The 3000 -year -old necropolis, which is located in the Al Ain region, was synonymized by the Archeology section of DCT Abu Dhabi of the Department of Historical Environment.
The site is likely to include more than hundreds that contain a variety of tomb items, and sheds a new light on a previously unknown chapter of the rich inheritance of the EAU.
Iron Age Discovery in Abu Dhabi
Jaber Saleh al Merri, director of the Department of Historical Environment of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “This discovery promises to transform our understanding of the ancient emirates. For years, the traditions of burial of the Iron Age continued to be a mysterious tave of brarate that lived here 3,000 years ago.
“Strengthen our efforts to preserve, promote and protect Abu Dhabi’s inheritance for future generations.”
The new findings support the continuous efforts of DCT Abu Dhabi to better understand the history and ancient communities of the Arabian Peninsula.
As the best preserved and richly documented chamber graves of the Iron Age, the new site throughout the Ain region sacrifices a strange vision of the social, cultural and economic dynamics of the regions at a key stage in development.
All the tombs found so far were looted in ancient times. The human remains were found in a fragile condition and a team of forensic archaeologists, including an osteochaeologus, was present to ensure that all human remains were treated with care and respect.
Laboratory analysis will reveal information about age, gender and health, while old DNA promises light on family relationships and migration movements.
The tombs of the cemetery were first built by digging an axis of approximately two meters deep and then digging to the sides to create an oval burial chamber.
After the body and tomb items were placed in the camera, the entrance was sealed with mud stones and the axis was filled.
The lack of tomb markers on the surface explains why the tombs of the iron age have never been found in the Al Ain region.
Some small pieces of gold jewels that escape the attention of the looters suggest what could once have been found.
In spite of this, the impressive burial articles include richly decorated articles as part of the Afterlife package, which shows high quality crafts in a range or media that include ceramics, soft stones carved and metal carpentry.
Beverage sets include ships, bowls and small cups, along numerous copper alloy armaments, such as spearheads and chips of arrow points.
The latter show traces of preserved wood and filaments of their axis, and one examples to preserve the traces of the laugh that used to contain them.
Numerous more personal items have also been found, such as shell cosmetic containers, account collars and bracelets, rings and razor.
The Iron Age played a fundamental role in the development of the Oasis panorama of the Al Ain region. The invention of the Falaj, a form of underground aqueduct, about 3,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Iron Age, launched a sustained period of agricultural intensification and expansion that created the characteristic Oasis landscape of the EAU.
Archaeologists have found villages of the Iron Age, strong, temples, Afaj and ancient Palma Gardens in the Al Ain region, who have been working in the region for 65 years.
Until recently, however, the location of the cemeteries of the Iron Age and the customs of burial have remained a mystery.
Tatiana Valente, DCT ABU Dhabi field archaeologist, said: “We know how people in the bronze age and the late pre -demamic period buried their dead, but the Iron Age has always been a missing part of the puzzle.
“Now we are able to understand the evolution of funeral customs about time and learn what these changes could say about the beliefs and traditions of the people who lived here.”
The discovery was made as part of the funeral landscapes of the project to AIN, established in 2024 to investigate the growing number of prehistoric tombs found of the duration of the archaeological monitoring of construction work.
The project is part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s commitment to investigate the Unesco World Heritage site of Al Ain.
Al Ain’s cultural sites enrolled in the Unesco World Heritage Sites list in 2011 in recognition of its excellent universal value.
This discovery provides a greater context for the development of prehistoric cultures in the region and water management in a landscape characterized by oasis, deserts and mountains.
