The primary main Iron Age cemetery within the United Arab Emirates has been unearthed within the Al Ain area of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi’s Division of Tradition and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) just lately revealed.
The three,000-year-old necropolis is believed to incorporate greater than 100 tombs stuffed with grave items. Consultants from DCT Abu Dhabi’s archaeology part of the historic atmosphere division discovered a number of small items of gold jewellery; shell beauty containers; bead necklaces; bracelets; rings; razors; ingesting units equivalent to spouted vessels, bowls, and small cups; and copper-alloy weaponry, together with spearheads and arrowheads. Evidenced among the many finds is the standard of the discovered items.
Human stays recognized in tombs on the grave web site have been fragile. Additional evaluation is predicted to verify age, gender, and well being of the folks these stays belonged to. Their DNA may additionally present larger perception on familial relationships and migration patterns.
“This discovery guarantees to remodel our understanding of the traditional Emirates. For years, the Iron Age burial traditions remained a thriller, however now we’ve got tangible proof that brings us nearer to the individuals who lived right here 3,000 years in the past. It reinforces our efforts to protect, promote, and defend Abu Dhabi’s heritage for future generations,” Jaber Saleh Al Merri, Director of the Historic Surroundings Division at DCT Abu Dhabi, informed Gulf News.
The tombs would have been constructed by digging a roughly six-and-a-half foot shaft. Additional digging sideways would have then created an ovular burial chamber. As soon as the physique and items have been positioned inside, the doorway was sealed shut utilizing mud bricks or stones earlier than it was backfilled. No grave markers on the floor stage could also be a part of the rationale why the invention of Iron Age tombs has been a rarity within the area. One other is due partially to looters from antiquity.
The Iron Age noticed the invention of the falaj, a sort of underground aqueduct that contributed to a interval of agricultural growth. Archaeologists have beforehand unearthed villages, forts, temples, aflaj, and historical palm gardens within the area from this time.
“We all know how folks within the Bronze Age and Late Pre-Islamic interval buried their lifeless, however the Iron Age has all the time been a lacking a part of the puzzle. We at the moment are ready to know the evolution of burial customs over time and study what these modifications may say in regards to the beliefs and traditions of the individuals who lived right here,” stated Tatiana Valente, a discipline archaeologist at DCT Abu Dhabi, reported the Khaleej Times.
The Cultural Websites of Al Ain have been a UNESCO World Heritage Website since 2011. This excavation is a part of the bigger Funerary Landscapes of Al Ain Challenge, which started in 2024 to futher look at prehistoric tombs recognized throughout building work.
