The researchers have already found evidence that the climate was much different at that time. Among the mysteries of the region the findings may help resolve, for example, is whether the Queen of Sheba, who would have been contemporaneous with Ubar, really existed. The discoveries are expected to shed considerable light on the early history of the region, which has been shrouded in myth, said George Hedges, 39, a Los Angeles lawyer who with 53-year-old filmmaker Nicholas Clapp was one of the leaders of the expedition. The researchers also discovered the remains of a nearby neolithic village that may date to at least 6000 B. Ultimately, the weight of the city caused the cavern to collapse in a massive sinkhole, destroying much of the city and causing the rest to be abandoned. In building his “imitation of paradise,” the legendary King Shaddad ibn ‘Ad unknowingly constructed it over a large limestone cavern. Moreover, the researchers say they have documented how the city fell, and that it did not appear to be by divine retribution for wickedness. In a news conference today at the Huntington Library in San Marino, the researchers will announce that the site excavated over the past two months reveals an unusual eight-sided structure that must have been every bit as magnificent as it was portrayed in legend. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, called it “the Atlantis of the sands” and, like the undersea Atlantis, many scholars doubted that Ubar ever existed. Ubar’s rulers became wealthy and powerful and its residents-according to Islamic legend-so wicked and debauched that eventually God destroyed the city, allowing it to be swallowed up by the restless desert.
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