Iram of the Pillars
Encyclopedia
Iram of the Pillars also called Aram, Iram, Irum, Irem, Erum, Wabar, Ubar, or the City of a Thousand Pillars, is a lost city
(or region surrounding the lost city) on the Arabian Peninsula
.
's 2nd century map of the area shows "Iobaritae". It was only the late Medieval version of The One Thousand and One Nights, in the fourteenth or 15th century, that romanticized Ubar and turned it into a city, rather than a region or a people.
The Qur'an (1,400 years ago) mentions a certain city by the name of Iram (a city of pillars) [Qur'an: The Dawn 89:7], which was apparently not known in ancient history and non-existent as far as historians were concerned. But the December 1978 edition of the National Geographic Magazine records that in 1973, the city of Ebla
was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 4,300 years old. Researchers found in the library of Ebla a record of all of the cities with which Ebla had done business. On the list was the specific name of the city of "Iram" (and not the name of the general region of Ubar). The people of Ebla had apparently done business with the people of "Iram".
The Qur'an
mentions Iram alongside 'Ad and Thamud
:
According to Islamic beliefs, King Shaddad
defied the warnings of the prophet Hud
and God
smote the city, driving it into the sands, never to be seen again. The ruins of the city lie buried somewhere in the sands of the Rub' al-Khali. Iram became known to Western literature with the translation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
.
Arabic tradition holds that the tribe of 'Ad were the great-grandchildren of Nuh or Noah
. The Qur'an
talks about 'Ad as “successors” after Noah's people (The Qur'an
, chapter
7 (Al-A'raf
), verse 69).
In the 2nd century AD Ptolemy
made a map that labeled the region with the name "Iobaritae", meaning that it belonged to the Ubarites. Later legends referred to the fabulous wealth of the lost city and used the region name "Ubar" to designate it. T. E. Lawrence
showed some interest in Iram, and named it "The Atlantis of the Sands
".
9.jpg)
Recent discoveries have brought Iram out of the realm of fable
and into history. In the early 1980s a group of researchers interested in the history of Iram used NASA
remote sensing satellites, ground penetrating radar, Landsat program
data and images taken from the Space Shuttle Challenger
as well as SPOT
data to identify old camel train
routes and points where they converged. These roads were used as frankincense
trade routes around 2800 BC to 100 BC.
One area in the Dhofar
province of Oman
was identified as a possible location for an outpost of the lost civilization. A team including adventurer Ranulph Fiennes
, archaeologist Juris Zarins
, filmmaker Nicholas Clapp
, and lawyer George Hedges
, scouted the area on several trips, and stopped at a water well called Ash Shisar. Near this oasis was located a site previously identified as the 16th century Shis'r fort. Excavations uncovered an older settlement, and artifacts traded from far and wide were found. This older fort was found to have been built on top of a large limestone cavern which would have served as the water source for the fort, making it an important oasis on the trade route to Iram. As the residents of the fort consumed the water from underground, the water table fell, leaving the limestone roof and walls of the cavern dry. Without the support of the water, the cavern would have been in danger of collapse, and it seems to have done so some time between 300-500 AD, destroying the oasis and covering over the water source.
Four subsequent excavations were conducted by Dr. Juris Zarins
, tracing the historical presence by the people of 'Ad, the assumed ancestral builders of Iram.
Lost city
A "Lost City" is a term that is generally considered to refer to a well-populated area which fell into terminal decline, became extensively or completely uninhabited, and whose location has been forgotten. Some lost cities whose locations have been rediscovered have been studied extensively by...
(or region surrounding the lost city) on the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
.
Introduction
Ubar, a name of a region or a name of a people, was mentioned in ancient records, and was spoken of in folk tales as a trading center of the Rub' al Khali desert in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula. It is estimated that it lasted from about 3000 BC to the 1st century AD. According to legends, it became fabulously wealthy from trade between the coastal regions and the population centers of the Arabian peninsula and Europe. The region became lost to modern history, and was thought to be only a figment of mythical tales. Some confusion exists about the word "Ubar". In classical texts and Arabic historical sources, Ubar refers to a region and a group of people, not to a specific town. PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's 2nd century map of the area shows "Iobaritae". It was only the late Medieval version of The One Thousand and One Nights, in the fourteenth or 15th century, that romanticized Ubar and turned it into a city, rather than a region or a people.
The Qur'an (1,400 years ago) mentions a certain city by the name of Iram (a city of pillars) [Qur'an: The Dawn 89:7], which was apparently not known in ancient history and non-existent as far as historians were concerned. But the December 1978 edition of the National Geographic Magazine records that in 1973, the city of Ebla
Ebla
Ebla Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC....
was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 4,300 years old. Researchers found in the library of Ebla a record of all of the cities with which Ebla had done business. On the list was the specific name of the city of "Iram" (and not the name of the general region of Ubar). The people of Ebla had apparently done business with the people of "Iram".
The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
mentions Iram alongside 'Ad and Thamud
Thamud
The Thamūd were a people of ancient Arabia who were known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. Although they are thought to have originated in southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh...
:
According to Islamic beliefs, King Shaddad
Shaddad
Shaddād was historical king of lost Arabian city of Iram of the Pillars. Various sources suggest Shaddad was the son of Ad/Aad , the son of Utz/Uz/Aus , the son of Aram , the son of Shem , the son of Noah ....
defied the warnings of the prophet Hud
Hud (prophet)
Hud is the name of a prophet of ancient Arabia, who is mentioned in the Qur'an. The eleventh chapter of the Qur'an, Hud, is named after him, though the narrative of Hud comprises only a small portion of the chapter.-Historical context:...
and God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
smote the city, driving it into the sands, never to be seen again. The ruins of the city lie buried somewhere in the sands of the Rub' al-Khali. Iram became known to Western literature with the translation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
.
Arabic tradition holds that the tribe of 'Ad were the great-grandchildren of Nuh or Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
. The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
talks about 'Ad as “successors” after Noah's people (The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, chapter
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
7 (Al-A'raf
Al-A'raf
Sura Al-A'raf is the seventh chapter of the Qur'an, with 206 verses. It is a Meccan sura. Its final verse, verse 206, requires a sajdah, or prostration.-Verses:...
), verse 69).
In the 2nd century AD Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
made a map that labeled the region with the name "Iobaritae", meaning that it belonged to the Ubarites. Later legends referred to the fabulous wealth of the lost city and used the region name "Ubar" to designate it. T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
showed some interest in Iram, and named it "The Atlantis of the Sands
Atlantis of the Sands
Atlantis of the Sands is the popular name given to a legendary city in southern Arabia believed to have been destroyed by a natural disaster or act of God.-Introduction:...
".
Evidence for Iram
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and into history. In the early 1980s a group of researchers interested in the history of Iram used NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
remote sensing satellites, ground penetrating radar, Landsat program
Landsat program
The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. On July 26, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat. The most recent, Landsat 7, was launched on April 15, 1999. The instruments on the...
data and images taken from the Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
as well as SPOT
SPOT (satellites)
SPOT is a high-resolution, optical imaging Earth observation satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image based in Toulouse, France...
data to identify old camel train
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
routes and points where they converged. These roads were used as frankincense
Frankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
trade routes around 2800 BC to 100 BC.
One area in the Dhofar
Dhofar
The Dhofar region lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen. Its mountainous area covers and has a population of 215,960 as of the 2003 census. The largest town in the region is Salalah. Historically, it was the chief source of frankincense in the world. However, its frankincense...
province of Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
was identified as a possible location for an outpost of the lost civilization. A team including adventurer Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
, archaeologist Juris Zarins
Juris Zarins
Juris Zarins is an American-Latvian archaeologist and professor at Missouri State University, who specializes in the Middle East....
, filmmaker Nicholas Clapp
Nicholas Clapp
Nicholas Clapp is a Borrego Springs, California based writer, film-maker, and amateur archaeologist. He has often been called the "real Indiana Jones" and he has received 70 film awards and several Academy Award nominations. He has two daughters, Jennifer and Cristina...
, and lawyer George Hedges
George Hedges
George Reynolds Hedges was a lawyer with a list of celebrity clients including Mel Gibson and David Lynch who gained attention in the field of archeology for his discovery of the ancient city of Ubar.-Biography:...
, scouted the area on several trips, and stopped at a water well called Ash Shisar. Near this oasis was located a site previously identified as the 16th century Shis'r fort. Excavations uncovered an older settlement, and artifacts traded from far and wide were found. This older fort was found to have been built on top of a large limestone cavern which would have served as the water source for the fort, making it an important oasis on the trade route to Iram. As the residents of the fort consumed the water from underground, the water table fell, leaving the limestone roof and walls of the cavern dry. Without the support of the water, the cavern would have been in danger of collapse, and it seems to have done so some time between 300-500 AD, destroying the oasis and covering over the water source.
Four subsequent excavations were conducted by Dr. Juris Zarins
Juris Zarins
Juris Zarins is an American-Latvian archaeologist and professor at Missouri State University, who specializes in the Middle East....
, tracing the historical presence by the people of 'Ad, the assumed ancestral builders of Iram.
In fiction
- "Iram" is the lost city where the Muslim hero Thalaba was kept safe in Robert SoutheyRobert SoutheyRobert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
's Thalaba the DestroyerThalaba the DestroyerThalaba the Destroyer is an 1801 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. The origins of the poem can be traced to Southey's school boy days, but he did not begin to write the poem until he finished composing Madoc at the age of 25. Thalaba the Destroyer was completed while Southey travelled in...
(1801)
- Iram, City of Lofty Pillars is a play by Khalil GibranKhalil GibranKhalil Gibran Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān,Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, or Jibrān Xalīl Jibrān; Arabic , January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer...
.
- The great city is alluded to in the tales of H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
as being somewhere near The Nameless CityThe Nameless City"The Nameless City" is a horror story written by H. P. Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal The Wolverine...
. Indeed, in Donald Tyson's adaptation of the Necronmicon, he described Irem as being built above this nameless city. He also alludes to it in The Call of CthulhuThe Call of CthulhuThe Call of Cthulhu is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, in February 1928.-Inspiration:...
where the supposed base of the Cthulhu Cult is held.
- In the Neil GaimanNeil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
novel American GodsAmerican GodsAmerican Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. It is Gaiman's fourth prose novel, being preceded by Good Omens ,...
a djinn working as a cab driver in New York City claims that he is originally from the city of Ubar.
- James RollinsJames Rollins* For the American baseball pitcher, see Jim Czajkowski* For the American baseball shortstop, see Jimmy Rollins* For the 19th century American politician from Missouri, see James S. Rollins...
's 2004 novel Sandstorm centers on Ubar and its mysteries. In that novel, Ubar is discovered to be an underground city in a glass bubble with a lake of antimatter at the middle, which was created as the result of a meteorite impact 20,000 years ago. In the story, Ubar is destroyed and becomes a massive lake known as Lake Eden.
- Sean McMullenSean McMullenSean Christopher McMullen is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author.-Biography:McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University , a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature...
's story "The Measure of Eternity" (published in InterzoneInterzone (magazine)Interzone is an award-winning British fantasy and science fiction magazine. Published since 1982, Interzone is the eighth longest-running science fiction magazine in history and the longest-running British SF magazine...
205) is set in Ubar, describing it as the wealthiest city on earth.
- "Wabar" is a major part of the plot in Josephine TeyJosephine TeyJosephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth Mackintosh a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. She also wrote as Gordon Daviot, under which name she wrote plays with an historical theme....
's 1952 mystery novel The Singing Sands. An explorer kills a young man who discovered Ubar while flying over the Rub' al Khali, scooping a discovery the explorer intended to make.
- In "The Legend of the Arab Astrologer", part of Washington IrvingWashington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
's Tales of the AlhambraTales of the AlhambraTales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving.-Background:Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain...
, Iram is mentioned as a marvellous magical urban Eden that appears to sleepers but disappears as soon as you exit the gates.
- In WeaveworldWeaveworldWeaveworld is a novel by Clive Barker. It was published in 1987 and could be categorized as dark fantasy. It deals with a parallel world, like many of Barker's novels, and contains many horror elements....
, by Clive BarkerClive BarkerClive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, one of the antagonists visits the Empty Quarter and finds what is presumably the magically reanimated ruins of Iram.
- "Irem" is the name of a song by the Italian band Green Man, from their album From Irem to Summerisle.
- The Australian progressive metalProgressive metalProgressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band AlchemistAlchemist (band)Alchemist is an Australian progressive metal band from Canberra whose style combines death metal, progressive rock, psychedelic, Eastern, Aboriginal and electronic influences. The band formed in 1987 and has so far released six studios albums, an EP and a compilation album. Work began on a new EP...
recorded the song "Road To Ubar" on their 1997 album SpiritechSpiritechSpiritech is the third full-length studio album by the Australian progressive metal band, Alchemist. It was released in 1997 by Australian label Thrust and distributed by Shock Records. A promotional music video for the song "Road to Ubar" was released...
.
- In Tim PowersTim PowersTimothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
' novel DeclareDeclareDeclare is a supernatural spy novel by Tim Powers. It presents a secret history of the Cold War in which an agent for a secret British spy organization learns the true nature of several beings living on Mount Ararat. In this he is opposed by real-life communist traitor Kim Philby, who did travel...
, Wabar was a city inhabited by djinni and their half-human progeny and was destroyed by a meteor strike.
- The plot of the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionUncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionUncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the third game in the Uncharted series, created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3, and was released in North America on November 1, 2011, Europe on November 2, 2011 and Australia on November 3, 2011. It is the sequel to 2009's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It was...
is centered around the search for Iram by the game's protagonist, Nathan DrakeNathan Drake (character)Nathan "Nate" Drake is the fictional protagonist of the Uncharted video game series, developed by Naughty Dog. He is a playable character in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and appears in the motion comic prequel...
.
See also
- Atlantis of the SandsAtlantis of the SandsAtlantis of the Sands is the popular name given to a legendary city in southern Arabia believed to have been destroyed by a natural disaster or act of God.-Introduction:...
- Sodom and GomorrahSodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
- ThamudThamudThe Thamūd were a people of ancient Arabia who were known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. Although they are thought to have originated in southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh...
- Wabar cratersWabar cratersThe Wabar craters are impact craters brought to the attention of Western scholars by an explorer searching for the legendary city of Ubar in Arabia.-1932 Philby:...
- AtlantisAtlantisAtlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
- BaltiaBaltiaBaltia or Basilia is a legendary island in Roman mythology, said to be in northern Europe.-Sources:Pliny the Elder :Diodorus Siculus :...
- BrittiaBrittiaBrittia according to Procopius was an island he considered to be known to the inhabitants of the Low Countries under Frankish rule , corresponding both to a real island used for burial and a mythological Isle of the Blessed, to which the souls of the dead are transported.Procopius's Brittia lies...
- Mythical placeMythical placePlaces which appear in mythology, folklore or religious texts or tradition, but which are not probably genuine places, include:...
- Southern ThuleSouthern ThuleSouthern Thule is a collection of the three southernmost islands in the South Sandwich Islands: Bellingshausen, Cook, and Thule . Southern Thule is British territory, though claimed by Argentina. The island group is barren, windswept, bitterly cold, and uninhabited. It has an extenzive EEZ rich...
- Thule peopleThule peopleThe Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...
- Thule SocietyThule SocietyThe Thule Society , originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum , was a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend...
- AvalonAvalonAvalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
- ShambhalaShambhalaIn Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
- Agharta
- AtlantisAtlantisAtlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
- Hyperborea
- El DoradoEl DoradoEl Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
- YsYsYs , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
- RocabarraighRocabarraighRocabarra or Rocabarraigh is a phantom island or rock in Scottish Gaelic myth, which is supposed to appear three times, the last being at the end of the world.The name confusingly has also been used to refer to Rockall, a real rock in the North Atlantic...
Further reading
- Nicholas ClappNicholas ClappNicholas Clapp is a Borrego Springs, California based writer, film-maker, and amateur archaeologist. He has often been called the "real Indiana Jones" and he has received 70 film awards and several Academy Award nominations. He has two daughters, Jennifer and Cristina...
, The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands, Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
(1999) ISBN 0395957869.
- Ranulph FiennesRanulph FiennesSir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
, Atlantis of the Sands: The Search for the Lost City of Ubar, Bloomsbury (1992), ISBN 0747513279.
- Charles R. PellegrinoCharles R. PellegrinoCharles R. Pellegrino is the controversial author of several books relating to science and archaeology, including Return to Sodom and Gomorrah, Ghosts of the Titanic, Unearthing Atlantis and Ghosts of Vesuvius....
, Return to Sodom & Gomorrah: Bible Stories from Archaeologists, Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
(1994), ISBN 0679400060.
External links
- Lost City of Arabia, Nova On-line on the discovery of Ubar
- The Search for Ubar: How Remote Sensing Helped Find a Lost City, from a NASA Website
- The Frankincense Route Emerges From the Desert, New York Times, April 21, 1992
- Entry on Irem in Dan Clore's A Necronomicon Glossary
- Space Technology And The Discovery Of The Lost City Of Ubar