Umm Al Nar culture

Umm Al Nar (Arabic: أُمّ الـنَّـار, romanized: Umm an-Nār or Umm al-Nar, lit. 'Mother of the Fire') was an Early Bronze Age culture that lived around 2600–2000 BCE in parts of what we now call the United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The name comes from an island close to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, where important discoveries were made that helped us learn about this ancient people.

The Umm Al Nar people were key traders between big ancient worlds like Sumer in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Harappan culture. The Sumerians called their land 'Magan'. From this area, they got valuable materials such as copper and diorite, and also traded items like carnelian jewellery that came from the Indus Valley.

Location

The most important place on the island, called Sas Al Nakhl today, is protected. However, because it sits between a refinery and a military area, people cannot visit it right now.

Attributes

One special sign of the Umm Al Nar culture is their round tombs. These tombs have strong outer walls made from carefully fitted stones and often hold many human remains inside. Many of these tombs were built near water sources and are linked to towers.

Excavations

The first archaeological digs in Abu Dhabi started at Umm Al Nar in 1959, twelve years before the United Arab Emirates was founded. A Danish team led by archaeologist PV Glob examined seven tombs and parts of an ancient village. They found shaped stones at some stone mounds. More digging happened in the years that followed.

Later, in 1975, a team from Iraq continued the work. They dug up five more tombs and looked at a small part of the village. Between 1970 and 1972, an Iraqi team restored some of the tombs dug up by the Danes.

At the Al Sufouh Archaeological Site in Dubai, digs in 1994 and 1995 found a circular tomb from the Umm Al Nar time, between 2500 and 2000 BCE. A similar tomb is at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre in Sharjah.

Bahrain also has remains from the Umm Al Nar Culture. At Tell Abraq, settlements from the start of this culture began around 2500 BCE.

Occupation phases

The Ubaid period (5000-3800 BCE) came after the Neolithic time in Arabia. During this time, pottery showed connections with Mesopotamia.

Next was the Hafit period (3200 - 2600 BCE), known for special burial mounds shaped like beehives.

The Umm Al Nar period (2600-2000 BCE) is famous for its round tombs and special black-on-red pottery, along with jewelry made from gems like carnelian from the Indus Valley.

Important Umm Al Nar sites in the UAE, such as Hili, Al Badiyah, Tell Abraq, and Kalba, had large towers, likely for defense. These towers often surrounded wells to protect water supplies.

During this time, Sumer mentioned lands like Magan and Tilmun (modern Bahrain) in their records. Magan was known for its shipbuilding and sea skills. Trade between the Indus Valley and Sumer happened through Magan.

Archaeological finds from this period show trade with the Indus Valley, Sumer, Iran, and Bactria. They also found what might be the oldest case of a certain disease in a woman's skeleton from Tell Abraq.

Local crafts included soft-stone vessels with dotted circle designs, made in shapes like beakers and bowls.

The archaeological record shows that southeastern Arabia was a key trading place between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. People there were not just traders but also acted in their own interests.

Trade with Mesopotamia ended around 2000 BCE due to several events, including changes in the Indus Valley and the fall of Ur. Around this time, the port of Umm Al Nar was abandoned.

The end of the Umm Al Nar period led to the Wadi Suq period (2000-1300 BCE), which focused more on inland settlements and developed metallurgy and camel domestication.

The later Bronze Age (1600-1300 BCE) is not well understood, but it was followed by a boom when underground irrigation systems, known as Falaj or Qanat, were introduced in the Iron Age (1300-300 BCE).