Crop processing, consumption and trade of Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the Arabian Peninsula during Antiquity: earliest evidence from Mleiha (third c. AD), United Arab Emirates

International audienceAsian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in a fortified elite residence at thesite of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both asisolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerousquestions on the role of rice in local economies during the Late Pre-Islamic period. The discussion focuses on two aspects of thefinds. On the one hand, the state of preservation and the archaeological contexts of the rice remains are investigated in detail inorder to reconstruct crop processing activities that might have taken place within the building as well as different aspects of thepreparation and consumption of what seems to have been a rare crop. On the other hand, we discuss the origin of the Mleiha riceweighing the possible cultivation in local irrigated date palm gardens against its importation through the long-distance tradenetworks across the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean that are well attested by archaeological and textual sources for the periodof concern