Muweilah

Muweilah (Arabic: مويلح) 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 period (1,100-600BC),[1] the site has been explored by archaeologists since the discovery of pottery shards by a local resident[2] led to a French survey of the area in 1989 and archaeological work by an Australian expedition in 1994[3] It has yielded the oldest known example of writing found to date in the UAE, a pottery shard with an inscription, thought to be Sabean, with the letters 'bml'.[4]

25°17′55.76″N 55°29′50.62″E / 25.2988222°N 55.4973944°E / 25.2988222; 55.4973944

Muweilah is considered to be one of the most significant Iron Age sites in the UAE. Excavations have shown the buildings within the site were damaged by a widespread fire. The first evidence of writing in the UAE was found in this site, on a piece pottery with the three letters of the South Arabic (B, M, L). Muweilah is one of the sites on the UAE's preliminary list to be nominated in the future to the World Heritage List. [5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ Blau, Soren; Denham, Tim; Magee, Peter; Biggins, Alan; Robinson, Julia; Jasim, Sabah (2000). "Seeing Through the Dunes: Geophysical Investigations at Muweilah, an Iron Age Site in the United Arab Emirates". Journal of Field Archaeology. 27 (2): 117–129. doi:10.1179/jfa.2000.27.2.117. JSTOR 530588.
  2. ^ UAEINTERACT. "UAE Interact, United Arab Emirates information, news, photographs, maps and webcams". www.uaeinteract.com. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  3. ^ Magee, Peter (2021). "Report on Fieldwork at Muweilah and Tell Abraq". Annual Sharjah ARCHAEOLOGY. 16: 49–53.
  4. ^ Heritage, Sharjah Directorate of Antiquities &. "Muweilah – Sharjah Directorate of Antiquities & Heritage". sharjaharchaeology.com. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  5. ^ "Sharjah Museums Department - Sharjah Archaeology Museum". www.sharjahmuseums.ae.
  6. ^ "An Iron Age camel ride to the UAE's past". 8 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Muweilah. Art Destination Sharjah". universes.art.
  8. ^ Heritage, Sharjah Directorate of Antiquities &. "Muweilah – Sharjah Directorate of Antiquities & Heritage". sharjaharchaeology.com.
  9. ^ "Archaeological sites". mckd.gov.ae.