Petroglyph V1, Khatm Al Melaha, Kalba, Sharjah

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Human: Petroglyph V1 at Khatm Al Melaha in Kalba, Sharjah, features two Syrian Wild Ass and Human Male on the left panel, lightly pecked. The same image is fully pecked and polished on the right panel. This ancient art dates back to Neolithic or earlier times. These motifs are commonly found in southern Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, as noted by Fossati (2019) in "Messages from the Past: Rock Art of the Al-Hajar Mountains" (Oman). Khatm Al Melaha is an archaeological site on the coast of the Oman Sea near Kalba, Sharjah. It's one of the largest rock art sites in the UAE, showcasing a diverse array of features, including stone houses, shell middens, and stone tombs that span from the early Holocene to the 19th century. Over 175 stones with petroglyphs were documented at Khatm Al Melaha. Close to 400 distinct motifs were identified among the rock art. Each stone bearing a glyph was assigned an ID number and GPS coordinate for thorough documentation. In a single day, a massive effort yielded 25455 terrestrial photographs, 5244 drone photographs, 44 drone videos, and 182 precise GPS points (+/- 1cm) at Khatm Al Melaha. Reality Capture technology played a pivotal role in this monumental task.