Saruq al-Hadid: Cult, Craft, and Community in the Rub’ al-Khali

Prof Lloyd Weeks | University of New England

Thursday, September 4 | 5:30pm doors for a 5:45pm start

Saruq al-Hadid, in Dubai, UAE, is one of south-eastern Arabia’s most significant yet enigmatic archaeological sites. Isolated from contemporary settlements, within the dune fields of the Rub’ al-Khali desert, past excavations at this isolated desert site revealed an assemblage of copper, iron, gold, stone and ceramic artefacts, mostly of Iron Age date, that is unprecedented in its scale and diversity. Since 2014, renewed research has furthered our understanding of the nature and development of the site, identifying a deep history of human use that stretches back into the Bronze Age (c. 2000-1200 BCE) and earlier. The early deposits at the site provide a unique insight into human exploitation of Arabia’s desert environments, focusing on the hunting and consumption of wild animals, and reveal a persistent seasonal occupation of the site at a time of dramatic settlement change in the second millennium BCE. Subsequently, the site experienced a dynamic burst of human activity in the early Iron Age (c. 1200-800 BCE), when it flourished as a special location for intensive craft production, especially copper metallurgy. Intriguingly, this industrial activity was integrated with a range of other social and religious activities that took place at the site, including inter-community gatherings and ritual practices linked to a snake cult that involved the deposition of rich votive offerings. Furthermore, aspects of the Iron Age remains from the site link Saruq al-Hadid to the wider Near Eastern world, stretching from Egypt to Iran. This lecture will review the changing nature of Saruq al-Hadid through time, and explore its importance for the prehistory of SE Arabia and neighbouring regions.

Please join us for some refreshments in Sounds Cafe after the talk.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Lloyd Weeks is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of New England, Australia. He has previously held academic positions at Nottingham University (UK) and the Peabody Museum, Harvard University (USA), after completing undergraduate and PhD studies at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is interested in the late prehistoric societies of the Arabian Peninsula and Iran from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, and has undertaken fieldwork in this region for three decades. His research incorporates field survey, excavation, archaeometry, and palaeo-environmental studies to understand past social change. He is particularly interested in ancient metallurgical technology and the exchange of metal resources, and the ways in which these exchange routes connected vast areas of Eurasia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. 

ABOUT THE ANTHONY MCNICOLL VISITING LECTURSHIP

The Anthony McNicoll Visiting Lectureship was established through the generosity of family and friends, and aims to bring to Australia Internationally recognised scholars whose areas of study are representative of Dr McNicoll’s wide scholarly interest.

Dr Anthony McNicoll was Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney from 1976 until his untimely death in 1985. In the classroom, the field and through his publications, Anthony McNicoll inspired a new generation of archaeologists while earning the respect and friendship of his academic peers.

Images: An Iron Age ceramic brazier from Saruq al-Hadid, depicting a snake. Image © Hélène David-Cuny / SHARP

Contact the host of 2025 Anthony McNicoll Visiting Lectureship

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