A camel skeleton in a desert environment in Abu Dhabi was monitored for 15 years to record stages of weathering, dispersal, carnivore action and trampling in this extreme environment. Weathering was substantially less rapid than that recorded in tropical environments, being slower both in inception and in later development. Skeleton dispersal was mixed, with a core group of ribs and vertebrae remaining close to the death site, but individual bones being traced for up to 60 m and many disappearing altogether. Scavenging took place, and the size of tooth marks indicated foxes and jackals. Trampling was the major source of breakage of bones, most of which were too robust for small carnivores like foxes and jackals to break.