<< Text Pages >> Mleiha Fort - Stone Fort or Dun in United Arab Emirates
Submitted by ShamrockStone on Saturday, 22 December 2018 Page Views: 808
Multi-periodSite Name: Mleiha Fort Alternative Name: MLH-CWCountry: United Arab Emirates
NOTE: This site is 33.251 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Stone Fort or Dun
Nearest Town: Dubai Nearest Village: Al Madam
Latitude: 25.117150N Longitude: 55.871630E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Stone Fort or Dun in United Arab Emirates
The site was first discovered in 1990 during digging to create trenches for a water pipeline installation. Before excavation the fort had been hidden under a road’s embankments.
His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, ordered a detour of the road so that the building could be completely excavated. In 2004 the walls of the fort were restored and then protected with layers of new sun-baked mud bricks made of local clay to prevent further decay. A roof has also been added to the site, providing shade and protecting the area from erosion that could be caused by torrential rain.
The original fort was constructed during the last phase of the ancient city of Mleiha, sometime between the mid-2nd century and the end of the 3rd century BCE. It was probably the residence of an important leader or ruler given its architectural layout. This theory is further supported by many of the site’s excavated finds which suggest its inhabitants enjoyed significant power and wealth, accumulated through long-distance trade and local production. Similar to the Palace (MLH-8), which was occupied around the same time, it looks as though the people living at the fort were forced to leave following a violent and/or dramatic event which led them to abandon the site in a hurry.
Nearly square, the fort measures around 56.11m x 51.77m and is built of mud-brick, with thick fortification walls. Archaeologists think the building may have had an upper storey where the living quarters would have been. There are towers at each corner and in the middle of each side of the fort, with the central tower on the eastern side forming the entrance to the building.
Interior rooms along the western, southern and eastern sides were probably used for storage and for crafts. We know this because excavation revealed storage jars of different types and sizes as well as evidence of iron and bronze metal work, giving an important indication as to the fort’s economic function. Workshops for ivory, bone, mother of pearl, bitumen and rope could also be identified. Rooms were built against the fortification wall with space left for a large courtyard, onto which they all opened.
Along the northern wall lie four groups of smaller rooms in two rows. Ovens, fireplaces, ashes, organic remains, animal bones and large amounts of pottery suggest these rooms were used as kitchens and for other domestic activities. Also found here were luxury goods which it is thought fell from the upper floor when the building collapsed. These finds included glass and soft-stone vessels, alabaster vases, bronze bowls, beads, fragments of ivory, coins and figurines. The discovery of three fragments of coin moulds was particularly significant: It indicates the high political ranking of the ruler who lived at the Mleiha Fort as only a sovereign over an economically-powerful realm would have had the right to mint and issue coins.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
1.7km NW 306° Mleiha Archaeological Centre* Museum
1.8km NW 306° Mleiha Umm an-Nar tomb* Chambered Tomb
2.3km WNW 284° Jebel Faya tomb 1* Chambered Tomb
2.3km WNW 284° Jebel Faya tomb 2 Chambered Tomb
2.3km WNW 283° Jebel Faya tomb 3 Chambered Tomb
2.4km WNW 287° FAY-NE-15* Ancient Village or Settlement
2.4km W 274° Jebel Faya Rock Shelter Cave or Rock Shelter
2.5km WNW 284° Wadi Caves* Cave or Rock Shelter
14.0km SSW 212° Al-Buhais 18 Ancient Village or Settlement
48.7km NW 315° Mowaihat Chambered Cairn
52.3km NW 322° Tell Abraq* Stone Fort or Dun
54.0km WNW 299° Sharjah Archaeological Museum* Museum
58.1km NW 326° Umm al-Quwain 2* Ancient Village or Settlement
60.0km WNW 286° Dubai Museum* Museum
61.3km NNW 331° Akab Ritual Site and Settlement Ancient Village or Settlement
61.6km W 271° al-Sufouh* Chambered Cairn
69.1km NE 34° Dibba Tomb Chambered Tomb
76.5km N 8° Ras Al Khaimah Tombs* Chambered Tomb
80.6km NNE 13° Shimal Tomb Chambered Tomb
85.8km S 190° Bida Bint Saud Burial Chamber or Dolmen
92.0km S 185° Al Hili Archaeological park* Museum
119.4km S 183° Jebel Hafit Cairn Tombs* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
123.0km NNE 16° Tawi Petroglyphs* Rock Art
124.7km S 175° Mezyad graves Burial Chamber or Dolmen
126.0km NNE 17° Khasab Fort Museum* Museum
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