Description : Muweilah (also called Muwailih) is an archaeological site in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in the suburb of Al Jurainah near Sharjah University City. A large, fortified settlement thought to have been occupied during the Iron Age II period (1,100-600BC), the site has been explored by archaeologists since an Australian expedition started work there in 1994 after the discovery of pottery shards by a local resident. It has yielded the oldest known example of writing found to date in the UAE, a pottery shard with an inscription, thought to be Sabean, with the letters 'bml'.It is considered one of the significant Iron Age sites in the UAE. Excavations have shown the buildings within the site were damaged by a widespread fire. The first evidence of writing in the UAE was found in this site, on a piece pottery with the three letters of the South Arabic (B, M, L). Muweilah is one of the sites on the UAE's preliminary list to be nominated in the future to the World Heritage List.
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