An early Islamic site and the pottery assemblage from ud al-Tawba-al-Mu’taredh, al-Ain al-Ain, Abu Dhai, U.A.E.

Abstract EN

An early Islamic falaj (pl.

aflaj), and a mud brick mosque were discovered on privately- owned land in the center of the town of al-Ain (UAE) in 1999 and were excavated.

The results were published in the Bulletin of the Society for Arabian Studies (Al Tikriti 2003) and incorporated into Archaeology of the Falaj (Al Tikriti 2011).

Results of further excavations between 2011 and 2014, which led to the discovery of more aflaj and further buildings, have been published recently (Al Tikriti et al 2015).

The discovery of these structures and water installations is significant as it is so far the only available evidence for the presence of Early Islamic buildings and aflaj in the al-Ain region.

In contrast to Late Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic sites, sites exhibiting Bronze and Iron Age architectural remains are widely known in the region.

The discovery of a number of aflaj and open water channels covered by sand and modern debris suggests that a large oasis must have existed in this part of al-Ain or close by.

The previously-published results have focused on the aflaj and the architectural remains.

The excavators have cautiously linked the site with the ancient historical city of Tawam, thought to be the ancient name of al-Ain and Buraymi.

This paper presents a summary of these finds together with a description of an extra building discovered in the autumn 2015 and a study of the Early Islamic pottery assemblage recovered.