Shaped by Stone: The Tools that Made Prehistoric Qatar Exhibition
Sharjah Archaeology Museum, in collaboration with Qatar Museums, is hosting the exhibition “Shaped by Stone: The Tools that Made Prehistoric Qatar” at the Mleiha Temporary Exhibition Hall from 20 October 2025 to 30 April 2026. This pioneering exhibition highlights the Stone Age in Qatar and showcases significant archaeological finds, including various stone tools such as arrowheads, spears, axes, knives, and blades, discovered in large quantities across Qatar, confirming human settlement in the region since the Late Paleolithic era.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey into the life of ancient humans who relied on hunting animals and fish, as well as gathering wild plants for sustenance. Settlement continued with climate improvement and the availability of fresh water during the Neolithic period.
It also highlights the work of Danish archaeologist Holger Kapel, who studied Stone Age sites in Qatar during the 1960s and authored the “Atlas of Stone Age Cultures in Qatar”, confirming the presence of these cultures in Qatar and the Gulf region.
For the first time, the exhibition presents archaeological discoveries from newly found camel graves in Qatar dating back to the pre-Islamic period—the same era when similar graves were found in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, such as Mleiha in the Emirate of Sharjah. A collection of artefacts from Mleiha will be displayed to emphasize the historic ties between the UAE and Qatar dating back to ancient times.
