Ed-Dur / ad-Dūr

Ed-Dur, in the United Arab Emirates, is a coastal site occupied in the Neolithic, the Iron Age, and Antiquity from the 1st to the 4th century CE. It probably belonged to the ancient kingdom of ʿUmān together with Mleiha, and could be identified as the ancient long-distance trading port of Omana. It comprises the remains of a fortified residence and a shrine dedicated to Shamash.

The archaeological site of ed-Dur is located in the United Arab Emirates, on the eastern shore of the Umm al-Quwain lagoon.

A Neolithic occupation was identified on the island of Akab, in this lagoon. It consists of at least two circular dwellings dating back to the 5th millennium BCE, associated with Ubaid pottery. Nearby, a mound of dugong bones dated to the 4th millennium BCE bears witness to ritual practices related to the slaughter of this marine mammal.

An Iron Age settlement was explored a little way back from the coastline, to the north of the archaeological zone. It consists of an adobe enclosure built on a 50-cm-thick rubble foundation, forming a 70-by-50-m oval. Several hearths were excavated inside and outside the enclosure, associated with Iron Age I and II pottery. This settlement, together with the remains of molluscs and fish, has been interpreted as a seasonal camp linked to the use of maritime resources.

The remains of the settlement dating from the 1st to the 4th century CE are the most remarkable feature of the site. The main settlement is located on the sandy area crossed by dune alignments. It extends to the east of the highest dune, 18 m above the lagoon shoreline. The current topography is not very different from that of the early Christian era. These are not the usual remains of a densely built-up city. The buildings, made of blocks of marine shell sandstone, are small, scattered units consisting of one or two rooms, or sets of four or more rooms, including in some cases an enclosed outdoor space. The survey only revealed a small number of these, distributed between spaces strewn with pottery sherds and occupation sediments, probably resulting from light temporary installations, alternating with simple or monumental stone tombs, grouped in cemeteries.

A sanctuary was excavated at the south-western edge of the site. It was carefully built, oriented east-west, and consisted of a single room measuring 8.3 by 8 m, opening to the east. Its walls were covered with fine white gypsum plaster, decorated in relief panels imitating a pseudoisodomum ashlar masonry. Four altars stood to the east, with a stone basin bearing a dedication in Aramaic to the god Shamash on top of one altar.

A small fortified enclosure of 25 by 22 m, built of consolidated marine sandstone blocks, stood towards the centre of the site. It probably served as a refuge rather than as a residence for the elite.

In the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries CE, another fortified building was built. It was square, 25 m on each side, flanked by round towers at the corners and a semi-circular bastion on the northeast corner. The entrance was flanked by two stone statues of headless eagles in the Hatrean style, probably collected from a sanctuary. This residence demonstrates the durability of a power centre in ed-Dur, and is contemporaneous with another nearby building and a cemetery on the island of Ghalla in the lagoon.

The fortified building housed the tombs of two individuals buried with their weapons and mounts (dromedaries). A small cemetery developed around these tombs. It yielded pottery and glassware from the 3rd-4th centuries CE. The abandonment of the last building of ed-Dur seems to coincide with the abandonment of the site of Mleiha.

Due to its location and the abundant material imported from the Mediterranean area, ed-Dur could be identified with Omana, a port mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, and be part of the Characenian kingdom exchange network. The material culture and monetary series found at the site show that it was part of the domain of Mleiha and the ancient kingdom of ʿUmān.

Following the abandonment of ed-Dūr, settlement shifted to the nearby island of Sīnīya, which was home to a Christian community in late antiquity and early Islam (Power et al. 2023).

Michel Mouton

References and suggested reading

• Boucharlat, R., E. Haerinck, O. Lecomte, D.T. Potts & K.G. Stevens 1989. The European Archaeological Expedition to Ed-Dur, Umm al-Qaiwayn (U.A.E.) - An Interim Report on the 1987 and 1988 Seasons. Mesopotamia XXIV: 5–72.
• Haerinck, E. 2001. Excavations at ed-Dur, vol. II. The Tombs. Leuven: Peeters.
• Haerinck E. 2011. Excavations at ed-Dur, vol. III. A Temple of the Sun-God Shamash and other Occupational Remains at ed-Dur (Emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain). Leuven: Peeters.
• Haerinck, E., B. Overlaet, A. De Waele, P. Delrue, 2021. Excavations at ed-Dur, vol. IV. Small finds from ed-Dur, Umm al-Qaiwain, U.A.E. (late 1st cent. BCE to early 2nd cent. CE). Leuven: Peeters.
• Méry, S., V. Charpentier, G. Auxiette & E. Pelle 2009. A dugong bone mound: the Neolithic ritual site on Akab in Umm al-Quwain, United Arab Emirates. Antiquity 83: 696–708.
• Mouton, M. 2008. La péninsule d’Oman de la fin de l’âge du Fer au début de la période sassanide (250 av.-350 ap. J.-C) (BAR International Series 1776, Society for Arabian Studies Monographs, 6). Oxford: Archaeopress.
• Phillips, C.S. 2001. Ed-Dur North, Umm al-Qawayn (U.A.E.), in M. Mouton & W. Yasin al-Tikriti (eds) The architectural remains of the Iron Age sites in the United Arab Emirates and Oman (Documents d’Archéologie de l’Arabie, 2). Lyon, al-Ain: Maison de l’Orient, Department of Antiquities and Tourism of al-Ain.
• Potts, D.T. 1990. The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity, vol. II. From Alexander the Great to the Coming of Islam. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Power, T., M. Degli Esposti, R. Hoyland & R.H. Kannouma. 2023. A newly discovered late antique monastery and Islamic town on Sīnīya Island, Umm al-Quwain. PSAS 52: 273–89.

_{Alternate spellings: al-Dūr, ad-Dur, al-Dur, ed Dur, ed-Dûr, ed Dûr, ed Dour}