Jebel Faya

Jebel Faya is a major archaeological site located near Al Madam in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It preserves some of the earliest evidence of anatomically modern human occupation outside Africa, with stratified Palaeolithic settlements dating from approximately 200,000 to 34,000 years ago. Archaeological layers document how early hunter-gatherer groups repeatedly occupied the site during alternating arid and humid climatic phases, adapting their subsistence strategies to extreme environmental conditions. In addition to its Palaeolithic significance, Jebel Faya contains funerary remains dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, including tombs from the fourth and third millennia BC. Together, these remains provide exceptional insight into long-term human resilience, mobility, and adaptation in hyper-arid landscapes at the crossroads between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Jebel Faya was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025 as part of Faya Palaeolandscape.

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