New evidence for the Early Islamic landscape of Al Ain Fieldwalking and surface ceramics from Slemi, Jimi Region

Recent discoveries are shedding light on the Early Islamic archaeology of Al Ain and Buraimi. Key sites include an arish settlement at Qattara, a mudbrick village at Hamasa, and a mosque with a falaj at Oud Al Toubah. The site of Slemi, located between these, helps fill a geographic gap. Fieldwalking and ceramic analysis by UAE University students indicate occupation between the 9th and early 11th centuries. The ceramics suggest Slemi was either an arish suburb of Hamasa or linked to agricultural activity such as manuring fields and palm groves.

Nour Nasser Al Marzooqi, Peter Sheehan, Timothy Power, Malak Al Ajou