Rumailah () is an archaeological site in

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, the

U.A.E. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as its ...

, as well as the site of a thick-walled coral and adobe fort, thought to date to the early 20th century. Located west of

Hili Archaeological Park Hili Archaeological Park () is the location of a Bronze Age site in Al Ain, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Description and history Hili is the largest Bronze Age site in the UAE and dates from the 3rd millennium BC. Other rema ...

, the rectangular mound at Rumailah is thought to have been home to populations dating back to the late Umm Al Nar period, yielding buildings and artefacts from a more recent, major

Iron Age II The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlement dated from around 1,100–500 BCE.

Archaeology

Finds at Rumailah include distinctive pottery adorned with snake patterns, similar to finds at Qusais and

Masafi Masafi () is a village located on the edge of the Hajar Mountains in the United Arab Emirates. It sits at the inland entrance of the Wadi Ham, which runs down to Fujairah City. The border between the emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah runs ...

and the major Iron and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

metallurgical production centre at Saruq Al Hadid, as well as

chlorite The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite (oxyanion), halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as s ...

vessels decorated with turtles alternating with trees, similar to finds from Qidfa' in

Fujairah Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...

, Qusais in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and Al-Hajar in Bahrain. A number of Iron Age swords and axe-heads, as well as distinctive seal moulds, were also recovered from the site. A number of bronze arrowheads were also found. The Iron Age buildings found at Rumailah are typical of those found in the region, at Iron Age I and II sites such as Thuqeibah and

Muweilah Muweilah () is an archaeological site in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. it is located in what is now the suburb of Al Jurainah near Sharjah University City. A large, fortified settlement thought to have been occupied during the Iron Age II perio ...

, with a number of row dwellings, although lacking the perimeter walls found at Thuqeibah. A columned hall at Rumailah provides a further link to Muweilah, while a number of pyramidal seals found at Rumailah find an echo with similar objects discovered at

Bidaa Bint Saud Bidaa Bint Saud () is an archaeological site in Al Ain Region, Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, U.A.E., notable for its Hafit period, Hafit Period tombs, Iron Age in the United Arab Emirates, Iron Age irrigat ...

. Late Iron Age weaponry found at Rumailah (as well as Qattara and Buhais) supports the theory that the area, once known to the

Sumerians Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Like nearby Elam ...

Magan Magan may refer to: Places * Magan (civilization) * Magan, Russia * Magan Airport * Magán, Spain *Magan, alternative name of Mahin, a village in Iran * Aman Magan, a village in Iran People * Magan (name) Film and television *'' Azhagiya Tamil ...

, was known to the

Achaemenids The Achaemenid dynasty ( ; ; ; ) was a royal house that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, which eventually stretched from Egypt and Thrace in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Origins The history of the Achaemenid dy ...

as the satrapy of ''Maka''. Evidenced both in inscriptions and texts from

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

, Maka supplied troops to Xerxes to fight in his army in 480 BCE according to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

' ''Histories''. Iron Age short swords with distinctive crescent pommels of a type found in Qattara are identical in form to that borne by the figure of a native of Maka carved in

Darius Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

II’s grave relief at Persepolis.

References

{{Reflist Al-Rumailah, UAE Archaeological sites in the United Arab Emirates History of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Archaeology

See also

References