UCL Qatar and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) will host a public workshop that will present the findings of their ‘Origins of Doha Project’.
Titled ‘Heritage of Doha, Identity of Qatar’, the workshop will also disclose the results of the Joint Qatar Museums-UCL Qatar Old Doha Rescue Excavation. It will be held on November 5 in Georgetown Building at Education City.
Archaeological findings from the excavations will be used to explore the history and people of Doha, the transformation of the traditional town into a modern city, and the experience of its inhabitants through time.
“Engagement with the public is a key part of the Origins of Doha Project,” said Dr Robert Carter, senior lecturer in Archaeology, UCL Qatar. “We intend to bring together original archaeological, historic and ethnographic research and present our findings to the public, as we want people to realise there is a much older Doha beneath and around them.”
Split into morning and afternoon sessions, the workshop will begin by outlining the latest archaeological discoveries from the Old Doha Rescue Excavation that took place from December 2013 to March 2014, including pearl divers’ weights, pearl merchants’ weights, anchors, pottery, keys and coins.
Carter and his collaborators will explore the historical and cultural value of these findings and consider the vulnerability of Doha’s archaeological heritage given the intensive development that has characterised the city in recent history.
The afternoon session will introduce preliminary analyses of the findings from the excavation, as well as results of historical mapping, building surveys and GIS work that capture the changes in Doha’s architecture and town plan over time. It will also present some of the Oral Histories gathered by the Origins of Doha.
The Oral Histories are a collection of interviews with elderly Doha residents, supplemented with previous recordings by the Gulf Folklore Centre, the National Museum of Qatar and the National Archives.
UCL Qatar said these collections are intended to connect with the public through the voices of longstanding residents with first-hand experience and personal insights of “old Doha”.
It noted that the new interviews conducted by the ‘Origins of Doha Project’ differ from previous ethnographic work, as they focus on town dwelling, rather than mainly pearl fishing and Bedouin culture.
The team for the project wants to raise awareness and link Qatar with its past through various public workshops, posting resources and reports online, and a series of books.
It hopes that many of the project’s findings will eventually be displayed in the National Museum of Qatar.
