Umm al-Nar Culture

Umm al-Nar
Umm al-Nar
Coordinates:
Country	UAE
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)

Umm al-Nar (Arabic for "Mother of fire") is the name given to a bronze age culture that existed from 2600-2000 BC in modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The etymology derives from the island of the same name which lies adjacent to Abu Dhabi.

Location

The key site is well protected, but its location between a refinery and a sensitive military area means public access is currently restricted. The UAE authorities are working to improve public access to the site, and plan to make this part of the Abu Dhabi cultural locations.

Attributes

One element of the Umm al-Nar culture is circular tombs typically characterized by well fitted stones in the outer wall and multiple human remains within.

The Umm an-Nar culture, as indicated from inland 3rd millennium BC, covers no more than seven centuries (2700-2000 BC). The name is derived from Umm al Nar, a small island located on the southeast of the much larger island Abu Dhabi and it is one of the 200 islands that dominates the coast of Abu Dhabi.

Excavations

The first archaeological excavations in Abu Dhabi began at Umm al-Nar in 1959, twelve years before the foundation of the United Arab Emirates.Seven tombs out of fifty and three areas at the ruins of the ancient settlement were examined by the Danish Archaeological Expedition. During their first visit they identified a few exposed shaped stones fitted together at some of the stone mounds. The following year (February 1959) the first excavations started at one of the mounds on the plateau, now called Tomb I. Two more seasons (1960 and 1961) were carried out digging more tombs, while the last three seasons (1962/1963, 1964 and 1965) were allocated to examine the settlement.

The Danish excavations on Umm al-Nar halted in 1965 but were resumed in 1975 by an archaeological team from Iraq. During the Iraqi excavations which lasted one season, five tombs were excavated and a small section of the village was examined. Between 1970 and 1972 an Iraqi restoration team headed by Shah Al Siwani, former member of the Antiquities Director in Baghdad, restored and /or reconstructed the Danish excavated tombs.

At Al Sufouh Archaeological Site in Dubai, archaeological excavation between 1994 and 1995 revealed an Umm Al-Nar type circular tomb dating between 2500 and 2000 B.C.

Dilmun Burial Mounds in Bahrain also feature Umm al-Nar Culture remains.

At Tell Abraq, UAE, settlements associated with the start of the Umm al-Nar Culture began c. 2500 BC.

Occupation phases

The Ubaid period (5000-3800 BC) is the oldest period known in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Pottery vessels of the period already show contacts with Mesopotamia.

The Hafit culture followed. During the Hafit period (3200 - 2600 BC) burial cairns appeared having the appearance of a beehive; they consisted of a small chamber for one to two burials.

The early phase of Umm an-Nar period occupation in the region is represented by hundreds of beehive stone tombs. Mesopotamian pottery was found there.

After Umm an-Nar, the Wadi Suq culture followed (2000-1600 BC). Wadi Suq inherited the sophisticated culture of Umm al-Nar, yet it witnessed a decline.

The poorly represented last phase of the Bronze Age (1600-1300 BC) has only been vaguely identified in a small number of settlements. This last phase of the Bronze Age was followed by a boom when the underground irrigation system (the qanat here called falaj) was introduced during the Iron Age (1300-300 BC) by the local communities.

See also

• Umm al-Quwain
• Hili Archaeological Park
• Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn

Bibliography

• P. Yule–G. Weisgerber, The Tower Tombs at Shir, Eastern Ḥajar, Sultanate of Oman, in: Beiträge zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Archäologie (BAVA) 18, 1998, 183–241, ISBN 3-8053-2518-5.
• Karen Frifelt, The Island of Umm-an-Nar. Jutland Archaeologcia Society Publications, Aarhus 1995
  • Vol. 1: Third Millennium Graves. ISBN 8772885610.
  • Vol. 2: The Third Millennium Settlement. ISBN 8772885777.
• Walid Yasin Al Tikriti: Archaeology of Umm an-Nar Island (1959–2009). Abu Dhabi Culture & Heritage, Department of Historic Environment, Abu Dhabi 2011
• About Umm an-Nar culture, at academia.edu website:
  • Charlotte Marie Cable, Christopher P. Thornton: Monumentality and the Third-millennium “Towers” of the Oman Peninsula. online
  • Daniel T. Potts: The Hafit – Umm an-Nar transition: Evidence from Falaj al-Qaba'il and Jabal al-Emalah. In. J. Giraud, G. Gernez, V. de Castéja (Hrsg.): Aux marges de l'archéologie: Hommages à Serge Cleuziou. Paris 2012: Travaux de la Maison René-Ginouves 16, S. 371–377. online