The seventh and eighth Belgian archaeological expeditions to ed‐Dur (Umm al‐Qaiwain, UAE)

Abstract

The results of the 1993 and 1994 seasons by a Belgian team from Gent University at ed‐Dur in the Emirate of Umm al‐Qaiwain are presented. The excavations concentrated on area BS, where a total of 2650 m2 were excavated. This large exposure provided a vast amount of material of the late 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. Only some rare objects (from different areas) are presented.

Copper‐alloy figurines from Tell Abraq (Umm al‐Quwain, UAE) and the circulation of Hellenistic motifs in late pre‐Islamic Arabia (300 bc–300 ad)

“…On the one hand, the latter option finds its stronger support in the presence of the mentioned stone statues, given the parallel provided by the badly preserved statue of a standing eagle discovered inside the temple of the sun god Shamash at ed‐Dur (Haerinck, 2011, p. 10, pls. 54–55).…”

Dibba: an ancient port on the Gulf of Oman in the early Roman era

“…50/2). This piece is reminiscent of a fragment of a terracotta cameland-rider figurine from ed-Dur (Haerinck 1996 : fig. 11).…”

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

“…Several objects of foreign origin show that ed‐Dur was well connected, and its favourable location makes it likely that it functioned as a harbour in international sea trade (2003: 201, 205), but the exact character of the site remains unclear: was it permanently inhabited or visited only seasonally (Lecomte, : 202–203)? The site probably had several functions—religious (a large temple was found), funerary (many graves were excavated), residential and artisanal (Haerinck, : 69). The fort excavated in area F by the French team is later than the first and second century AD.…”