Oldest Pearl Town Found On A UAE Island, Artefacts Found Date Back To Late 6th Century: Report

The town is located on Siniyah Island in Umm al-Quwain, an emirate located some 50 kilometres northeast of Dubai. The artefacts are from the pre-Islamic era.

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest pearl town in the Persian Gulf, The Associated Press (AP) reports. The pearl town is located on an island off one of the northern sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and has artefacts which date back to the late 6th century. 

The town is located on Siniyah Island in Umm al-Quwain. The artefacts are from the pre-Islamic era. Historical texts have mentioned older pearling towns, but this town on Sinyah Island marks the first time archaeologists have physically found a pearling town from the pre-Islamic era across nations of the Persian Gulf, an AP report says. 

Quoting Timothy Power, an associate professor of archaeology at the United Arab Emirates University, the AP report says this is the oldest example of that kind of "Khaleeji" pearling town, and that it is the spiritual ancestor of towns like Dubai. Khaleeji means "Gulf" in Arabic. 

More about Siniyah Island and the pearling town

Siniyah Island shields the Khor al-Beida marshlands in Umm al-Quwain, an emirate located some 50 kilometres northeast of Dubai along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The meaning of "Siniyah" is "flashing lights". The island could have got its name due to the effect of the white-hot Sun overhead. In 2022, archaeologists discovered an ancient Christian monastery dating back as many as 1,400 years on Siniyah Island. 

The recently discovered pearling town sits directly south of the monastery on one of the curling fingers of the island, and stretches across approximately 12 hectares. On the island, archaeologists found a variety of homes made of beach rock and lime mortar. Some houses are cramped quarters, while some have courtyards. According to Power, the varieties of houses suggest a social stratification. 

Archaeologists discovered loose pearls and diving weights in the homes. Free divers used to quickly drop down diving weights to the seabed to check the depth of the water body. 

Since the town predates the rise of Islam across the Arabian Peninsula, the residents were probably Christians, the article says. Prophet Muhammad was born around 570 AD and died in 632 AD. 

Pearling rapidly collapsed after World War I, due to the introduction of artificial pearls and the Great Depression. 

A dumpsite was found near the site. It was filled with the detritus of discarded oyster shells, the report says. 

Power said one finds only one pearl in every 10,0000 shells, and that one may have to find and discard thousands and thousands of oyster shells to find one.