Elephant skulls and six million year-old fossils are not usually the sort of bounty that surveyors in the Gulf are on the lookout for —normally it’s oil.
But not the people at the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS). They are charged with surveying undeveloped land in the emirate to see if there is anything of archaeological significance that needs excavating before construction work begins.
And their findings and subsequent recommendations are held in such high regard that developers in the emirate have been known to amend their construction plans accordingly.
Sounds very positive, but no indication whether the operation is really what it's held out to be in the article or not. It may be possible though, since money might not be that much of an issue in such oil-rich countries. The lower your margins the less willing you're going to be to spend time and money on archaeology.