Ancient site found in UAE may be sixth-century lost city

Archaeologists working in Umm Al Quwain believe they may have located 'Tu'am' - once the capital of the Gulf coast famed for its pearls

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  What is believed to be part of the lost city of 'Tu’am', with remnants of tenements on right. All photos: Umm Al Quwain Department of Tourism and Archaeology

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  Archaeologists worked at the site on Sinniyah Island in Umm Al Quwain from January to March.

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  The settlement was once an important coastal city.

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  Dr Michele Degli Esposti, head of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Umm Al Quwain and researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences, surveys part of the site.

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  A jar popping out from the soil. Experts believe this may have been one of the tannour ovens or used for storage.

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  Experts examine the site of a mass burial in the monastery area of the site.

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  Prof Tim Power of UAE University said it was major find. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  The site sits on Sinniyah Island close to the Khor Al Beida lagoon.

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  Four seasons of work have now been completed at the site.

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  Experts examine part of the monastery area.

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  An aerial view of the central core of the monastic centre, with surrounding isolated buildings which could have been accommodation for monks.

Archaeologists working in Umm Al Quwain believe they may have located the ancient lost city of Tu'am.

It is thought the city was once the capital of a territory, on the Gulf coast of what is now the Emirates, and a pearl fishing centre famed for the quality of its gems.

So renowned was Tu'am at its peak around the sixth century that it was written of in ancient Arabic texts.

After a plague and regional tensions, the city declined and faded from memory. But now experts working at Al Sinniyah Island believe the area where a pearling village and monastery were found over the past few years is probably the location of this lost city.

Archaeologists this year found the remnants of what could be described as ancient tenements – large buildings with residential units tightly packed around narrow alleyways indicating a sophisticated settlement of thousands that was semi-urbanised and with a social class system.

An ancient site in Umm Al Quwain may have once been the capital of the Gulf coast and renowned for its pearls. Photo: Umm Al Quwain Department of Tourism and Archaeology

Remarkable discovery

Work at the site has been undertaken by the Umm Al Quwain Department of Tourism and Archaeology under the direction of its chairman, Sheikh Majid bin Saud Al Mualla, and in collaboration with local and international partners.

“This year, excavation has continued at the southern end of the pearl fishing city, with further digging in several rooms within the houses of the pearl fishing city and the Christian monastery area to better understand the layout of the buildings and document the archaeological structures,” said Rania Hussein Kannouma, acting director of the department of archaeology and heritage at the Department of Tourism and Archaeology.

“We remain committed to continuing archaeological research.”

The settlement on Al Sinniyah dates to at least the fourth century and reached its zenith during the fifth and sixth centuries. The city attracted Nestorian monks who established a Christian monastery – the second to be found in modern-day UAE – sometime between the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the seventh century.

Previously, archaeologists thought the settlement might have been a lay community for the monks. But after four seasons of work at the site, it is believed they have stumbled on something much larger.

“Our archaeological work has discovered the largest settlement [of its period] by far ever found on the Gulf coast of the Emirates,” said Prof Tim Power of UAE University.

“And it's exactly the right period for the city described in the early Islamic geographical sources. It's clearly a really important place. No one has ever found it.”

Digs this winter saw archaeologists unearth the remains of densely packed buildings that were homes to scores of people. This shows the progression of the settlement that is now thought to span about 10 hectares.

First came small stone huts surrounded by discarded oyster shells. Then, because of the success of the pearl trade, the town expanded with larger homes with lavish courtyards for wealthier merchants built further away. These tenement buildings underline how droves of workers came to the settlement.

“It looks like the rich kind of flew away from the dense neighbourhood with large compounds built likely more to the north,” said Dr Michele Degli Esposti, head of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Umm Al Quwain and researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences. “We start to see this kind of social stratification.”

A glimpse into the past

The site is located on Sinniyah Island by the lagoon. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Archaeologists paint a picture of a thriving but crowded city with each tenement spanning about 30 square metres. Infant mortality was high. The prevalence of tannour ovens – large clay jars turned upside down and used for fires to bake bread – meant it was probably a smoky environment.

Significant amounts of date wine jars thought to be from Iraq have been unearthed, as well as fish bones.

The residents weren't just fishing in the lagoon though.

“They were going out into deeper waters to get the larger species,” said Prof Power. “We've got quite a lot of tuna.”

Findings also show the inhabitants were connected to wider trade networks that ran through Iraq, Persia and India.

Jars inscribed with the ancient Aramaic language, the dominant language in the region before Arabic, have been found this year indicating a sophisticated level of trade.

“There seems to have been quite a cosmopolitan community, with a wide array of trade goods,” said Prof Power.

The site sits on Sinniyah Island which protects the Khor Al Beida lagoon. From the air, Sinniyah looks like a series of fingers and it is on one of these where Tu'am is believed to have been located.

Today it seems like a remote place. But the lagoon is one of largest in the region and has abundant marine resources.

“It's a really excellent location,” notes Prof Power. “You've got mangroves, which are used for cooking fuel and for possibly even building material. You've got pearl beds. There is trade to other coasts.

Stepping back in time

The city was the predecessor of the pearling towns of the 19th and 20th century.

“The kind of life that you see in those old photographs in Dubai, I think, must have been very similar to the life lived by the people living on Sinniyah Island 1,500 years ago,” he said.

The discovery also sheds light on the region’s pre-Islamic history. Tu’am in Arabic means twins. The town would have been called To'me in Aramaic, however, and this was then rendered into Greek and English as Thomas when the meaning was lost. So it is thought the city was named after St Thomas, who was sent to the East to spread Christianity.

“In the Western tradition, we know him as doubting Thomas,” said Prof Power. “But in the eastern Syriac tradition he is the founding father of eastern Christianity.”

Tu’am was thought to be a Christian settlement for about 200 years before the spread of Islam.

The settlement started out as a pearling town before expanding. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Prof Power said while they have not found irrefutable evidence – such as an inscription stating the name of the town – no other major settlements dating to this period have been found on the coast, strengthening the argument that this is Tu’am. “It's a process of elimination,” he said.

It is believed the site declined from the sixth century due to regional tensions and a devastating bubonic pandemic – the Plague of Justinian – that spread throughout the Mediterranean region, decimating Constantinople and bringing devastation to the population.

Mass graves have been found at the site, but the skeletons don’t show signs of trauma - which shows they did not die a violent death.

“Why else would you have a mass grave? Probably the biggest candidate is plague.”

Dr Degli Esposti said they did not find too many objects in the rooms meaning it may not have been a “sudden abandonment”.

“If the plague hit, they didn't all die the same.”

Historical sources suspected the city's location to be in Al Ain and Al Buraimi but now that is being reassessed in the wake of the findings.

More work is planned at the site and samples taken from some of the skeletons have been sent for DNA testing. Archaeologists also used methods such as radiocarbon dating and paleography to inform their work. It is also envisaged that parts of the site will be opened for tourism.

“Maintenance seasons for the Christian monastery and the buildings of the pearl fishing city will continue with the aim of enhancing their authenticity and preparing them as a cultural tourist area,” said Ms Hussein Kannouma.

The findings reshape ideas about the modern-day UAE and help to provide insight into the history of its early people.

Dr Degli Esposti said the findings will “resound all around the region”.

“It's really exciting,” he said. “This is also a site that is really, really, really promising.

“You could really provide people with the possibility to walk through the streets of an ancient town.”