Archaeologists from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) have discovered evidence of the UAE’s and the Middle East’s oldest known buildings, going back over 8,500 years.
Archaeologists discovered stone buildings on the island of Ghagha, west of Abu Dhabi city, that revealed more fascinating UAE history.
Carbon-14 study of charcoal particles showed the most astounding discovery, according to Abu Dhabi archaeologists, indicating the structures are at least 8,500 years old, exceeding the previous record for the earliest known structures created in the UAE, which were unearthed on Marawah Island.
Long-distance maritime trade routes, which developed during the Neolithic period, were previously thought to have preempted settlements in the area, but new discoveries show that Neolithic settlements existed prior to the onset of trade, implying that local economic and environmental conditions drove the first settled life in whoat is now the United Arab Emirates.
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Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “These archaeological finds have shown that people were settling and building homes here 8,500 years ago. The discoveries on Ghagha island highlight that the characteristics of innovation, sustainability and resilience have been part of the DNA of the inhabitants of this region for thousands of years. The finds reinforce an appreciation of history, as well as the deep cultural connections between the people of the UAE and the sea. We are also reminded that there is still much to discover across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and that it is vitally important we continue working to discover, preserve and protect our invaluable heritage for current and future generations to learn more about our ancestral past.”
The structures that have been discovered are simple spherical rooms with stone walls that have been preserved to a height of about one metre. The rooms were most likely homes for a small group of people who resided on the island all year. Hundreds of artifacts, including well crafted stone arrowheads that would have been used for hunting, were discovered in the rooms.
Archeologists are unsure how long the settlement existed, but it appears to have remained an important part of the cultural landscape after it was abandoned, as a person was buried in the ruins approximately 5,000 years ago.
