A new Dilmun-related seal from Umm al-Quwain (U.A.E.)

Abstract

Excavation of a late 2nd–1st millennium BC necropolis of semi-subterranean collective graves at Abraq 2 in Umm al-Quwain, U.A.E., unearthed a remarkable collection of artifacts, including a distinctive domed stamp seal. This discovery sheds light on cultural exchange and the adoption of artistic motifs in Southeast Arabia. The seal’s morphology and iconography display elements associated with the Dilmun culture, centered in Bahrain during the late 3rd and first half of the 2nd millennium BC. However, the date indicated by its archaeological context and certain deviations from established canons of Dilmun glyptic suggest a more nuanced interpretation, with the possibility of a local reinterpretation. This new finding contributes to our understanding of Dilmunite influences in the region and adds to a growing corpus of Dilmun-related seals.

Keywords

• Southeast Arabia
• Iron Age
• Arabian Gulf archaeology
• seals and amulets
• cultural exchange
• Dilmun glyptic