Tell Abraq

Tell Abraq (on the border between the Emirate of Sharjah and the Emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain, United Arab Emirates) was an ancient Near Eastern city. It was originally on the coastline of the Persian Gulf.

The site was occupied from the 3rd to the 1st Millennium BC. Significant construction activity began circa 2500 BC associated with the start of the Umm an-Nar Culture. In the 2nd Millennium it was associated with the Wadi Suq culture.

The location of Tell Abraq made it a key transhipment point between Mesopotamia, the area made up of modern day Iraq, and the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappan weights and pottery were found at the site. The presence of Barbar pottery suggests trade relations existed with the Dilmun civilization centered in Bahrain. This area has been proposed as the location of Magan known from Mesopotamian cuneiform sources.

The mound is about 1.5 hectares in area and reaches a maximum height of around 10 meters.

The site was excavated in 5 seasons between 1989 and 1998 by a team from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark led by Daniel Potts. Work was resumed in 2006 by a joint team from the Bryn Mawr College and the University of Tübingen led by Peter Magee.

A tomb at the site, 6 meters in diameter, was built and reused between 2200 BC and 2000 BC, roughly cotemporal with the Ur III Empire. There were 413 remains in the tomb. A number of archaeological finds were recovered with the remains including copper implements and linen. A large stone tower was also built at that time, with a diameter of about 40 meters. A platform of dirt was built over the tower in the Iron Age, preserving it.

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