Sharjah archaeology booth draws visitors at SIBF

The Sharjah Archaeology Authority's booth at the ongoing 43rd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) is a captivating time capsule, transporting visitors back to the early days of life in the emirates. Showcasing meticulously pinned and backlit illustrations of artefacts unearthed in Sharjah, the display offers a glimpse into the emirate's rich and ancient heritage.

The booth features an impressive array of historical treasures: intricately carved ivory pieces, stone bowls, gold rings, Islamic pottery, softstone vessels, a chalice adorned with ibex motifs, a bronze tetradrachm coin, and many more remarkable artefacts. Each illustration includes a QR code linking visitors to the Sharjah Government’s website for further details on these fascinating items.

A unique highlight is the collection of landscape photographs taken by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, capturing the timeless beauty of Sharjah's scenery.

Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, this year’s fair celebrates all forms of knowledge-sharing, connecting past, present, and future. Running until November 17 at Expo Centre Sharjah, the SIBF is a testament to the enduring power of books and artefacts to educate and inspire across generations.

Dr Salah Busarif opened the discussion with insights on Arabic’s ancient role as a language of documentation. “We often forget that Arabic predates Islam, serving as a tool for tribes to record their lives. It has roots so deep that its influence spans cultures and centuries,” he said.

Reflecting on how language lives on in unexpected ways, he remarked, “Language is like a human being — it lives, it evolves, or it fades. Sometimes, my friends in Spain don’t realise the Arabic origins of words they use daily, yet these words are evidence of our intertwined histories.”

Highlighting a lesser-known migration of Arabic influence, Dr Ignacio Gutierrez de Teran discussed its spread to South America, an aspect often overshadowed by Arabic’s North American diaspora. He mentioned poets like Ilyās Farhāt and Fawzi Maalouf, 

Lebanese immigrants to Brazil whose poetry remained tied to their Arabic roots. "Farhāt never wrote in Portuguese but gained recognition in Arabic poetry, while Mahfud Massis embraced Spanish, embedding the language of his new homeland into his work, even as he held onto his Palestinian heritage," Dr de Teran noted. He concluded, “Language migration is more than words crossing borders; it’s an evolution of identity, a bridge between history and modernity.”

Dr Ignacio Fernando, a specialist in Andalusian Arabic influence on Spanish, paralleled language migration with human migration. "Languages, like people, transform as they travel,"

 he explained. Drawing on Spanish vocabulary with Arabic roots, he shared examples like hasta (until), alheña (henna), and acicate (encourage), demonstrating Arabic's enduring impact on Spanish. “These words remind us of the linguistic legacy that Arabic has left on Spain, a bridge built over centuries of interaction,” he said.