...........The Hellenistie Period

The Hellenistic culture was the result of the cultural interaction between the Greek civilization and the civilization of the ancient Near East. This took place after the conquest of Alexander in the Near East. Here in the Arabian Gulf, traces of this culture were evident in the 3rd century BC. It flourished and continued for a few centuries after Christ.

Real archaeological sites from this period have not been discovered in Al Ain so far. However remains of three single graves yielding a few objects have been found in the area of kuwaitat. This discovery and the presence of huge settlement sites that were discovered in the Emirate of Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain are evidence for the foreign influence on this part of Arabia.

At Mleiha, which is located south of Daid in the Emirate of Sharjah, remains of a castle and a cemetery were discovered and partly excavated by the Iraqi team in 1973. The Mleiha finds in the Al-Ain Museum came from the above mentioned excavations. Among the finds is a glazed jar, pottery dishes and a pedestal (case 157). In the other case (158) a badly preserved metal objects, which may represent a ceremonial axe, is displayed. In the same case there are two handles made of pottery. The first one is stamped with Greek inscriptions mentioning the name of the maker. It was reported that his jar was traded from Rhodes in Greece around the beginning of the 2nd century BC. The second handle shows the lotus flower surrounded by some Greek inscriptions mentioning the name of the maker and the month. This handle dates from 220 -180 BC. A caravan flask, a dagger, some arrowheads and fragments of glass are also exhibited in the same case.

It is worth noting that the Department of Antiquities in Sharjah, through the French and the local team, carried out further excavations in Mleiha. A second large castle, houses and cemeteries were subsequently uncovered. The recently discovered finds from Mleiha are on display in sharjah Museum.

The second large settlement site, which the Al Ain Museum keeps, finds from is Ad-Dur. The site is located in the Emirate of Umm Al- Quwain and it was also first excavated by a team from Iraq. A square fort and some graves were uncovered.

Case 160 shows some coins and clay figurines. The rest of the finds, however, were left with the local authority in the Emirate of Umm Al-Quwain.

Due to the importance of the Ad-Dur site other teams from Belguim, Denmark, Britain and France carried out an extensive programme to reveal the ancient culture of the site. Being 4 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide ake the site one of the most important sites in the Gulf. It was considered an important harbour in the ancient UAE. The site was important not only because of its fort and cemeteries but also because of recently discovered temple. The temple, which was uncovered by the Bulgim team, is comprised of one large room and a number of Alters built just outside it. It is the first temple to have been discovered in the UAE and has been dated between 100 BC to 100 AD. According to the short Aramaic text found on top of one of the Alters the temple may have been dedicated to God Shamash (God of Sun).

The archaeological discoveries, which came from these excavations, are stored in the Amiri court in the emirates of Umm Al-Quwain. The court was in-charge of the site but the recently founded Department of Antiquities is taking care of the site and the finds. A new museum exhibiting these important discoveries is due to open in the near future. The old fort of Umm Al- Quwain is supposed to house these relics.