Al Ain Museum: an ancient landscape beneath the carpark

Al Ain (National) Museum, founded in 1969 by Shaykh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan beside Sultan Fort, is part of the UNESCO-listed Cultural Sites of Al Ain. In 2019, DCT Abu Dhabi began a major restoration and expansion project, preserving the main building and adding new facilities. Archaeological work during the redevelopment uncovered deep cultural deposits, revealing Iron Age aflaj, a late pre-Islamic tomb, PIR wells reused as middens, and an early Islamic falaj. These discoveries have provided important new evidence filling gaps in Al Ain’s archaeological and ceramic record, offering fresh insights into the development of the oasis landscape.

Peter Sheehan, Timothy Power, Steve Karacic & Sophie Costa