Excavations at MR11 on Marawah Island (Abu Dhabi,UAE): new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements and early evidence for pearling |
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Authors: | Mark Jonathan Beech Richard Thorburn Howard Cuttler Abdulla Khalfan Al Kaabi Ahmed Abdalla El Faki John Martin Noura Hamad Al Hameli Howell Magnus Roberts Peter Spencer Dominic Tomasi Olivier Brunet Rémy Crassard |
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Institution: | 1. Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi, UAE;2. Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi), Al Ain, UAE;3. 8 Regents Way, Minehead, UK;4. Bjargarstigur 7, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland;5. 38 Edinburgh Road, Oldbury, UK;6. Viale Bolognini 26, Trento, Italy;7. 21 allée de l’Université, 92023 Nanterre Cedex, France;8. CEFAS, Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales, Kuwait City, Kuwait |
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Abstract: | In 1992, an archaeological survey of Marawah Island conducted by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey identified two significant Neolithic settlements known as MR1 and MR11. Both sites are constructed on prominent rocky platforms located towards the western end of the island. In 2000 and 2003, small-scale excavations took place at MR11, with the first full excavation taking place in 2004. Excavations continued at MR11 between 2014 up to 2019. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the site was occupied between the earliest part of the sixth millennium to the mid-fifth millennium BC. Three areas have been so far examined. Area A—a tripartite house (2004 and 2014–2017 excavation seasons); Area B—a partial structure (in 2003 and 2017–2018); and Area C—a series of at least five rooms (in 2017–2019). The results provide a valuable new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements in the region, as well as the earliest known evidence for pearling. |
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Keywords: | Neolithic settlement paved hall pearls sixth–fifth millennium BC stone architecture tripartite house |
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