Architectural phases and occupation horizons at Julfar al‑Nudud (Ras al‑Khaimah, UAE): results of the 2024–2025 excavations
Keywords:
Julfar al-Nudud, medieval Gulf archaeology, architectural stratigraphy, mud-brick architecture, stone-built phasesAbstract
Julfar was a major medieval port on the southern coast of the Gulf, reaching its greatest political and economic significance during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Archaeological research has focused primarily on Julfar al‑Mataf, while al‑Nudud has received more limited investigation. Interpretative models for Julfar have largely relied on the correlation of excavation data and typochronological analyses of material culture, particularly East Asian ceramics.
This paper presents the results of the 2024–2025 excavations at al‑Nudud and outlines the principal architectural phases and their stratigraphic relationships within an archaeologically intact area. The excavation documented stratified deposits spanning early activity horizons predating masonry construction and successive mud-brick and stone-built phases, encompassing construction, use, modification, and structural decline. These deposits establish the relative order of settlement and architectural development in this sector. The results define a stratigraphically correlated vertical framework linking early occupation with successive masonry phases. Although the evidence does not resolve the debated primacy of al‑Nudud and al‑Mataf in the early development of Julfar, it provides a stratigraphically defined basis for further evaluation of the settlement’s architectural sequence.
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