Exavations at sites across Sharjah region in the United Arab Emirates, including Mleiha, Al Faya, Wadi Al Hilo, Tell Abraq and Dibba Al Hisn, revealed numerous discoveries dating from 500’000 BC onward. In Mleiha, in the central region of the emirate, a Belgian team from Ghent University found remains of homes made of clay containing pottery, as well as burial grounds. In Wadi Al Hilo a Bronze Age site was revealed, being a centre of smelting. The teams of archaeologists from Tubingen University and the Sharjah Department of Antiquities found many hammers, anvils and copper slag, all of which are related to the smelting process, dated back between 8000BC and the Islamic era.
Excavations continued at Tell Abraq, near the border with Umm Al Quwain on sites dated to between 3000BC and the Stone Age. A Japanese team from Kanazawa University continued excavations on the Dibba Al Hisn site, learning that trade and commerce connected the area with other parts of the world.
Excavations in Al Faya mountains and Suhaila unearthed stone tools that add valuable information to the history of human beings in the area. The tools found date as far back as up to half a million years ago. In Umm Al Quwain, teams of archaeologists found a site with about 500 tombs dating back 2,000 years at Ed-Dur, one of the largest archaeological sites in the country.
(after The National)