Animal exploitation at ed‐Dur (Umm al‐Qaiwain, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

Faunal remains are described from a series of contexts excavated in the coastal site of ed-Dur, dated between the second and fourth century AD. The more than 19,000 identified animal bones allowed a diachronic and spatial analysis. Subsistence relied heavily on domestic animals, in particular sheep and goat, and on fishing. Whereas the exploitation of terrestrial resources seems to have been quite constant throughout the period considered, the aquatic fauna shows changes through time. A shift, possibly linked to overexploitation, is seen both in the proportions of the targeted fish species and in their sizes. The deposition of some of the mammals encountered in burials is also dealt with; dog and ovicaprid can probably be added to the list of mammals used in ritual context in the region. Spatial analysis did not reveal particular concentrations or activity areas. In general the finds fit nicely in the archaeozoological record of the wider region.

Two Pre-Islamic Places of Worship in the Tourism Landscape of the UAE

“…The main excavated structure, and the core argument for a World Heritage inscription application, is a rectangular temple that was identified in and has been studied since the 1980s by a team from Ghent University, led by Ernie Haerinck, following initial joint seasons with other European teams (see Boucharlat et al 1988Boucharlat et al , 1989. The prolific, multidisciplinary outputs from this Belgian mission (Haerinck et al 1991;Haerinck 1992;Van Neer and Gautier 1993;Vrydaghs et al 2001;Daems 2004;De Waele 2007;Rutten 2007, to mention just a few) and subsequent spinoff projects in the region by original and new team members (e.g., the excavations at Mleiha, now directed by Bruno Overlaet; e.g., Overlaet and Haerinck 2014;Overlaet 2015;Overlaet et al 2016) remain fundamental as source material for the local domestic and defensive architecture, and indeed the material expression of this important classical settlement in which Roman, eastern Mediterranean, southern Mesopotamian, Iranian, and Indian imports from the first centuries BC and AD have been recovered. The temple itself is, in fact, a sanctuary to a solar deity and is about eight square meters, erected in large, well-cut stone and covered in a geometrically decorated gypsum (Figure 1).…”

The Prehistoric Fisheries of Akab Island (United Arab Emirates): New Insights into Coastal Subsistence during Neolithic in Eastern Arabia

“…Later fisheries are known from two other archaeological sites at Khor al-Beidah (Figure 1): Tell Abraq (Early Bronze Age) and ed-Dur (Early Iron Age and the Late pre-Islamic period) (Table 3). The large amounts of fish remains include significant quantities of sparoids and mullets, which indicate a perseverance of fishing in the shallow coastal waters, including the lagoon (Uerpmann & Uerpmann 2005;Van Neer et al 2017). Overall, open water fishing is attested at both sites through the occurrence of pelagic fishes such as Thunnini, king soldier breams, amberjacks (Seriola spp.)…”

Size and weight estimations of the spangled emperor (Teleostei: Lethrinidae: Lethrinus nebulosus) from bone measurements elucidate the fishing grounds exploited and ancient seasonality at Akab (United Arab Emirates)

“…Although less numerous, snubnose emperors and smalltooth emperors ( Lethrinus microdon ) are also frequently encountered in the Persian Gulf. Several archaeological sites from the Neolithic to the Islamic (or pre‐modern) period have provided huge proportions of emperors: Umm al‐Quwain site 2 (Mashkour et al, ), Ed‐Dur (Van Neer, Gautier, Haerinck, Wouters, & Kaptijn, ), Qala'at al‐Bahrain (Vorenger, ), Umm an‐Nar, Tell Abraq, Saar (Uerpmann & Uerpmann, ), and Julfar (Desse & Desse‐Berset, ). Because the location of emperor grounds varies between immature and mature individuals, and according to the seasons, size reconstructions are essential to understand ancient fishing strategies, techniques, and even seasonality.…”