Iron Age copper production and the ‘ritual economy’ of Saruq al-Hadid (Dubai, UAE)

The site of Saruq al-Hadid has significant potential to enhance our understanding of copper metallurgy and its social role in the Iron Age societies of Southeastern Arabia. The metallurgical evidence from the site indicates Iron Age copper production activities that included metal smelting and refining, alongside the fabrication of finished artefacts from local and imported materials through casting and working. Many of the products of this metallurgical activity were recovered from contexts that likely represent cultic activity, in particular the deposition of votives to a ‘snake deity’. Alongside these acts, copper artefacts were also a component of ritual performances of social cohesion that would likely have worked to legitimise the authority of those who controlled the production and deposition of such materials. The broader organisation and significance of copper production at the site can be effectively interpreted through the theoretical lens of a ‘ritual economy’, which situates this technology within the socially constructed knowledge, beliefs and practices of Early Iron Age society in Southeastern Arabia.