The Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority (FTAA) is implementing a comprehensive plan to restore ancient sites, which include refurbishment of over 20 forts and castles located across the Emirate of Fujairah.

A French archaeological team is excavating different sites considered to be of archaeological significance, most importantly the Masafi area.

The excavation has resulted in discovering the grandest human habitation in the region which relatively dates back to two different eras; the second Iron Age and the late Bronze Age, that go back to nearly 2000BC.

Saeed Al Samahi, Director-General of the FTAA, pointed out that refurbishment of Masafi and Al Bathna forts as well as the fence surrounding them, shall be completed by August. The FTAA will restore a new archaeological site - Dibba Al Fujairah Fort - which is larger than both Masafi and Al Bathna forts in terms of the total area, by end of the year. Samahi revealed that four archaeological sites have been discovered consecutively in Masafi.

The first archaeological site, built in a unique architectural design, was unearthed in a palm tree farm west of Masafi, where several structures piled up on each other.

The second site, discovered recently, is a well-fortified structure that had been built beneath a rocky mountainous slope, Samahi said, adding that the authority will restart excavation in the coming months since it is the most precious archaeological site dating back to the Bronze Age.

The third archaeological site, he stated, was discovered earlier but the excavation was not completed. The site is a building resembling an ancient temple. Various bronze statues and ornamented pottery were recovered from the site.

The fourth archaeological site discovered in Masafi is a human settlement built with a good architectural design. Samahi said that the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority has an agreement with the French National Expedition for Antiquities to unearth archaeological sites in Fujairah.

Search for more archaeological sites at Masafi and other areas in Fujairah will be carried out for about two-and-a-half-months, starting November, he added.

Meanwhile, the FTAA has signed an agreement with RMIT University in Australia to bring about a programme through which one can view the Fujairah forts and its antiquities in 3D imaging over Google Earth Map on the internet.