Bidaa Bint Saud
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Bidaa Bint Saud ( ar, بِـدَع بِـنْـت سـعـوْد, Bidaʿ Bint Saud) is an
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in
Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi The Eastern Region ( ar, ٱلْمِنْطَقَة ٱلشَّرْقِيَّة, Al-Minṭaqah ash-Sharqiyyah, since March 2017 officially renamed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Al Ain Region ( ar, مِنْطَقَة ٱلْعَيْن, Min ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, notable for its
Hafit Period The Hafit period defines early Bronze Age human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the period from 3200 to 2600 BC. It is named after the distinctive beehive burials first found on Jebel Hafit, a rocky mountain near Al Ain, bord ...
tombs,
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
irrigation systems and rare remains of an Iron Age building thought to have been a distribution centre for water from two ''aflaj'' (systems of underground and surface waterways). It is a listed UN World Heritage Site. Finds from the site are displayed at
Al Ain National Museum Al Ain Museum ( ar, مَتْحَف ٱلْعَيْن, Matḥaf Al), also known as Al Ain Museum ( ar, مَتْحَف ٱلْعَيْن, Matḥaf al-ʿAyn), is a museum in the city of Al Ain, within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirate ...
. The dating of pottery from the ''
aflaj A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
'' (singular falaj) waterways found at the site demonstrates a south-eastern Arabian origin for this distinctive system of irrigation, previously thought by many scholars to have been
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
in origin. The dating of ''aflaj'' in Bidaa bint Saud,
Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...
and
Buraimi Al Buraimi Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي, Muḥāfaẓat Al-Buraimī) is one of the 11 governorates of Oman which was split from the Ad Dhahirah Region. Until October 2006, the area was part of Ad Dhahirah Regio ...
, both of which are in the historical region of Tawam, has been placed several centuries prior to the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
, which had previously been credited with the innovation. The site, located some north of Al Ain, is thought to have been a stopping place on a long-established caravan route from settlements at Al Ain to the Northern Emirates. The rocky outcrop of Garn bin Saud looms some above the site and is dotted with burial remains.


Bronze Age tombs

A number of distinctive
Hafit Period The Hafit period defines early Bronze Age human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the period from 3200 to 2600 BC. It is named after the distinctive beehive burials first found on Jebel Hafit, a rocky mountain near Al Ain, bord ...
(3200 to 2600 BCE) tombs litter the eastern face of Garn bint Saud, similar to those found at sites such as Jebel Hafit,
Jebel Buhais Jebel Buhais or Jebel Al-Buhais ( ar, جَبَل بُحَيْص \ جَبَل ٱلْبُحَيْص, Jabal Buḥayṣ / Jabal Al-Buḥayṣ) is a geological feature, an extensive rocky outcrop, as well as a Rayyan site located near Madam in the cen ...
and Buraimi. These have collapsed and would originally have had domed roofs. It is likely the location of the Hafit remains, the Hafit people being nomadic and pastoral, is because of a source of groundwater, a pattern supported by other Hafit era inland finds, including those at Jebel Hafit and Jebel Buhais.


Iron Age waterways

A second set of collective graves found at the site dated from the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
and were also built of uncut or rough-cut stone and formed into a variety of shapes. These were divided into several chambers, each of which contained the remains of several people. Despite having been plundered in the past, excavations from these Iron Age tombs yielded a number of artefacts, including pottery and stone vessels, dagger blades, bronze arrowheads, and beads. It is thought Bidaa Bint Saud became an important site during the Iron Age, both as a caravan stop and as a settled community of farmers that used the ''falaj'' irrigation system. Two of these irrigation passages have been partly excavated at Bidaa bin Saud, with a number of sections remaining in reasonable condition. In one of the excavations, a number of sandstone-lined shaft holes were discovered, as well as a stepped underground access point and a large open cistern. Evidence of formerly irrigated land has also been found at the site. The mother well is thought to have been relatively shallow, about away from the head of the ''falaj'' systems. Located some from the main access point of the ''falaj'', archaeologists have also excavated a large mud-brick building containing a hall of . Parts of the remains stand up to high and, while the roof is missing, there is evidence it was supported by 12 columns. Storage rooms were a later addition and contained finds of many storage jars. While the building's precise purpose remains unclear, archaeologists think it was likely a distribution point for the water from the ''falaj'' systems and it has been dubbed ''Bait Al-Falaj'' ( ar, بَـيْـت الْـفَـلَـج, lit=House of The Falaj).


See also

*
Iron Age in the United Arab Emirates The territory currently known as the United Arab Emirates was home to three distinct Iron Age periods. Iron Age I spanned 1,200–1,000 BCE, Iron Age II from 1,000–600 BCE, and Iron Age III from 600–300 BCE. This period of human development in t ...
*
Al Ain Oasis Al-Ain Oasis ( ar, وَاحَة ٱلْعَيْن, Wāḥat Al-ʿAyn, "Oasis of the Spring") is the largest oasis in the city of Al Ain, within the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Geography It is located i ...
* List of Ancient Settlements in the UAE *
List of cultural property of national significance in the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Central Region Eastern Region Western Region Ajman Dubai Fujairah ...
*
Qattara Oasis Qattara Oasis ( ar, وَاحَـة الْـقَـطَّـارَة, Wāḥat al-Qaṭṭārah) is an area of irrigated date farm in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates featuring a distinctive ''falaj'' ( ar, فَـلَـج) irrigation system as well as a ...
*
Rumailah, UAE Rumailah ( ar, ٱلرٌّمَيْلَة) is an archaeological site in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, as well as the site of a thick-walled coral and adobe fort, thought to date to the early 20th century. Located three kilometres west of Hili Ar ...
*
Umm Al Nar culture Umm Al Nar ( ar, أُمّ الـنَّـار, Umm an-Nār or Umm al-Nar, lit=Mother of the Fire) is a Bronze Age culture that existed around 2600-2000 BCE in the area of modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The Arabic name has in th ...


References

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in the United Arab Emirates Buildings and structures in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Eastern Region, Abu Dhabi