UAE Archaeological Findings Document Human Activity Dating Back 60,000 Years
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ABU DHABI, August 23 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — Archaeological research announced across the UAE in 2026 has documented human activity dating back approximately 60,000 years while revealing new evidence about settlement, environmental adaptation and economic connections during later periods.
A major collective tomb discovered at the Qattara Archaeological Cemetery in Al Ain offers one of the year’s most detailed records of community life. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi announced the discovery in July, dating the structure to the Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age periods, approximately 2000–1300 BCE.
Measuring 11 metres by 2.5 metres, the tomb was used by hundreds of individuals over at least a millennium. Its construction incorporated carved stone blocks repurposed from earlier Umm al-Nar funerary structures dating to approximately 2700–2000 BCE.
Pottery, weapons and personal ornaments were recovered from the tomb. Human remains and artifacts are undergoing isotopic and DNA analyses intended to examine ancient diets, health, migration and trade networks. Results from those analyses have not yet been announced.
Separate research at the Jebel Al Buhais rock shelter in Sharjah identified repeated episodes of human occupation between approximately 60,000 and 16,000 years ago. The international study, published in Nature Communications in March, challenged earlier assumptions about settlement in the region.
The evidence does not indicate uninterrupted occupation. Instead, it records communities returning to the site during widely separated periods and adapting to severe climatic fluctuations and drought.
The Qattara discovery expands the archaeological record associated with the Al Ain Cultural Sites, which were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011.
The UAE’s international heritage representation also expanded in 2026 with the addition of five sites to the ICESCO Heritage List. These were Saruq Al Hadid in Dubai and four locations in Sharjah: Jebel Faya, the historical towers and forts of Khorfakkan, Nahwa and Wadi Al Helo.
Wadi Al Helo contains Bronze Age petroglyphs and the remains of a historic village. Rock art at Nahwa spans periods from the Bronze Age to modern times and has been recorded using three-dimensional digital technology.
Further research at Jebel Faya is being supported by an AED2 million grant covering the period from 2026 to 2028, extending scientific investigation of the UAE’s prehistoric record.
Source: WAM
