 Between 1737 and 1742 , Richard <unk> , an English anthropologist , toured the Middle East and wrote of what he thought were ruins of defensive walls built with 3 @.@ 7 @-@ metre ( 12 ft ) stone blocks near the Awali river . When the French <unk> Ernest <unk> visited the area in 1860 , he noticed that the Awali bridge abutments were built of finely <unk> blocks that originated from an earlier structure . He also noted in his report , Mission de <unk> , that a local treasure hunter told him of a large edifice near the Awali bridge . 
