The Hili Archaeological Site not only provides the earliest known evidence of an agricultural village in the United Arab Emirates but also contains other Bronze Age (3200BCE to 1300BCE) and Iron Age (1300BCE to 300BCE) villages, burial grounds and agricultural infrastructure. The early agricultural village is located at Hili Site 8 and dates to 3000BCE. In the period between 2500BCE and 2000BCE, the settlement at Hili expanded.
This period is called the Umm an-Nar period after the island off the coast of Abu Dhabi where the remains of this culture were first found. The largest collection of tombs and buildings from this period in the UAE is located at Hili. A number of these Bronze Age structures, located within the Hili Archaeological Park, are open to the public. You’ll find Hili near Fossil Valley, an area rich in a variety of fossils dating back many thousands of years to when it was covered by the sea.
