Résumé
As part of Jubail Island’s urban development process, the Jubail Island Investment Company appointed LEAD Development and Management Real Estate Consultants to investigate and develop the island’s archeological heritage. Following the advice of the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi), which will supervise the project, the French company Eveha International was put in charge of the archeology work. Field work took place from September 26 to November 4, 2021. A team of 6 specialists and 19 part-time workers took part. Post-excavation work began immediately afterwards in order to submit the report by February 2022. The goals of the project were to: • identify and characterize the different anthropogenic settlements in Areas 3 and 7; • investigate the natural taphonomy and formation of a dune and multiple geophysical survey anomalies in Area 3. Area 3 is a 350 × 150 m area, southwest of the island and south of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Highway. It is made up of a north sector (JUB0010) and a south sector (JUB0022). Eleven archeological structures were fully excavated along the western edge and in the central part of JUB0010. These structures were heap-burning pits and constructed lime kilns, using coral and shells as raw materials, respectively. A new pedestrian survey to locate additional kilns identified ten more. Radiocarbon dating on two kilns determined that they date from the late Islamic period, and ceramic findings also indicate that this sector was generally occupied during that era. Preliminary studies were done on the burnt coral and shells. The geophysical anomalies and geomorphological context of Area 3 were studied using five trenches and multiple test trenches above the anomalies. We were able to create two main transects, mostly covering the JUB0022 dune area. Though not all the layers could be correlated, a global relative chronology of the deposits has already been provided. The geomorphological context of JUB0010 is distinct: a relatively flat surface on a rocky plateau. The rocky plateau is a mass of concretionized limestone formed above a 1- to 2-meter-thick sandstone layer. The JUB0022 sector, however, seems to be affected by the two main desert sand deposit processes: erosion and accumulation. In general, accumulation affects the southern part of the area explored, where a large dune has formed and the rocky plateau is nearly absent. Notably, several of the trenches in Area 3 are thought to include paleosols which could date back to the early Holocene, between 8.5 and 5 ky BP, a period when Neolithic populations were thriving in the Mesopotamian region. Seventeen of the 34 geophysical anomalies investigated consist of indurated sands; there are no anthropogenic settlements under the dune. Area 7 (sector JUB0027) features an area of rocky plateau measuring 1060 m², with three coral lime kilns. At least one of them was dated to the Iron Age I using radiocarbon dating. These archeological areas seem to consist of individual areas for cooperative lime production that took place on a small, artisanal—not industrial—scale, and for specific needs. Production seems to have been more developed during the late Islamic period than during the Iron Age. For now, evidence suggests that activity may have been intermittent given the lack of indicators of permanent settlement (dwellings, wells, etc.). Also, human groups have known and used this site as an efficient lime production area over a large period of time, given the time gap between Areas 7 and 3. Further investigations are needed to refine this hypothesis, especially in Protected Areas 1 and 2, thought to be late Islamic settlements. Possible dwellings and other mound structures with late Islamic period artifacts were observed during the DCT survey of these areas. The proximity of Areas 1 and 2 to Areas 3 and 7 is an interesting starting point. This is the first time that an artisanal area like this has been discovered and investigated in the Abu Dhabi island area. As we have seen with other sites over the Abu Dhabi islands, these structures can span a long period of time with similar architecture. To glean a better understanding of the time span and characteristics of occupation, every structure should be investigated and radiocarbon dated. This is why, to complete the investigation, per DCT request, we have suggested a reduced protective fence around Area 3. It encircles an area of 0.01 km², reducing it to 12.5% of the original Protected Area 3. The Jubail excavation included an extensive OSL sampling campaign, targeting layers surrounding suspected pedogenized levels, which should be further supported with evidence. We decided to do micromorphology column sampling as part of this campaign to better identify the type of deposits involved. The results will be analyzed in a later report due to delays in analysis. If the soil chronology and determination are confirmed, this data could very well expand on the data for the southwestern Arabian Peninsula regarding the green desert events. These investigations have painted a picture of previously unknown occupation of Jubail Island during the Iron Age and the late Islamic period. They shed light on a form of artisanal production not yet studied which, in view of the surrounding surveys, is part of a much larger occupation of the island that merits further investigation and promotion to the general public.