Is all that's ground a tool?: preliminary considerations on cuboid-spheroid stone objects from Tell Abraq, Umm Al-Quwain (UAE)

Following the restart of excavations in the eastern part of the multi-period, pluri-stratified site of Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al-Quwain, UAE), a series of cuboid-spheroid stone objects were found in contexts dated to the end of the 2nd-1st millennium BC (broadly, the local Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age). This paper presents the initial results of an inquiry into the possible utilitarian function of these objects. Their characteristic shape (cuboid with rounded edges or spheroid), fairly uniform size, and the hard rocks of which they are made, initially suggested that they may have served as scale weights. Some exhibit traces of abrasive wear and fatigue, suggesting use as tools; for other objects within the assemblage, no marks were observed at all. At the same time, in the specialised archaeological literature, similar objects from various contexts are associated with alternative functions, such as pottery production and metalworking. All these hypotheses are briefly discussed here to spur an increased interest in these often neglected items. While answers cannot be provided at this stage, the basis for more comprehensive research is laid, with the intention of expanding the sample with other objects from archaeologically controlled contexts.