| Ancient name | Unknown |
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Geographical area | Sharjah |
| Governorate | Sharjah |
| Coordinates | Latitude: 25° 06' 55" Longitude: 55° 52' 0.9" |
| Coordinates accuracy | certain |
| Type of site | Settlement |
| Structures | Fortress Dwelling (concentrated) Graveyard |
| Location and toponomy | Mleiḥa is located in an inland plane, west to the lower range of Hiǧar mountains and some 20 km south of the town of al-Ḏayd and in the southwest quadrant of the present village. A mountainous limestone chain (Ǧabal Fayah) delimitates westward the ancient settlement, which protected the cultivable land and the tree-steppe. The confluence of several hydrographic systems was favorable to natural water storage. |
| General description | The excavated areas are: the fort, built in mud-brick (CW area), formed by a main outer wall (one side: 55m), flanked by 8 towers; dwellings (DA area), near the fort (each house consists of a grouping of rooms and closed exterior spaces); a fortificated residence (H); and the necropolis areas. See general plan in Mouton et alii 2012, p. 207, fig. 2. The large building H (defined as a palace), in the north-east of the archaeological area, lies on the edge of the eastern necropolis. The fortificated residence occupied the centre of a square delimitated by a mud-brick defensive wall (65-70 m on each side), with 8 towers at the corners and in the middle of each side. The building also built of mud-brick measures 30x32 m. It comprises 15 rooms arranged around the four sides. The building has been burnt before its abandonment and partial destruction. The CW area (fort) lies in the south-west of the archaeological area. The area DA (dwellings) is located in the centre of the archaeological area. Other areas were explored by trenches in order to understand the immediate surroundings of the workshops (area BV). |
| Chronology | There are evidence of settlements from the 3rd century BC to he 3rd century AD. A sudden abandonment took place in the first half of the 3rd century AD, which coincides with the abandonment of ed-Dūr. |
| Classical sources | The classical documentation is lacking. |
| Archaeological missions | 1972-74 Iraqi team 1985-1999 French archaeological expedition in Sharjah Since 1993 Antiquities of Sharjah 2010-11 French expedition |
| Mouton 1994 | Mouton, Michel 1994. Archaeological surveys and excavations in the Sharjah Emirate, 1993 and 1994. A seventh interim report. Transl. by Elizabeth Willcox, With contribution by Anne Benoist, Rémi Dalongeville, Olivier Callot, Yves Calvet, Kader Mokaddem, Michel Mouton, Szimon Orzechowski, Alain Ploquin and Abel Prieur. Sharjah, U. A. E.: Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage. Department of Culture. |
| Mouton et al. 2012 | Mouton, Michel, Tengberg, Margareta, Bernard, Vincent, Le Maguer, Sterenn, Reddy, Anjana, Soulié, Delphine, Le Grand, Malika and Goy, Julie. Building H at Mleiha: new evidence of the late pre-Islamic period D phase (PIR.D) in the Oman peninsula (second to mid-third century AD). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 42/2012: 205-222. |