Valley of the Caves

Useful Information

Location:	Al Ruwaida - Sharjah - United Arab Emirates. From Dubai follow St/S116/E102 48 km, exit Khatam/Ruwaidha/Hamda, follow road to Ruwaida 3.5 km, turn left 650 m, turn left 950 m, turn right 350 m. (25.1237547, 55.8486042)
Open:	no restrictions. Mleiha Museum: All year Mon-Wed 9-19, Thu-Sat 9-21, Sun 9-19. [2024]
Fee:	free. Mleiha Museum: Adulst AED 25, Children (5-10) AED 15, Children (0-4) free. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Valley of the Caves, Al Ruwaida - Sharjah. Mleiha, Archeological Centre - Al Khatim - Sharjah - United Arab Emirates, Tel: +971-6-802-1111. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2016	discovery of a tomb and a tombstone with a bilingual script, Aramaic and Hasaitic.

Description

The كهوف الوادي (Wadi Caves, Valley of the Caves) is not a single site or cave, it is actually an area of great archaeological importance. There are numerous caves which were visited by man since prehistoric times, which are also known as Maliha Caves. There is a trail which starts at a small car park following the small valley, which leads to three caves. Those caves are archaeological sites so they have site numbers but no names. They are named FAY-NE-09, 10 and 11.

FAY-NE-10 was a flint knapping workshop, flint tools were produced here between 8,000 and 7,000 BC. The flint was mined on site, there a high grade flint deposits nearby. During the next 2,000 years the site was used as a ritual place, and cremated human bone remains were deposited here. Then it was again used for flint knapping for a thousand years. The trail ends at a viewpoint where the whole wadi can be seen.

FAY-NE-09 and FAY-NE-11 are very small caves which were used for burials during the Iron Age and the Late Pre-Islamic period.

The site is of great geologic interest. The limestone is rather young and formed about 5 million years ago as a coral reef, so it contains numerous fossils. Right at the beginning of the trail is a sight, which is a former spring. The Neolithic people settled here because of the spring, which once filled a small lake. The remains were dated 5,000 BC. This spring has the name FAY-NE-15.

Another site is only 250 m away, but it is reached by road, as there is no trail. This is called Jabel Faya Rock Shelter (FAY-NE-01). And halfway is FAY-NE-21 which is also called Jebel Faya Tomb 2. A little further down the road is another site, which is listed on Google Maps as a museum, but actually it is an excavation site. The different places are equipped with educational signs in Arabic and English.

The whole area is full of archaeological remains, and although there is no cave, the nearby Mleiha Umm an-Nar Tomb a little to the northeast is also a must. It is the location of the museum named مركز مليحة للآثار (Mleiha Archaeological Centre) which displays the findings from the whole area. It explains history, social order, rituals, diet, pathologies, hardships, trade and commerce, and the international influence on pottery design, art and jewellery.

The site of Mleiha is on the UNESCO Tentative List.