List of ancient settlements in the UAE

This article is part of a series on the
History of the United Arab Emirates
Bronze Age Magan civilization Umm Al Nar culture Archaeological sites Mleiha Al Ashoosh Al Sufouh Ed-Dur Hili Saruq Al Hadid Shimal Tell Abraq
Iron Age Wadi Suq culture Archaeological sites Al Thuqeibah Bidaa Bint Saud Ed-Dur Muweilah Seih Al Harf Qattara Oasis Rumailah Saruq Al Hadid Shimal Tell Abraq
Pre-Islamic Era Sasanian rule Archaeological sites Ed-Dur Kush
Islamic Era Battle of Dibba Shimal
Colonial Era Portuguese Dibba Portuguese Khor Fakkan Julfar Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 General Maritime Treaty of 1820 Perpetual Maritime Truce Trucial Kalba Trucial States
Modern history Buraimi Dispute Pearling industry Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border dispute Seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs First parliamentary election Yemeni Civil War Qatar blockade Socotra dispute COVID-19 pandemic
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The territory currently known as the United Arab Emirates was formerly populated by inhabitants of a number of coastal and inland settlements, with human remains pointing to a pattern of transmigration and settlement as far back as 125,000 years.^[1] Prehistoric settlement in the UAE took place in the Neolithic, with a number of distinctive eras of ancient settlement including the Stone Age Arabian Bifacial and Ubaid cultures from 5000 to 3100 BCE; the Hafit period with its distinctive beehive shaped tombs and Jemdet Nasr pottery, from 3200 to 2600 BCE; the Umm Al-Nar period from 2600 to 2000 BCE; the Wadi Suq Culture from 2000 to 1300 BCE and the three Iron Ages of the UAE.

Iron Age I spanned 1200–1000 BCE; Iron Age II from 1000 to 600 BCE and Iron Age III from 600 to 300 BCE. This was followed by the Hellenistic Mleiha era, from 300 BCE onwards through to the Islamic era which commenced with the culmination of the 7th century Ridda Wars.

The remains of settlements, burials and other extensive evidence of human habitation throughout these eras is littered throughout the UAE, with many extensive finds of rich materials in the shape of pottery, jewellery, weapons and both human and animal remains providing archaeologists and researchers with an increasingly sophisticated picture of longstanding involvement in regional trade alongside nomadic cultures eking out a living from the frequently arid and inhospitable desert and mountain environment of the UAE.