The archaeological site of Al-Ashoosh is a third-millennium BC settlement
located in the Rub al-Khali Desert (or Empty Quarter), 70km south of Dubai
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Figure 1). This site provides an
excellent example of the type of occupation of the inland deserts of the
Oman peninsula during the period following the Holocene Climatic Optimum.
Between November 2015 and May 2016, the Dubai Municipality and the Sanisera
Archaeology Institute conducted excavations at the site of Al-Ashoosh. This
site was discovered during two seasons of survey in 2002–2003. This survey
work, undertaken by the Dubai Municipality and the Department of Antiquities
of Jordan, identified 33 archaeological sites ranging in date from
prehistory to the late Islamic period. In 2006–2007, more-detailed
archaeological investigations of the area of Al-Ashoosh were conducted,
including survey, excavation and geological sampling (Casana et
al. 2009; Herrmann 2012; Contreras & Carcacer 2016).