History & Culture

UAE Archaeological Timeline: 60,000 Years of History

Stone tools at Jebel Faya, Sharjah, show human presence in Arabia 210,000 to 120,000 years ago, per Sharjah Archaeology Authority dating. Marawah Island preser…

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210,000 YEARS AGO

Jebel Faya: Earliest Human Evidence

Stone tool layers at Jebel Faya, Sharjah, are now dated by the Sharjah Archaeology Authority to between 210,000 and 120,000 years ago - the oldest documented human evide…

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c. 5,800 BCE

Marawah Island: Village and the World's Oldest Pearl

Marawah Island preserves the UAE's earliest known architecture. A layer dated 5,800-5,600 BCE yielded the 'Abu Dhabi Pearl' - described by DCT Abu Dhabi as the world's o…

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c. 3200-2000 BCE

Hafit Tombs and the Umm Al Nar Culture

Over 500 beehive tombs at Jebel Hafeet and the circular tombs of the Umm Al Nar culture reveal organised Bronze Age societies trading pottery and beads with Mesopotamia…

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IRON AGE

Saruq Al-Hadid: Metalworking Beneath Dubai's Desert

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum spotted ore-stained sand from a helicopter in 2002, leading to Saruq Al-Hadid - a major Iron Age metalworking centre with about 10,…

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PRE-ISLAMIC ERA

Mleiha: Coins, Camels and a Trading Kingdom

Mleiha, Sharjah, minted its own coins and buried camels and horses beside their owners - evidence of its role as a key caravan hub linking Indian Ocean and Mediterranean…

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PRE-ISLAMIC ERA

Ed-Dur: Trading With Rome, Persia and India

Ed-Dur's Temple of Shamash and coins from Rome, Parthia, South Arabia and India show Umm Al Quwain was plugged into a trade network linking Roman Egypt with the Indian O…

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LATE ANTIQUE ERA

Christianity in the Pre-Islamic Gulf

A Church of the East monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island (found 1992, a cross uncovered 2025) and a newly found monastery and pearling town on Siniya Island document Christ…

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MEDIEVAL ERA

Julfar and the Pearling Economy

Julfar, Ras Al Khaimah, became a major Indian Ocean port exporting pearls, dates and horses to China - direct continuity between ancient Gulf trade and the pearling econ…

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