Al Khor Island

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Al Khor Island (also known as Purple Island), located off the coast of Qatar near Al Khor, is surrounded by beautiful blue water and sandy beaches. But, it is not only the scenery that visitors come to see. Al Khor Island also has archaeological sites to check out. Al Khor Island gives us a view into the Bronze Age, Sasanian, and Islamic periods. It also gives us immense insight into Qatar’s heritage and history, including Qatar’s role in trade routes. When The Mission Archeologique Francais Qatar first started their excavation in 1981, not much was known about the history of the island. What they discovered, though, gave a very good idea of what the island’s inhabitants were doing during the Kassite period (1400 BC). Mounds and mounds of shells were found on the island. These shells were those of a special kind of sea snail, thais savignyi. This sea snail’s shell releases a dye when smashed. The dye was very valuable back then, due to it being used to dye the clothing of royalty in ancient Babylonia. This old dye-production site finding tells us that the inhabitants at that time may have traded with ancient Babylonians. The site also predates other more famous dye-production sites in Lebanon, and is the only one of its time that was outside of the Mediterranean. Along with the shells, stone-lined structures like fire places and hearths were found on the island. These structures were not found close together, however. This suggests that the inhabitants of the island at that time were not very concentrated, but instead more spread out among the island. The structures were also built in or on the sand of the island. Some of the oldest pottery on Al Khor Island have been dated back as far as 1400 BC, but the wide variety of artifacts shows that many different peoples have lived on the island in different times. There is not a theory on why people left the island,

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