Prof. Hans-Peter Uerpmann established the first collaboration with the Sharjah Archaeology Authority (SAA) in 1995 and co-directed STEPPS together with Dr. Sabah Jasim (SAA) for over two decades. Since 2012, Dr. Knut Bretzke continues the work of Prof. Uerpmann and co-directs the STEPPS research. Several archaeological field campaigns have been conducted in the past decades, which include topics covering Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Besides Prof. Uerpmann and Dr. Knut Bretzke as the heads of STEPPS, different members of the department Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology including Dr. Philipp Drechsler, Dr. Adelina Kutterer or Dr. Johannes Kutter, as well as many students and archaeological technicians seized the opportunity to contribute to the success of STEPPS during systematic surveys and excavations in different landscape settings on Sharjah territory. STEPPS’ long-term work led to important contributions to the research on the early prehistory of humans in arid environments. Key working areas and sites of STEPPS include 1.) Jebel Buhais – with the Neolithic burial site Buhais 18 and the Paleolithic site Buhais Rockshelter, 2.) Jebel Faya – with the Paleolithic site FAY-NE1 and the Neolithic sites FAY-10 and FAY-15, and 3.) Wadi Hilo – with the Neolithic to Bronze Age site HLO 1.

The interdisciplinary research conducted in STEPPS revealed that the interior region of Sharjah Emirate is an exceptional area for archaeological, geological and paleoenvironmental research, which provides significant contributions to the understanding of human responses to evolving climatic conditions in harsh environments during prehistory. Besides contributing to the deciphering of Sharjah’s deep history, STEPPS also provides archaeological expertise for initiatives aiming at the transfer of the outstanding scientific value of Sharjah’s Central Region to the public. This includes the involvement in the development of museum exhibitions as well as world heritage applications.

Jebel Buhais forms the southern end of a north-south oriented anticline structure that developed in conjunction with the formation of the Hajar Mountains to the East. The anticline forms the western end of a well-watered plain with relatively dense vegetation compared to the sand dunes to west of the anticline. Surface and underground water draining from the Hajar Mountains to west, is forced to surface at Jebel Buhais, where prehistoric human groups had easy access to this water. Field work of STEPPS revealed the presence of a Neolithic graveyard and evidence for Paleolithic occupations at Jebel Buhais. The graveyard at site Buhais 18 is one of very few examples for inland occupation and bone preservation from the Neolithic in Arabia. Using the archaeological record from Buhais 18, STEPPS could provide insight into burial traditions and subsistence behavior of early pastoral nomadic societies. STEPPS concentrates its resources currently on the excavation of Buhais Rockshelter, a Paleolithic sequence discovered in 2017. This site provides at least three layers of stone artifact assemblages indicating human occupation during later parts of the Late Pleistocene.

Jebel Faya is the most northern one of the five mountains that compose the 15 km long Faya-Buhais anticline structure in the central region of Sharjah Emirate. Upper Cretaceous limestone formations covering a basis of metamorphic rocks form the mountain and provide a number of features that have attracted human occupation since at least 200,000 years. Besides protection from wind, rain, and sun, provided by numerous rock shelters and few small caves, Jebel Faya also provides good quality chert for the production of stone tools and excellent opportunities for monitoring game as well as access to fresh water sources. The site FAY-NE1 (Faya, northeast 1) is a well-developed rock shelter where 5 m of sediments preserved a, regarding Arabia, rare sequence of seven archaeological layers. In the lower six layers, STEPPS’ excavations recovered early Middle Paleolithic stone artifact assemblages covering the late Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene period, while the top one represents an early Holocene occupation phase. About 500 m north of FAY-NE1, STEPPS recovered a Neolithic graveyard (FAY-NE15) dating to about 6,000-7,000 years ago and a small cave (FAY-NE10) with deposits indicating repeated human use about 7,300-6,700, 8,500-7,700 and 9,100-9,400 years ago. The lower two layers are of particular interest given that some of the earliest evidence for human cremation in SE Arabia was found in the middle layer, while the deepest layer is a rare example of early Holocene settlement in the region.