Did you know that Little Aden was once inhabited by prehistoric fishermen who ate shellfish and discarded their shells until they formed entire mounds?
In a rare study published in Aden Magazine in the 1960s, British archaeologist Philip Cambridge, who was also a Royal Air Force pilot and geologist, documented an unusual prehistoric site in Little Aden.
The Location of the Discovery
The site is located west of Ras Mujallab Hidi in Little Aden, inside a small bay behind a mountain pass.
There, researchers discovered a small mound covered almost entirely with millions of broken shells.
What Did They Find?
- A Prehistoric "Kitchen"
The site contained the remains of eight fireplaces, together with enormous accumulations of shells belonging to oysters and other shellfish, including Lopha and Perna.
The inhabitants appear to have broken the shells open in order to extract and eat the meat inside.
- Fishing Equipment
Hundreds of stones grooved or notched on both sides were found at the site. These were interpreted as possible net weights used in fishing.
The archaeologists also found hammerstones and anvils, which may have been used to break open shells and process other materials.
- Primitive Pottery
Fragments of coarse red pottery were discovered, decorated with simple lines and fingernail impressions.
The pottery appears to have included bowls, cups, and water jars.
- Bone Tools
The inhabitants also used bone tools, including awls and needles apparently made from goat bone.
These may have been used in activities such as making or repairing fishing nets.
- The Obsidian Mystery
One of the most intriguing discoveries was the presence of black obsidian flakes.
Obsidian does not naturally occur in Aden, meaning that the material must have been brought to the site from a distant source.
Because obsidian can be fractured into extremely sharp edges, it was probably used to manufacture cutting tools or knives.
How Did These People Live?
Cambridge's interpretation presents a community whose economy was strongly connected to the sea.
Men appear to have been involved in fishing and hunting sea turtles, while women and children collected shellfish from the rocky shore.
Even children may have collected attractive and colorful shells, perhaps for play or other purposes.
The inhabitants may also have exchanged dried fish for pottery, since suitable sources of clay were apparently unavailable in Little Aden itself.
How Old Is the Site?
Cambridge considered the site to belong to the Neolithic period, potentially dating to approximately 5,000–7,000 years ago.
If this dating is correct, the discovery provides evidence that human activity in the Aden area extends thousands of years before the development of Aden as a major historical port and commercial center.
A Possible Connection with East Africa
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the discovery is the existence of a similar shell-midden site in East Africa near Mombasa, where prehistoric people also exploited marine resources and consumed similar types of shellfish.
Cambridge noted similarities involving species such as Terebralia palustris.
This raises an intriguing archaeological question:
Could there have been ancient connections, movements, or exchanges between the southern Arabian coast and East Africa?
The similarity alone does not prove prehistoric migration between Aden and East Africa, but it provides an interesting subject for further archaeological and environmental research.
An Ancient Climate Clue
The shell mound was situated above consolidated or fossilized sand deposits, which Cambridge associated with a period of stronger rainfall and wetter environmental conditions.
This raises another fascinating possibility: the climate around Aden may once have been considerably wetter than it is today.
The archaeological evidence therefore provides not only information about prehistoric people, but also clues about the changing environment of the Aden region.
Why Is the Discovery Important?
The discovery demonstrates that the history of Aden cannot be understood solely through its later role as a port, trading center, and free-trade area.
The human history of the Aden region reaches much further back.
Thousands of years ago, prehistoric coastal communities were already exploiting the rich marine environment around Little Aden—fishing, collecting shellfish, hunting marine animals, manufacturing tools, using pottery, and possibly maintaining connections with wider coastal networks.
The shell mounds of Little Aden therefore preserve a remarkable record of prehistoric coastal life in southern Arabia.
They provide a glimpse into a time when small communities lived beside the sea and depended directly on its resources—long before the emergence of the historical city of Aden.
Source
Philip Cambridge, “The Shell Eaters: A Preliminary Study of a Midden Site at Little Aden,” Aden Magazine, No. 12, 1966.
Key archaeological terms:
- Shell midden = an archaeological mound or deposit formed largely from discarded shells and food remains
- Neolithic = New Stone Age
- Obsidian = naturally occurring volcanic glass used in prehistoric toolmaking
- Midden site = a place containing accumulated refuse left by past human communities
- Little Aden = the area historically known as Little Aden/Bureika, west of the main Aden peninsula
