Living and dying in times of change: A multidisciplinary study on resilience of Bronze and Iron Age communities at Dibba 76, Fujairah (UAE)

• Applicants: Dr. Julia Gresky; Dr. Kristina Pfeiffer
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies ; Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 545205647

The object of the archaeological-bioarchaeological project is to evaluate established theories on profound social changes during the Middle/Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in Southeast Arabia. It will investigate how and whether the population was subjected to massive socio-cultural upheavals and/or lasting consequences of climatic changes and what resilience behavior was developed. Studies are also being conducted on the significance of these effects on lifestyle, an increased propensity to violence and the mobility of the populations in this region. Research on the biography, diet and lifestyle of individuals as well as on social dynamics and mobility has been largely neglected in the Gulf region for almost the entire 2nd millennium BC and thus crisis-related adaptation strategies of the population groups are unclear. The basis for this is an intact and undisturbed collective tomb in the Emirate of Fujairah, U.A.E. (Dibba 76), which dates between the largely unexplored Wadi Suq period and the early Iron Age. Dibba 76 is a unique site for Southeast Arabia, the tomb was in use for up to 1000 years and contains approximately 400-500 individuals of both sexes and all age classes. The collective tomb thus represents a unique source for conducting biographical studies of the buried individuals and groups. By means of stratigraphic studies (14C) and a broad isotope analysis of human bones and teeth, Dibba 76 offers us the rare opportunity to investigate the long-term dynamics of living conditions, subsistence, health patterns and crisis management through a combination of archaeological studies and multiple bioarchaeological analyses. The socio-cultural contexts of the buried individuals will be investigated by analysing the rich assemblage of finds in their chronological context as well as the spatial structure of the tomb. There is a lack of solid reference data in the ongoing debate on the relationship between humans and the environment during this period. The proposed project aims to fill this gap by investigating the communities buried at Dibba 76. This will fill a long-standing research gap in our understanding of the human-cultural-environmental dynamics that have had a lasting impact on the history of settlement in the Arabian Peninsula.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Patrick Roberts