ABU DHABI: In a groundbreaking discovery that sheds light on a lost chapter of Emirati history, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the unearthing of the first major Iron Age cemetery in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Found in the Al Ain Region, the newly excavated site is estimated to be around 3,000 years old and includes more than 100 tombs – making it the most well-preserved Iron Age necropolis in the country.
The site was discovered by the Archaeology Section of the Historic Environment Department at DCT Abu Dhabi as part of ongoing efforts to map ancient life across the Emirate. This unprecedented find provides new insight into the burial practices, community life, and craftsmanship of a civilisation that once flourished in the region.
Jaber Saleh Al Merri, Director of the Historic Environment Department, described the discovery as a turning point: “This promises to transform our understanding of the ancient Emirates. For years, the Iron Age burial traditions remained a mystery, but now we have tangible evidence that brings us closer to the people who lived here 3,000 years ago.”
Excavation process
All tombs uncovered during the excavation had been looted in antiquity, but archaeologists were still able to recover a range of burial goods and human remains. These remains, although fragile, are being carefully studied by a team of forensic specialists, including osteoarchaeologists, to determine details such as age, gender, and health.
The burial structures were built by digging a shaft roughly two metres deep and creating an oval side chamber. After placing the body and goods inside, the chamber was sealed with mudbricks or stones and the shaft backfilled. The absence of surface grave markers explains why Iron Age tombs in this region had remained undiscovered until now.
Laboratory analysis of ancient DNA is expected to provide further insights into familial relationships and potential migration patterns. This could help researchers understand how populations moved and settled across the Arabian Peninsula during the Iron Age.
Iron Age artefacts
Despite extensive historical looting, several items survived – shedding light on the high level of craftsmanship during that era. Small pieces of gold jewellery, likely overlooked by looters, were recovered along with an impressive array of grave goods. These include pottery, carved soft-stone vessels, and finely worked metal objects.
Drinking sets comprised spouted jars, bowls, and miniature cups, while copper-alloy weaponry such as spearheads and caches of arrowheads were also retrieved. Some arrowheads even retained traces of wooden shafts and remnants of the original quivers.
Personal items like shell cosmetic containers, bead necklaces, bracelets, rings, and razors were also uncovered, hinting at the daily routines and personal grooming habits of the people buried there.
Filling historical gaps
The Iron Age in the UAE marked a transformative period, particularly in the Al Ain Region, with the invention of the falaj – an underground irrigation system that revolutionised agriculture. This innovation led to the development of the lush oasis landscape that characterises the area today.
While archaeologists have uncovered Iron Age villages, forts, temples, and palm gardens in Al Ain over the past 65 years, burial sites from this period had remained elusive. This discovery not only fills a critical gap in archaeological records but also supports the interpretation of how burial customs evolved over time.
Tatiana Valente, a field archaeologist with DCT Abu Dhabi, noted: “We know how people in the Bronze Age and Late Pre-Islamic period buried their dead, but the Iron Age has always been a missing part of the puzzle.”
The site was discovered as part of the Funerary Landscapes of Al Ain Project, launched in 2024. The project aims to study the growing number of prehistoric tombs uncovered during construction monitoring and contributes to the long-term preservation of Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage.
UNESCO context
The discovery falls within the scope of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation granted to Al Ain’s cultural sites in 2011. The site’s universal value lies in its unique interplay of desert, oasis, and mountainous landscapes – and the sophisticated ancient water management systems developed there.