Madar is a village about north of the Yemeni capital of
Sanaa. In 2003 a local journalist noted the existence of
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
footprints in
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
bedrock and brought them to the attention of geologists at the
University of Sanaa
Sana'a University ( ) was established in 1970 as the first and the primary university in the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), now the Republic of Yemen (see also Aden University). It is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and is currently o ...
. The main site of the finds, located at , is approximately {{convert, 3, km, 0, abbr=on west off the main road, and has been signposted and fenced by the Yemen Geological Survey. Additional tracks have been recognized nearby, within the villages of Arhab and Bait al Washr. At the main site it was determined that there were tracks of eleven
sauropod
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...
s and one
ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...
dating from 150 million years ago. Footprints of both juveniles and adults were found. The discovery is the first of dinosaur footprints in the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, and only a very few fossils have been previously identified in the peninsula. The discovery has since been signposted for tourists, and efforts are underway to list the site with
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. From here,
Radhanite
The Radhanites or Radanites (; ar, الرذنية, ''ar-Raðaniyya'') were early medieval Jewish merchants, active in the trade between Christendom and the Muslim world during roughly the 8th to 10th centuries.
Many trade routes previously esta ...
traders migrated to various parts of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
whose descendants (converted to Islam) are recognised today under the family name of ''Madar''.
External links
BBC article about the siteScientific report of the findings
Populated places in Yemen