Ubar in his book, The Road to Ubar, which in his view undermined his narrative authority: "its fictional drama pales next to the gripping real-life story of the Ubar expedition recounted in earlier portions of this volume." The case for Shisr being Omanum Emporium has been questioned by recent research. Nigel Groom commented in an article "Oman and the Emirates in Ptolemy's Map" published in 2007, that Ptolemy's map of Arabia contained many wild distortions. The word "Emporium" in the original Greek meant a place for wholesale trade of commodities carried by sea, and was sometimes an inland city where taxes were collected and trade conducted. Thus the term could be applied to a town that was some distance from the coast. This, Groom suggests, may have been the case with Ptolemy's 'Omanum Emporium'. He suggested that the Hormanus River, the source of which is marked on Ptolemy's map as being north-east of Omanus Emporium, was in fact the Wadi Halfrain which rises some 20 kilometres north east of Izki in modern-day central Oman. Thus, Groom concludes, Omanum Emporium was likely to have been located at Izki, possibly Nizwa, or in their vicinity. H. Stewart Edgell contended that Ubar is essentially mythical and makes arguments against any significant historical role for Shisr beyond that of a small caravanserai. Edgell suggested that the building was small and used by a few families at most. He believed that all the "discovery" of Ubar showed was how easily scientists can succumb to wishful thinking. In an article on the Shisr excavations Professor Barri Jones wrote: "The archaeological integrity of the site should not be allowed to be affected by possible disputes regarding its name." A 2001 report for UNESCO states: "The Oasis of Shisr and the entrepots of Khor Rori and Al-Balid are outstanding examples of medieval fortified settlements in the Persian Gulf region." Writing about 'Wabbar', Michael Macdonald expressed doubts about the "discovery" since the site was known for decades and Sir Ranulph was stationed there. See also Brasil (mythical island) Brittia Lemuria (continent) Mayda Mu (lost continent) Sandy Island, New Caledonia Ys General: Doggerland Lost lands Kumari Kandam Minoan eruption References External links Arabian mythology History of the Arabian Peninsula Destroyed cities Mythological populated places One Thousand and One Nights Former populated places in Southwest Asia Archaeological sites in Oman Iram of the Pillars