UAE | Heritage and Culture
Ancient seal dating back to Bronze Age discovered in Abu Dhabi
Expert says it is the first of its kind and has origins in Mesopotamia.
- Staff Report
- Published: 11:58 March 1, 2009
Abu Dhabi: A team working for the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) has found an ancient stone cylinder seal dating back to the beginning of the local Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago.
It is the first of its type found in Arabia and was found in the deserts of the Al Gharbia area (Western Region) of Abu Dhabi.
The discovery was made by a team from GRM International that is currently undertaking the Abu Dhabi Emirate soil survey, which is managed by EAD. The seal was lying in an area where samples were being collected.
The seal is in the Jemdat Nasr style, from Mesopotamia (Iraq), and was imported from Mesopotamia, according to a leading expert in Arabian archaeology, Professor Dan Potts of Australia's University of Sydney.
Decorated with tiny carvings of women with their hair tied back in a plait, a stylised couch and a spider, the seal is dated to between 3,100 BC to 2,900 BC, according to Professor Potts. Similar seals have been found at Susa, in Iran, and at Khafajah and Uruk in Mesopotamia.
While other cylinder seals from the Early Bronze Age have been found in the UAE, at Hili, near Al Ain, and at Al Sufouh, in Dubai, for example, these are from the slightly later Umm Al Nar period, which lasted from around 2,500 BC to 2,000 BC, making the Medinat Zayed find of special importance as the first of its kind.
Pottery from the Jemdat Nasr period has been found in tombs of the Hafit type, proving the existence of early contact between Mesopotamia and the UAE and Oman.
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