Ras Abrouq (; also known as Bir Zekreet) is the northernmost extension of the

Zekreet Peninsula The Zekreet Peninsula, also known as the Abrouq Peninsula, is located to the north of the industrial city of Dukhan in western Qatar. Much of the area is associated with erosional landforms such as foothills, mesas and gypsum plateaux. The village ...

, a stretch of land to the north of

Dukhan Dukhan () is a city in the western municipality of Al-Shahaniya, Qatar. It is approximately west of the capital, Doha. Dukhan is administered by Qatar's state oil agency QatarEnergy and is the site of the first oil discovery in Qatar. It was pr ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. It has a beach of the same nameNatural Landmarks
Qatar Tourism and various archaeological sites. Since the 21st century it has functioned as a tourist site. Large parts of its territory are legally protected as a nature reserve for wild deer.

Richard Serra Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale Abstract art, abstract sculptures made for Site-specific art, site-specific landscape, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings, a ...

's ''East-West/West-East'' sculpture was completed in Brouq Nature Reserve in 2014 at the behest of the

Qatar Museums Authority Qatar Museums (formerly the Qatar Museums Authority) was founded in 2005 and is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at the ...

Etymology

The

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word "ras" translates to "head", and in this context is used to refer to a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

. The other constituent, "abrouq", is derived from the nearby range of light-colored hills in the

(also known as the Abrouq Peninsula). These hills are said to shimmer in the sunlight, resembling ''barq'' (lightning). Its name is also spelled as ''Ras Broog''.

Geography

Ras Abrouq is a

on the tip of the

near the city of

in western Qatar. It is west of the capital

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. It overlooks the Dawakhil Islands to the north, serving as a significant coastal landmark. The village of

Zekreet Zekreet () is a village in north-western Qatar near Dukhan and about north-west west of Doha. Originally a sparsely populated area, Zekreet was built up in the 1940s after oil operations commenced in Qatar. This included the construction of a h ...

is located south of Ras Abrouq. Geographically, it forms the northernmost point of the Dukhan region. The coastal area is relatively narrow, measuring about in width, in contrast to the wider sections of the Dukhan region further south.

Archaeology

Ras Abrouq is one of the most extensive

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

sites in Qatar. It has one of the highest proportions of

Ubaid Ubaid, Ebeid, Obeid, Obaid, Ubayd, Ubayyid, Ubaidi, the Americanized Obade, etc., used with or without the article Al- or El-, are all romanizations of أبيض or عبید, an Arabic_language, Arabic word or name meaning 'white' (the former) or the ...

potsherd This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

s in Qatar. Excavations in the 1970s revealed a ring-like structure, hearths, Ubaid pottery, cairns, and stone tools dating to the Neolithic period. Many fish bones and snail shells were also recovered.Abdul Nayeem (1998), p. 118. G.H. Smith, an excavator of the site, suggested that it was a seasonal encampment and that its inhabitants had trade relations with nearby civilizations. Further archaeological excavations yielded Barbar ceramics originating from the

Dilmun civilization Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: ,Transliteration: Similar text: later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), NI.TUKki = dilmunki; ) was an ancient East Semitic–speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards. Based on contextual ...

dating to the third millennium BC. A number of

chambered cairn A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable (usually stone) chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are fo ...

s dating to the same period contained 108 beads made of stone and shell. Excavations conducted during the mid-20th century uncovered potsherds with

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

characteristic and a cairnfield consisting of 100 burial mounds dating to the 3rd century BC. The relatively large number of cairns suggest a sizable sea-faring community prevailed in the area during this period. Further excavations revealed a fishing station dating to which was used by foreign vessels to dry fish during the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

period. A number of stone structures and large quantities of fish bones were recovered from the site.

Gallery

Qatari ostriches (3206781575).jpg, Ras Abrouq contains a high concentration of

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

es Ras brouq rock.jpg, Hills in Ras Arouq Sandstone cliffs in Ras Abrouq.jpg, Sandstone cliffs at the cape

References

Populated places in Al-Shahaniya Populated coastal places in Qatar Archaeological sites in Qatar Ubaid period {{Al-Shahaniya Municipality