Archaeological excavations at the site,[1][2][3] which was discovered in 1969, demonstrate that the area was inhabited as far back as the Abbasid era, approximately in the 10th century CE. At this time, it appears to have been the coastal part of an Eastern Arabian subregion referred to as 'Tawam', which comprises the city of Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the adjacent Omani town of Al-Buraimi.[4][5] Measuring about 80,000 m2 (860,000 sq ft), the site lay along a caravan route linking India and China to Oman and Iraq.[1][2][3]