Tell Abraq

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Tell Abraq is an ancient Near Eastern city in the United Arab Emirates, near the border of Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain, about 50 kilometers northeast of Dubai. It used to lie on the coastline of the Persian Gulf, but rising sea levels moved the site inland. It sits along the main road from Umm Al Quwain to Falaj Al Mualla.

Origin and importance
Tell Abraq is linked to the Umm Al Nar culture and is one of the Gulf region’s best‑preserved prehistoric settlements. The site shows occupation from about 2,200 BC to 200 AD, spanning the Umm Al Nar, Wadi Suq, and Iron Age periods. It is considered one of the key places in the area that the ancient Sumerians knew as Magan.

The fortress and houses
At the heart of the site is a large circular fortification made of mud brick and faced with stone. It is about 40 meters in diameter and around 8 meters high, built around 2,200 BC. A stone-lined well sits in the center and reaches the water table. A later mud platform from the late second millennium BC was built over the fortification. This tower is the largest Umm Al Nar fortress tower excavated in the UAE. Around it lie Umm Al Nar buildings and fireplaces, along with mud brick houses from the second and early first millennium BC.

The great tomb
Near the tower lies a monumental tomb about 6 meters in diameter, with two chambers and a doorway. It holds the remains of roughly 410 people (mostly adults). The cemetery shows that some individuals suffered illness or limited mobility and were cared for, suggesting a stable and prosperous society. One woman in her twenties was found to have polio, possibly the earliest dated case of the disease. Grave goods include ceramic and stone vessels, copper and bronze rings, spearheads, ostrich eggshell fragments, beads, and infant feeding shells. The tomb dates to the late 3rd millennium BC, around 2200–2000 BC, with radiocarbon dates around 2197–2036 BC.

Trade and connections
Tell Abraq provides clear evidence of extensive trade networks. Items from far away—such as Harappan (Indus Valley) weights, carnelian and agate jewelry, ivory, and tin—were found at the site. Some goods show connections to regions like Elam (for bitumen) and possibly Bactria. Bronze was refined and cast at Tell Abraq, and a variety of seals and pottery links show cultural and economic interactions with Mesopotamia, Iran, and the Indus world.

Fauna and subsistence
The site has yielded the largest collection of animal bones found at any site in the Arabian Peninsula—over 100,000. People kept sheep, goats, and cattle, hunted gazelle and oryx, and ate fish, shellfish, turtles, and dugongs from the Gulf. This indicates a mixed economy and growing specialization over time.

Excavations and researchers
The mound covers about four hectares and rises roughly 10 meters above the surrounding flats. The site is divided by a border, so east and west areas are often studied separately. An Iraqi team conducted limited trenching in 1973, but records are sparse. Systematic work began with five seasons from 1989 to 1998 by a University of Copenhagen team led by Daniel Potts, focusing on the Ed-Dur area nearby. Excavations resumed in 2007 as a collaboration between Bryn Mawr College and the University of Tübingen, led by Peter Magee, with large-scale digs starting in 2010. Since 2019, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Umm al-Quwain, led by M. Degli Esposti, has been working on later periods of the site. A radiocarbon date from the fortress base places 2461–2199 BC for part of Tell Abraq’s sequence.

Impact on UAE archaeology
Tell Abraq helped define the Iron Age in the UAE, aiding the division into Iron Age I (1200–1000 BC), II (1000–500 BC), and III (500–300 BC). Its rich finds, including figurines, seals, and imported materials, show a complex, connected society with long-distance ties and advanced craft and trade.