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

亚洲大米（水稻（L.）和其他植物残骸是在Mleiha（阿拉伯联合酋长国）遗址的一座坚固的精英住宅中从多种环境中鉴定出来的，该住宅在公元三世纪被大火烧毁。这些残留物既以孤立的谷粒形式，又以稻米簇的形式存在，构成了阿拉伯半岛物种的最早例子，并在伊斯兰前期后期对稻米在当地经济中的作用提出了许多疑问。讨论着重于发现的两个方面。一方面，详细研究了稻米遗迹的保存状态和考古背景，以重建可能在建筑物内进行的农作物加工活动以及准备和食用似乎不一样的物品的不同方面。一直是稀有作物。另一方面，