community
Umm Al Quwain, UAE
Story Archive
Archaeology, pearling, settlement history, and lived coastal heritage in Umm Al Quwain.
Showing 12 of 12 stories
Perfectly preserved in the archaeological record of Sīnīya Island, the ruins of a classical Islamic town paint a vivid picture of a complex settlement hierarchy, economic system, and international relations that flour...
Located in the southwest of Sīnīya Island, the ruins of a Mosque serve as a testimony of the Islamic settlement in the area and of the history of a diverse religious landscape that came to exist on the island over the...
Umm al-Quwain’s Khor al-Beida is one of the last remaining historical lagoons on the Gulf Coast. It is a naturally rich lagoon that serves as the best example of its kind within the northern Emirates. The lagoon in Um...
A series of three stone towns was believed to be built during the fourteenth to twentieth centuries. The first two towns discovered are located in the northeast and southwest in Old Umm al-Quwain 1 and 2. Both towns h...
The Oyster Dump Shell Dumpsite is a large area of discarded oyster shells which suggest that the town’s primary economic activity was pearling. This site is distinguished from other peraling sites as it has signs of y...
This part of the structure has been identified as the home of the bishop. Like other Christian sects, the Nestorian Church organized itself into a hierarchy, through which doctrinal interpretations and faith-practices...
The discovery of a historic Christian monastery on Siniyah Island, located along the Persian Gulf in Umm al-Quwain, sheds new light on the early Christian presence in the region. Carbon dating of samples found within...
The recent (2023) archaeological excavations revealed that towards the south of where the church complex situated, there are dense buildings which might be indicating a settlement. The buildings of that are contains r...
The foundation of the third town, which prospered between the 19th and mid-20th century, before the focus of settlement once more shifted, this time to the extensive suburbs of the modern city. The reason for establis...
This settlement is named as Old UaQ 2 as it is thought to be the place where Old UaQ 1 people moved to. According to the finds, this second settlement had its most flourishing period from the early 17th to early 19th...
One of two settlements identified on the south-west coast of Sinniya island, named Umm al Quwain 1. The first town flourished between the 13th / 14th and 15th centuries. It can be dated by the presence of green-glazed...
Archaeologists have found a rectangular room next to the church building, that has seats along the two long walls, facing each other. It is understood from the remains that the walls of this room were plastered. Altho...