Centuries-old charts reveal remarkable origin story of 'Abu-Thabi'

Al Ain exhibition displays sea, shores and land in country between 1761 and 2014

Andrew Leitch, head of archives at the UK Hydrographic Office, has visited the UAE to help launch an exhibition of printed charts and hand-rendered surveys on Abu Dhabi. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

A small hand-drawn map of Abu Dhabi, or 'Abu-Thabi', dating to the 19th century

The exhibition showcases reproductions of 28 printed charts and hand-rendered surveys from the UKHO collection, showing the sea, shores and land in the region of the UAE from 1761 to 2014

Abu Dhabi island in the 1980s, showing the airport and newly opened Sheraton Hotel

The exhibition is a partnership between the UKHO, Abu Dhabi Police, National Library and Archives, British Embassy in the UAE and UAE University

A map from the 19th century showing the coastline of modern-day Abu Dhabi

This modern format chart from the 1980s highlights landmasses, shoreline features, wrecks, oilfields, satellite-derived positions, pipelines, anchoring prohibited areas and traffic separation schemes

Al Murabaa Police Museum in Al Ain, where the exhibition is being held

It is a simple hand-drawn chart showing a sparsely inhabited coast on the Arabian Gulf.

Titled “Abu-Thabi”, there is no Lulu Island and no roads – just a fort surrounded by sea and sand.

Written on the chart is “town built of date mats”, referring to the barasti dwellings, but also on the coastline there are marks that archivists believe could show how residents used date palm mats to bolster the shore.

“They could actually reinforce the shore and build up the sand so that they weren't getting erosion,” Andrew Leitch, head of archives at the UK Hydrographic Office, told The National. “That is really cool.”

Mr Leitch was in the UAE to help launch a new exhibition showcasing reproductions of 28 printed charts and hand-rendered surveys from the UKHO collection, including that Abu Dhabi chart, showing the sea, shores and land in the region that is now the UAE between 1761 and 2014.

“An Exhibition of United Kingdom Hydrographic Charts” is a partnership between the UKHO, Abu Dhabi Police, the UAE National Library and Archives, the British Embassy in the UAE, and UAE University.

It runs at the Al Murabba Police Museum in Al Ain and paints a vivid picture of the complex and vibrant history of the UAE.

“It's not quite the Elgin marbles because we took nothing away except our observations,” said Mr Leitch.

“But what we are returning is cultural heritage. We're returning to help a group of people do the Who Do You Think You Are? approach to developing their own story.

“What we have are hundreds of thousands of documents that cover the region. These are basically visual archaeology … snapshots of a moment in time taken through the eyes of others.”

From the early explorers to today, British hydrographers made charts detailing the physical features of world’s oceans, seas, coastal areas. rivers and lakes.

They had their own interests and perspectives but mapped water depth, the position of coastlines, where ships could pass unhindered, but also stories of empire building, such as details of conflict and the location of forts and towers.

The reproductions of these charts on display in Al Ain take people on a journey across more than two centuries of complex history.

The earliest pieces in the exhibition are drawn by hand by British hydrographers who travelled around the coast in ships. Some of the names are spelt phonetically, such as the Abu-Thabi map, and they contain remarkable detail.

The hand-drawn survey of “Abu-Thabi” was carried out by Cpt Haines and Cpt Charles Constable, son of the great English painter John Constable, aboard the survey sloop Marie, and shows the fort, Qasr Al Hosn and the shoreline as seen from the sea.

Another from 1805 shows an area on the coast “little frequented by mariners and conceived to be dangerous”. The site of Seer, shown along the coast in the document, is probably Al Fahidi Fort at the mouth of Dubai Creek.

Sources of fresh water are marked on another document at Sir Bu Nair island off the Abu Dhabi coast, while another by the East Indian Company from the early 19th century details the 1819-1820 British military expedition to the Arabian Gulf off the coast of “Aymaun”, or Ajman Creek.

The collection, which also shows the transition from hand-drawn charts to the digital ones used today, underlines the complex nature of regional history.

Place names and viewpoints may have changed, or no longer be considered appropriate, but these are crucial records of a time and place.

“We can't rewrite history,” said Mr Leitch. “The job of the archivist and the job of the archives is to unflinchingly, sometimes for good or for bad in some people's minds, share what is and what was. The most important thing is that it becomes a useful standard for how we think things should be now.”

The UKHO’s archive of more than 14 million historical items includes nautical charts, surveys, letters and more. The oldest charts are thought to date back to the 1600s. Today, maps are used for safe maritime navigation and also for everything from economic development to environmental protection.

Mr Leitch said museums and archive institutions in the UAE were “working tirelessly to backfill” their history, and the UKHO was keen to help.

“It actually helps us understand what we have in our holdings.”

Thousands of documents in the UKHO collection have been connected to the region, but the true figure could be much higher. The physical reproductions on display in Al Ain are part of this mammoth collection.

The exhibition, dedicated to the late Peter Hellyer, historian of the UAE, will run until next Wednesday, but it is planned for it to tour the country. There are also plans to share high resolution digital copies of the maps through the UAE’s National Library and Archives, and it is hoped that more documents from the collection could be shared with institutions here.

“We are the custodians of the material. But [it is important] to share them with those who can interpret and understand and incorporate that into their own story.”

Many ask what use these archives have today. For Mr Leitch, it could not be clearer. The coastline is in transition and has been for hundreds of years, from the salt flats to changing mangrove boundaries to movements of sand. The charts show the archaeological features, how settlements develop and a “visual transition”.

These can be used for the restoration of environments, protection of coastline, planning and more.

Mr Leitch is a veteran of the museum and archive world. He has worked around the globe, including the Middle East, where he was part of a team that helped design the Expo2020 Dubai UAE National Pavilion. He was also project exhibition design director of Al Seera museum in Kuwait.

“What eventually drew me down to the UAE was the ability to help,” he said.

“At some point in our life … you're looking for your origin story. Where do I come from?

“That’s why there are so many people looking at their own genealogy.

“This is just one set of information which can be returned to the people of the UAE to allow them to actually engage with that, make their own story and make a continuity out of it.”