Ubar, in the village of Shisr, is an archaeological site of potentially great importance. Lost to history for over a thousand years, the rediscovery of the remains of this once important trading post on the frankincense route caused great archaeological excitement in the 1990s. It may be hard for the ordinary mortal to appreciate what all the fuss is about as there is little to see.
A small, dusty museum (currently being rehoused in a much more recent fort tower) will eventually show the limited finds from the digs but you can wander around the unearthed settlement walls and get a feeling for the old walled community. The fabled golden pillars of antiquity, however, are probably just that: a fable elaborated from Bedouin tales. The route from Thumrait is now paved and signposted from the main road.
