The road to Ubar - Nicholas Clapp

The lost city of Ubar, the most fabled of ancient Arabia, thriving centre of the frankincense trade, has fascinated explorers and archaeologists for hundreds of years, and eluded them all. Legend has it that the city, like Sodom and Gomorrah, was destroyed by God as punishment for the wicked ways of the inhabitants, and buried without trace. Clapp learned the story of Ubar while filmmaking in Saudi Arabia, and on his return to America set about solving the mystery. With a unique blend of modern and ancient research, from sophisticated navigation technology and specially requested NASA satellite photography to errors in translations of Ptolemy, Clapp brilliantly pieced together the evidence from his detective work. Returning to Arabia, he found and excavated the lost city of Ubar-30 foot walls, eight towers, artefacts over 4000 years old, and solved the ancient mystery of its sudden and dramatic demise. Beautifully written, The Road to Ubar is in the best tradition of heroic discovery, and a fascinating glimpse into Ancient Arabia.