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Al Etihad
15-06-2025
- Al Etihad
Step into the Bronze Age at Al Ain's Hili Archaeological Park
16 June 2025 00:23 RAJEEV CHERIAN (AL AIN)A lush public garden home to major archaeological sites, Hili Archaeological Park in Al Ain offers an ideal setting for family outings and peaceful strolls in nature and serves as a treasure trove for history enthusiasts. Located some 10km outside the lush oasis city of Al Ain, Hili Archaeological Park offers insights into Bronze Age (3000-1300 BCE) and Iron Age (1300-300 BCE) settlements, tombs and irrigation site also reveals details about the earliest known evidence of an agricultural village in the UAE, dating to 3000 BCE, according to the Abu Dhabi Culture 2500 and 2000 BCE - during the period known as 'Umm an-Nar' era — settlements at Hili term 'Umm an-Nar' also refers to an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi, where artefacts from this era were first discovered, shedding light on the culture and lifestyle of the UAE's Bronze Age from the site revealed that the island's inhabitants traded with the civilisations of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and the Indus Valley Civilisation (modern-day Pakistan and India), according to information on the Abu Dhabi Culture website. A Burial SiteA major attraction at the site is the 4,000-year-old Hili Grand Tomb. Measuring 12 metres in diameter and originally thought to be four metres in height with a roof, the tomb was used to bury people from surrounding settlements. The tomb features two entrances decorated with intricately engraved reliefs depicting human and animal figures. Similar tombs can be found in neighbouring areas, according to Abu Dhabi Culture. 'Life After Death' Adjacent to the Grand Tomb is the Hili 1 Settlement, once a tower made of mud bricks. The site was excavated in the 1960s by Danish archaeologists at the invitation of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, according to Abu Dhabi Culture.'This partially excavated settlement was inhabited by a community which believed in life after death as indicated by the number of stone monuments they built for their dead,' it said. 'The inhabitants lived in buildings constructed of sun-dried mud bricks. The most typical shape of the early Bronze Age dwellings is a round tower with a well usually located in the centre of the building.'The round tower was surrounded by smaller buildings and a defensive ditch, according to information displayed at the site at the centre of the park is Hili 10 Settlement.'These are the remains of a single building which may have been the central part of a larger settlement. Only the foundations of the building remain, as the original floors and the upper wall have been eroded away by time,' reads the inscription at the park.'The types of pottery discovered indicate that the building belonged to Bronze Age (3000-1300 BCE) and it was reoccupied during the Iron Age (1300-300 BCE).' Global HeritageThe Hili area also features a falaj irrigation system, which carries water from the mountains to the farms via a complex system of underground and surface channels. In 2011, Al Ain became the first in the UAE to be inscribed on UNESCO's world heritage site list, featuring: the Bronze Age Hafeet Tombs, the archaeological settlements at Hili, the prehistoric settlements and burial mounds at Bidaa bint Saud, and the six lush oases of Al Ain, including Al Ain Oasis.
Observer
29-01-2025
- Science
- Observer
Experts shed new insights into Oman's earliest settlements
Manah, Jan 29 The Oman Across Ages Museum hosted a lecture on the region's Early Bronze Age settlements on Wednesday. The event featured presentations by Mathilde Jean, Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the British Museum and Martin Sauvage, Research Engineer at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. Their research, centred on Bisaya and Bat, offers groundbreaking findings on ancient society, environmental adaptation and early settlement development. The Bat Archaeological Project's 2025 field season continues to explore two main objectives; understanding the human-environment interactions that allowed Early Bronze Age populations to thrive and engaging with the modern Bat community and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism's support to conservation. The excavation efforts this season have focused on Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BC) structures in Bat and the nearby Rakhat al Madrah site. Jean highlighted the significance of Bisya as one of the richest archaeological areas in Oman, revealing monumental architecture, ancient villages and tombs that provide exceptional insights into early trade networks, craft activities and societal structures. She explained that the first evidence of oasis settlements in the Oman Peninsula dates back to the Early Bronze Age in the third millennium BC, emphasising how recent discoveries by the French Archaeological Mission in Central Oman have reshaped the understanding of ancient life in the region. The research spans two key periods of Oman's early history. The Hafit period, from 3200 to 2700 BC, was characterised by thousands of court tombs that reflect demographic growth and social organisation. This era saw the construction of monumental buildings but had few settlements and no visible hierarchy. The subsequent Umm an-Nar period, from 2700 to 2000 BCE, was marked by the emergence of large collective tombs, the expansion of settlements, and advancements in crafts such as pottery and copper metallurgy. Despite these developments, there were no cities, royal systems, or extensive iconography during this time. Among the key findings was a Hafit-Umm an-Nar transitional tomb measuring 4.5 meters in diameter, which contained the remains of 52 individuals. The tomb provided evidence of ante-mortem dental pathologies, as well as significant discoveries such as pottery vessels, shell and stone beads made from steatite and carnelian, and other burial offerings. These artifacts offer valuable insights into the burial practices and health conditions of the period. Excavations also revealed new insights into early tower structures, including mudbrick towers with walls reaching 1.80 meters in height, and traces of burnt layers that may indicate significant historical events or structural modifications. Additionally, a shark vertebra and nearly 600 fishbones were found in the archaeological layers, confirming the presence of coastal-inland trade networks that played a vital role in food and subsistence strategies.
