The Magan Boat: Rebuilding the UAE’s maritime history
In the UAE, a multidisciplinary team has brought the region’s ancient maritime history to life by reconstructing a working Bronze Age ship.
On the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf, an elegant black vessel carves its way through a gentle swell. Its long, low, pitch-black hull curves gracefully up into a tall prow that is mirrored at the stern. Above the broad deck, a wide stretch of square sail, as dark as the boat itself, bulges with the wind and pushes the boat onwards. There is something deeply pleasing about the ship’s dimensions—it looks right. For the archaeologists on board, it is a breathtaking achievement: A working reconstruction of a ship not seen for millennia and the return of a once common sight off the shores of Arabia—the Magan Boat.
As the UAE explores its past, the history of its lands and peoples, the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi is a focal point for learning. Research conducted here is peeling back the layers of time, not only to uncover what life was like for the early inhabitants of the land, but also to shine a light on the region’s often overlooked importance to the wider ancient world. Archaeology on Marawah Island, west of Abu Dhabi, has revealed that 8,000 years ago the Arabian coast was home to a sophisticated seafaring people. They built stone structures, herded livestock, fished and dived for pearls, crafted jewelry, and developed a talent for sailing that started a remarkable cultural exchange.
By the Bronze Age, around 4,500 years ago, the region was prominent enough to have a name in ancient writings: Magan. From the island of Umm an-Nar, in modern Abu Dhabi which was part of ancient Magan, merchants sailed an international trade route that connected Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq, to the Indus Valley in today’s India and Pakistan. Magan traded locally sourced pearls, stone and copper, one of the most sought-after commodities of the time, for ceramics, fabrics, jewelry, and other precious objects. Its ships were renowned through the Arabian Gulf.
In 2021, a collaboration between Zayed National Museum, Zayed University and New York University Abu Dhabi, brought together a team of international and local specialists to solve the challenge of how to make a boat that could have plied such long distances. With only a few surviving fragments and images to work from, the groundbreaking project relied on research, hypothesis, and experimentation. The boat’s shape was based on ancient engraved seals, the broad materials were described on an ancient clay tablet, and the tools and techniques were those of traditional Bronze Age craftsmen—with not a nail, bolt, or screw in sight.
The ship was built using 15 tons of locally sourced reeds that were painstakingly prepared by being soaked, stripped of leaves, crushed, and then tied into bundles using rope made from date palm fibers. These formed the hull, to which was attached a wooden frame. The boat’s dimensions were calculated based on what is known about similar vessels as well as hydrostatic analysis of what was needed to make it float. The reed hull was then waterproofed with a coating of bitumen, which was traded from Iraq. The heavy sail, raised purely by muscle without the benefit of pulleys, was crafted of goat’s hair in a patchwork of shades that suitably reflect the vessel’s organic, imperfect nature.
Every step was an experiment driven by curiosity and passion, especially among the many young students who volunteered to help. Combining in-depth historical research with a methodical scientific approach, the team meticulously tested everything from ropes and knots to the strength needed for the reed bundles, and the optimum mixture for the bitumen. The result was the world’s largest ever reconstructed Bronze Age vessel: 60 feet long, capable of carrying 36 tons of cargo, and achieving surprisingly high speeds of 5.6 knots. Cutting confidently through the waters of the Arabian Gulf, the Magan Boat is a tangible demonstration of how ships of such size and strength would have revolutionized international trade.
As such, the Magan Boat contributes to the broader purposes of Saadiyat Cultural District, which consciously brings together diverse cultures and fosters knowledge and understanding through its museums, educational, and cultural institutions. The Magan Boat will be displayed in the Zayed National Museum, the principal museum of Saadiyat Cultural District. Among the district's many museums, visitors can engage with stories of natural history, cultural heritage, and contemporary creative expression that collectively tell the story of the United Arab Emirates, the world, and the connections that have fostered creativity and innovation for millennia.
Just as the original Magan boats connected civilizations, the reconstruction has brought together many different nationalities and disciplines. Its experimental archaeology has deepened our understanding of the region’s past, how its people lived, and how they interacted with the wider world—a fascinating and important story that has long been overlooked. Around 2350 BCE, King Sargon of Mesopotamia wrote with pride that boats from Magan were docked in his capital of Akkad, near modern Baghdad. Today, there is a similar sense of national pride in the UAE that a Magan boat is at home in Abu Dhabi.
