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 In
the fourth gallery, after the discoveries of Hili,
visitors can see the archaeological discoveries
of UmmNar, the island located near the city of Abu
Dhabi. The site was the first to be discovered in
the United Arab Emirates (1958). The Umm An-Nar
culture, which goes back to the same date as Hili,
i.e. the 3rd millennium BC, represents the coastal
facet of the Bronze Age culture. The first archaeological
investigations on the island of Umm An-Nar were
 begun
in 1959 by a Danish team. Further, excavations were
carried out by an archaeological team from Iraq
in 1975. Limited exploration, were also conducted
by the department of Antiquities in Al Ain in1979.
A relatively large settlement site and a big cemetery
comprising fifty above ground tombs were found.
``
Only small parts of the settlement of Umm An-Nar
have been excavated. Some of the objects uncovered
in these parts are displayed in case 128. These
represent fishing tools such as copper hooks and
net sinkers. Spindle whorls made of bones, a borer,
a copper razor and a stone pestle are among the
exhibits.
On the left hand side of the showcase there is a
dugong tusk, This animal, which is a kind of a sea
cow, was the main diet for the Umm An-Nar people
4500 years ago. The bones of this animal are very
common among the organic material of the settlement.
Recent evidence however indicates that the same
animal was widely hunted and eaten up by the inhabitants
of the coastal area of the UAE since the early fifth
millennium BC. The dugong hide and oil were also
utilised.
 The
tombs of Umm An-Nar are similar to those of Hili,
i.e. circular structures with several interior chambers.
Two entrances lead to these chambers. The exhibits
from the island include a collection of copper weapons,
some bowls and a large number of  necklaces
and other jewellery. A hairpin represents the single
item of gold found from the Umm-An-Nar site, (case
129).
The Umm An-Nar wing contains an incomplete statue.
This represents a standing figure (head missing).
It was cut from solid limestone in - between relief
and
round sculpture. There are other reliefs showing
animals that originally decorated the ring walls
of the round tombs. These included reliefs of oryx,
ox, serpent and camels.
 The
subject of the camel domestication during the Umm
An Nar period is of an interest. A large number
of camel bones were found during the excavation
at the settlement.  There
is still a possibility that the animal was domesticated
during that period despite the fact that, the biological
evidence is still lacking. The present archaeological
evidence however indicates that camel was already
domesticated in the late second mill. BC.
Next to the Umm An-Nar reliefs, half size models
of the Hili tomb reliefs are also displayed. The
latter are decorating the two entrances of the Hili
tomb, which is located in the middle of Hili archaeological
park. The park is worth seeing as there are other
archaeological sites there. Indeed, the park and
the surrounding area represent the nucleus of the
Bronze Age complex. The large tomb at Hili Park,
for instance, is the largest monument known in UAE.
On the two entrances both human figures and animals
are depicted. Two figures are depicted embracing
each other and another is pictured riding a donkey.
Behind the donkey there is a second one walking
and holding a stick. Just below the entrance there
are two large animals (cheetahs?) with another small
animal in between. The southern entrance of tomb
is adorned with a big relief representing two oryxes
and two standing figures in between.
 The
three small cases (130 - 132) located in front
of the above- mentioned reliefs show pottery vessels
similar to those from Hili. These vessels belong
to the red and gray fine ware. Some bowls made
of calcite are also on display in these cases.
Next to the sketches of the Hili
reliefs there is a large case (133) that shows
a number of black and white pictures of the Umm
An-Nar tombs. The exhibits in this also show a
collection of red pottery vessels. The fine walls
of these vessels are decorated with elaborate
designs. The most interesting is a large jar,
decorated with a humped bull, which is reminiscent
of the Indus Valley designs. Next to this showcase
is another case with five vessels similar to those
of the Early Dynastic III in Mesopotamia. Because
of these similarities they can be considered imports.
 Only
a few years ago the only 3 rd millennium sites
were the ones discovered on the island of Umm
An-Nar and Hili. Recent archaeological explorations
have brought to light several other sites of the
same date. Among these is the island of Ghanadha,
which is located just offshore between Abu Dhabi
and Dubai. On this island, a seasonal Bronze Age
settlement was discovered. The finds from Ghanadha
indicate that the inhabitants lived on fishing.
 Other
sites of the Umm An-Nar culture have also been
located on several spots in the United Arab Emirates
such as Muwaihat in Ajman. One case (135) has
been allocated to the Ajman site. The pots and
the necklaces and other small finds displayed
in the showcase were found during the excavations
of the site. It is worth mentioning that the Al-Muwaihat
site was discovered in 1986 and the rest of the
materials are displayed in Ajman Museum.
 The
excavations carried out subsequently uncovered
two burials. The first is circular and above the
ground, while the other is subterranean and rectangular.
In the rectangular burial, which is 4 metres long
and 2 metres wide skeletal remains of around 120
individuals were excavated. These remains were
piled on top of each other in random order. Because
the round tomb was found empty, we can conclude
that it was deliberately emptied into the second
tomb to gain more space for the dead. In other
words we can say that the rectangular burial was
just a dumping place for those dead who were re-supplied
with various objects which were interred along
with the dead.
A settlement site from the Umm An-Nar
period was also discovered and excavated at the
village of Bidya north of Fujairah. Although we
have no objects in the museum from this site,
it is worth mentioning. The department of Antiquities
in Al Ain has uncovered the remains of a tower-like
building at Bidya similar in some ways to that
of the Hili (Hili 8) discovery. The ringwall of
the Bidya building is built of rough stones while
the remains of the interior walls were built of
clay.
Most recently other sites from
the Umm An-Nar date have been discovered in several
places in the UAE, viz., Shimal in Ras Al Khaimah,
ad Dour in Umm Al-Quwain, Al Safouh and Hatta
in Dubai and Mleiha in Sharjah and Dubai.
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