The aim of excavations at Shabwa was to offer an historical outline of the development of the city. The earliest settlement, down the al 'Aqab hill, provided some C14 datations back to the early second millenium BC. Another stratigraphical trench (also near the 'Aqab hill) provided a complete sequence from the 13°th-12th cent. BC till 3rd cent.AD. Meanwhile the city extended north and eastwards circled by an impressive fortification, and later a second line of walls topped the crests of the surrounding hills.