of Ubar
- renewed attention to incense-route sites in Dhofar