Archaeology of Oman

This paper provides a broad overview of the current state of archaeogenetic research in Arabia. We summarise recent studies of mitochondrial DNA and lactase persistence allele -13915*G in order to reconstruct the population histories of modern Arabs. These data, in turn, enable us to assess different scenarios for the peopling of the Pen- insula over the course of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. The evidence sup- ports the posited existence of Arabian refugia, although it is inconclusive which (e.g. Persian Gulf basin, Yemeni highlands and/or Red Sea basin) was/were responsible for housing ancestral populations during the Last Glacial Maximum. Synthesising genetic and archaeological data sets, we conclude that a substantial portion of the present South Arabian gene pool derives from a deeply rooted population that underwent sig- nificant internal growth within Arabia some 12,000 years ago. At the same time, we interpret the disappearance of Nejd Leptolithic archaeological sites in southern Arabia around 8000 years ago to represent the termination of a significant component of the Pleistocene gene pool.

Portugal in the Sea of Oman - Religion and Politics is an editorial achievement, which is unique in the Arab World. In cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Oman, the University of Aachen and the Centro de Estudos Históricos (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), more than one thousand documents, ranging from 1504 to 1697, from the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Lisbon), are published in a trilingual edition (original portuguese, translation into English and Arabic). Thus, invaluable primary sources are now available for scientists all over the world and a new scholarly dialogue about this essential period for the Arabian History can ensue.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The Husn is a solid squared structure with the sides measuring about 60x60m. It was built on a higher plan, in a dominant position compared to the rest of the city. An extension to the northern side where plastered room and channels with stone pipes were unearthed, has been interpreted as bathroom drains for the Husn. The ongoing excavation allowed the discovery of an extension also outside the latest and still standing eastern curtain wall, which has been tentatively interpreted as the stables of the Husn. This area, and possibly parts of the northern one, were obliterated during the 16 th century, when the fortification system was increased with the addition of bastions, towers, buttresses and casemates to defend the complex from the attacks of Portuguese and Turks and to return fire to the assailants. Husn Al Baleed has now a maximum an elevation of about 13 m asl, with a general surface of almost 5000 sqm. The building was multi-storey and it is possible that in the last phases it had four levels. Parts of the ceilings with the wooden beams have been discovered in some areas of the building during the ongoing excavations. The Husn was object of periodical rebuilding and modifications over the time, but this is not surprising considering the long history of the settlement building, being in use for more than eight centuries. At least five different kinds of masonries and construction techniques have been preliminary recognized at the complex. The use of wood in shape of trunks of local trees or re-used ship planks, most likely for static purposes or to help in the arrangement of horizontal plans, is attested already from the first constructional phase (1000 AD).

Along the 150-km coastline of Masirah, 127 archaeological sites were discovered through surveys carried out in January-February 2012. The island is the largest off the Sultanate of Oman and possesses great archaeological potential, especially for the Neolithic period, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Shell middens, some of which are very large, and many small workshops are related to the production of ornaments in shell or stone. The site of Ra's Dah (SM-10) has proved to be the oldest identified Neolithic occupation in Oman today. Finally, more than 250 km south of Ra's al-Hadd, the discovery of two Early Bronze Age sites, dating to the Umm an-Nar period, considerably increases the area of the 'Magan Civilization', and with it that of the diffusion of goods from the Indus Civilization.

The first excavation season of a joint project of the PCMA and Department of Archaeology and Excavations, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Oman, was carried out in the microregion of Qumayrah in the fall of 2016. A single tomb was investigated at an Umm an-Nar period burial site in the area of the village of Al-Ayn. A complete ground-plan was traced, identifying the tomb as an example of a well-known type with interior divided into four burial chambers by crosswalls. The excavated quadrant yielded commingled skeletal remains and mortuary gifts: numerous beads, a number of pottery sherds and a single complete vessel, a few metal objects and a score of stone vessel fragments.

This is an overview about the cooperation my university had with the ministry of Heritage and culture about the documentation of four vernacular settlements in Oman. This is an award-winning  research that involved a large number of students. A more detailed publication will follow.

The purpose of the present research is to reveal an aspect of the defensive architecture of Oman that was overlooked for decades. It focuses on the defensive strategies in the settlements that were developed by the Omanis in most of the territories of the country. These settlements are part of the vernacular heritage and attest to the periods of conflict in the country's past. They resulted from the 'savoir-faire' developed by the Omanis in this field. This paper argues that these strategies are not the fruit of intuitive and unthought-of gestures. Through case studies, thoroughly documented, and in comparison with other examples in the country, we show that the defensive settlements are a very specific aspect of the vernacular architecture in Oman that has been methodically developed through time due to the tumultuous history of these lands. The paper sheds the light on the typologies of defensive vernacular settlements in Oman by identifying some of their major characters, components and ways of adaptation to their geographic contexts.

Omani-Persian relations were characterized during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by fluctuating relations of cooperation sometimes, and the conflict relationship at other times. Perhaps the history of the two regions struck in the past, especially with the political and economic aspects, is a major reason for this fluctuation in the relationship between the two countries.
This paper aims to shed light on an important political and economic aspect in the relationship of the two neighboring countries, namely the Omani influence, control and presence on the Persian ports located on the western coast of the Gulf. We will proceed into this aspect by analyzing a number of agreements concluded between Oman and Persia. However, it must be emphasized, that there are several factors that formed this relationship and controlled it, especially in the nineteenth century, namely, the colonial powers in the Gulf region. Which has been playing a pivotal role in this conflict in order to preserve its interests.
To achieve these goals, this paper was divided into two main axes. The first axis will address an overview of Omani-Persian relations. It is a topic that has been studied by many researchers due to its importance in the history of the Gulf in all respects. As for the second axis, it will deal with a documentary study of the most important agreements concluded between Oman and Persia in the ports of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Gawad, in addition to reviewing the correspondence that clarifies this aspect. And the port of Gwadar was added - although it does not fall within the geographical range of the Gulf - but it was under Persian influence until the year 1783 AD,It is the year that Sultan bin Ahmed visited the region with his brother Saif, and Naseer Khan(1) gave him the province for Mr. Sultan to make a base for his campaigns on the eastern coast of the Gulf, The same also applies to the port of Shahbar, when Mr. Sultan bin Ahmed extended his influence there.

This paper refers to the policy of exile that practiced by some of the kings of the Hittite state. In fact, this policy does not reach as far as the Assyrian kings, who were famous for the deportation policy, this policy in Khati was limited cases only, and was a punishment against some crimes. The research deals with clarifying the concept of exile and the difference between it and escape, and clarifying the optional exile and forced exile. The research begins with the meaning of the term exile in the texts and Hittite Law, and reasons of exile, and offer some cases of exile found in Khati.

The Buraimi Oasis Landscape Archaeology Project is a three-way collaboration between Zayed University, Sultan Qaboos University, and the Abu Dhabi TCA, which aims to explore the historic unity and shared heritage of the Buraimi Oasis.  This first season of the project undertook a survey of the open area between the UAE border fence and the Buraimi ring road. A Wādī Sūq period tomb (c.2000–1300 BC) is located inside al-ΚAyn immediately adjacent to the border fence and may be part of a Bronze Age cemetery extending into Buraimi. Evidence of an Iron Age village (c.1300–300 BC) in the northern survey area consists of a series of mounds containing mud-brick walls and covered with pottery sherds. Some ambiguous turquoise glazed material was retrieved which does not find ready parallels with Late Pre-Islamic (c. 300 BC – AD 300) or Early Islamic examples. An Early Islamic (c.AD 750-900) village in the southern survey area consists of large buildings with walls preserved up to c.2.3 m, making it one of the best-preserved Early Islamic sites in the Arabian Gulf. Limited evidence for Middle Islamic (c. AD 1050-1200) activity was discovered, which has so far been extremely rare in the al-ΚAyn/Buraimi Oasis group. Evidence for the Late Islamic 1 (c. AD 1650–1800) includes an extensive field system and low-density settlement, demonstrating that the Buraimi Oasis was once much larger than today. During the Late Islamic 2 period (c.AD 1800–1950) the field system was abandoned and cemeteries established in its place. A series of forts was built at this time of which the survey located the visible surface outlines of the destroyed Subara and Sudayrī Forts. The archaeological record of the Buraimi Oasis can therefore be shown to stretch back at least 4000 years.

Knowledge regarding prehistoric and Predynastic Egypt is informed significantly by the analysis of Petroglyphs found on rocks at many different desert sites. Here the depictions of boats, called by Winkler “square boats”, are very important for understanding the contacts of Egypt with Eastern Peoples and for the History of Navigation itself. Unknown artists show vessels which  are foreign to Egypt tradition. How was this possible in the fourth millennium BC? What was the level of commercial and cultural contacts with the East ? This paper tries to add a little step forward.

Purpose The objective of the study is to investigate whether the performance appraisal system used is in Majan Electricity Company, (Oman), measures the employees’ performance accurately and to ensure motivation and satisfaction of its employees. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted with 106 employees from all the departments of the main office of the company located at Sohar, who were selected on stratified random sampling basis and were contacted through a well-defined questionnaire. Findings The study reveals that even if there is a problem with the accuracy of performance appraisal system in measuring the performance accurately, or due to rater error in the evaluation process, the employees’ performance appraisal is not affected by them and has got positive impact on employees’ motivation and satisfaction. Practical Implications The study demonstrates that there is a strong association between the (i) performance appraisal system and (ii) motivation of the employe...

The purpose of the present research is to reveal an aspect of the defensive architecture of Oman that was overlooked for decades. It focuses on the defensive strategies in the settlements that were developed by the Omanis in most of the territories of the country. These settlements are part of the vernacular heritage and attest to the periods of conflict in the country's past. They resulted from the 'savoir-faire' developed by the Omanis in this field. This paper argues that these strategies are not the fruit of intuitive and unthought-of gestures. Through case studies, thoroughly documented, and in comparison with other examples in the country, we show that the defensive settlements are a very specific aspect of the vernacular architecture in Oman that has been methodically developed through time due to the tumultuous history of these lands. The paper sheds the light on the typologies of defensive vernacular settlements in Oman by identifying some of their major characters, components and ways of adaptation to their geographic contexts.

Research about vernacular architecture is constantly evolving to include new building typologies, geographic regions, and new research methodologies. The purpose of this article is to examine the scientific literature in this field and identify the aspects and regions that might need investigation and the disciplines that can be involved in further research. A systematic analysis of published research about the topic was performed through a bibliometric methodology. Data related to more than 700 published articles was collected from the Web of Science and SCOPUS. Further computerized analysis was made to investigate the different characters of the collected data, such as countries of the most published papers, themes investigated and the scientific fields involved in this research during the past 70 years. The results show that the published scientific literature about vernacular architecture is progressively expanding, specifically after the turn of the third millennium. This topic is being increasingly addressed through "hard" sciences after having been examined by Humanities. It is invested by multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. The present research has also revealed a shift in the center of production of scientific literature about the subject, from North America to Asia.

ABSTRACT: This lecture continues from lecture 6 (which focused on Early Dynastic Sumer & Akkad), and examines various geographic and cultural areas beyond southern Mesopotamia, ca, 2,900 - 2,350 BC. Brief overviews are provided starting with Southwest Iran (Proto-Elamite culture), the Zagros Mountains and Iranian Plateau to the east, and links with the Indus Valley (Harappan Culture: ancient Meluha) via the Persian/Arabian Gulf (e.g., ancient Dilmun & Magan).  The focus switches to northern Mesopotamia (e.g., Ninevite 5 and Metallic greay ware cultures), the Transcaucasian region (Kura-Araxes culture), east Central Anatolia (e.g., Arslantepe; Norsuntepe), and Southeast Anatolia (i.e., northern fringe of Syria), and Cilicia. An overview is then provided regarding the kingdoms of Mari (Euphrates) and Ebla in western Syria, plus an overview of Palestine during the Early Bronze Age, with a more specific summary of the interconnections between these regions and Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.  The lecture ends with a summation of the collapse of the Early Bronze Age III in the Levant in particular, ca. 2,300 - 2,200 BCE. The end-of-lecture summary has yet to be completed, but may await the second offering of this course in Spring 2020. UPDATED: 2022 Spring offering.

Developing new energy efficient building materials to reduce the carbon footprint is now the core of sustainability in construction and an essential factor of life cycle assessment (LCA). The extensive and increasing usage of conventional concrete, mortar, plasters and various cement based materials is only one of the many factors contributing towards urban thermal discomfort caused by urban heat island phenomena and the poor thermal insulation of ordinary cement mortar. Not only this, the wide use of concrete and mortar in construction increases the consumption of their primary components mainly -Portland cement- requiring a large consumption of energy and causing a significant rise in CO2 emissions. Embedding natural and artificial cementitious/pozzolana materials in today`s cement-based building materials has become a common practice. Cementitious and Pozzolanic materials are known to provide an added value to mortar/concrete not only in terms of mechanical and durability properties but also in energy efficiency and enhancing sustainability. Sarooj is a local term describing an artificial cementitious and pozzolana material obtained by traditional calcining of the raw clayey soil. Although its usage is nowadays very limited, Sarooj has been used in Oman and other neighboring countries for centuries, in various buildings and defense into an engineered binding material and hence investigating its physico-mechanical and thermal properties. The raw soil used to produce the traditional Sarooj was employed to engineer a modern “Sarooj” under controlled energy processing (grinding and calcination) conditions. The raw clay minded from specific location was ground first to a fine powdered material and then subjected to full characterization. The physical and chemical characterization indicated that the raw soil is suitable for producing a cementitious/pozzolanic calcined clay. The thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis of the clay used reveal that only a moderate temperature of around 800 °C is required for its calcination which preserves energy and reduces CO2 emissions compared to 1600 °C to produce clinker cement. The strength development showed a slow early-age reactivity but an appreciable enhancement in long-term which demonstrates a remarkable latent hydraulic potential of the clay used. It was also found that adding an optimum amount of the calcined clay enhances the thermal properties. The annual energy performance of a typical housing in the hot climate of Muscat, Oman, was evaluated using DesignBuilder software, a whole-building simulation tool. The simulation results showed insignificant savings in annual energy consumption when the developed mixes are used as plastering materials. The clay alkali-activated with NaOH has, however, showed great potential to enhance the mortar`s long-term strength. Using locally engineered cementitious material in a partial replacement of Portland cement can further enhance durability and sustainability by reducing the manufacturing energy of the produced building material such mortars and plasters

L’architecture religieuse des Ibadites fait partie du large éventail du patrimoine bâti des peuples musulmans, dont on ignore encore une grande partie. En première analyse, notre étude a révélé une certaine diversité qui se fait observer autant dans les plans et les volumes, que dans les matériaux et les détails de construction des mosquées Ibadites traitées dans les différentes régions considérées. Pourtant, il existe bien une homogénéité entre tous ces sanctuaires. Ils portent tous une sorte « d’air de famille » qui semble les unir. Comme ils se démarquent du style dit "classique" par un certain nombre de particularités que nous avons tenté d’établir et que nous présenterons dans ce qui va suivre. Nous avons essayé également d’explorer les parallèles pouvant exister entre les spécificités qui caractérisent les architectures de ces mosquées, et les règlements fixés par les juristes Ibadites dans ce domaine. Des spécificités que nous avons essayé de vérifier, de temps à autre, dans d’autres régions connues pour avoir appartenu, à un moment de leur histoire, à l’aire d’influence Ibadite, telles que le Djebel Nafoussa (Libye), Zanzibar (Côte Est de l’Afrique), Tahart ou Sedrata (Algérie).

The present book does not consist in a concise Ancient History of the Emirates; it does not represent an effort of systematization of the textual sources relating to the ancient land of the Emirates. Furthermore, the ancient historical sources and the modern bibliography are not exhaustively discussed.

However, this book is the first effort to incorporate two key subjects into the modern historiography of the pre-Islamic history of the Emirates: Meluhha and Gerrha.

Meluhha is an ancient land known through Ancient Sumerian and Assyrian – Babylonian texts; due to the colonial involvement and owed to political needs of nationalistic character that were also instigated by the colonial academia of England and France into the political elites of the Indian subcontinent, Meluhha was falsely identified with the Harappa civilization cities in the Indus Delta area. References to Meluhha in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets cover indeed a long period from the end of the 3rd millennium BCE down to the middle of the 1st millennium BCE.

Gerrha is an ancient city known through Ancient Greek and Latin texts; it was a key point in the trade between the South and the North, the East and the West during in the Antiquity. However, similarly with Meluhha, Gerrha was falsely identified as located in the area of today’s Dammam in Saudi Arabia. References to Gerrha in Ancient Greek and Latin texts cover many centuries before and after the beginning of the Christian era.
http://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/meluhha-gerrha-and-the-emirates-9783847385363
https://books.google.com.eg/books/about/Meluhha_Gerrha_and_the_Emirates.html?id=9WP1kgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

From 1996, the IMTO mission of the University of Pisa has been working on the site of Sumhuram, in the territory of Khor Rori (southern Oman), since ancient times a region famed for the excellence of the frankincense it produced.
This volume coincide with the conclusion of a project funded by MIUR within the PRIN 2007 programme, in which IMTO collaborated with the University of Florence and the University of Tuscia - Viterbo.
The book aims to inform a broader public of some of the more significant results achieved in these two last years of research in Sumhuram.

The UAE is one of the world’s youngest countries. Yet people have been living in the lands of the Emirates for at least seventeen thousand years. Before that, some two hundred thousand years ago, the first humans walked out of Africa and across the lands of the Emirates to populate our planet. The UAE has a depth that most Emiratis and visitors to Abu Dhabi and Dubai are only slowly becoming aware of, with new museums planned in Saadiyat to communicate and celebrate the Nation’s story. And by any standards it is a fascinating story. The lands of the Emirates lie at a crossroads between the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean, between the Arabian Peninsula and greater Eurasian landmass, which makes the UAE a superb grandstand for the human journey. It was here, already five thousand years ago, that the merchants of Dilmun came to procure resources for the cities of Sumer. The lands of the Emirates contributed to the rise of the world’s first complex urban civilisation. Fast forward four thousand years, and we see the wonders of India and China passing through the Gulf bound for the Baghdad of Harun al-Rashid. For the first time in history, trade spanned the full length of the Old World, pioneered and controlled by merchants from the Gulf region. Today in the forgotten ports and hidden oases of the UAE, archaeologists are carefully peeling back the sands of time to reveal the homes of ancient Emiratis, entering their abandoned majālis and discovering their lost finājīn. In so doing they are piecing together the story of the Nation which young Emirati archaeologists will tell the world.

The course is divided into four modules of three week’s teaching followed by a week of assessment. Module 1: Distant Ancestors examines early human interactions with the natural world and the beginnings of settled life in the lands of the Emirates, including the Ubaid and Hafit cultures. It is assessed by a 1,500 word essay worth 15% of your final grade. Module 2: Early Civilisations explores the rise and demise of complex societies, including the Umm al-Nar, Wadi Suq and Iron Age cultures of the UAE and Oman. It is assessed by an essay in the midterm exam worth 20% of your course grade. Module 3: Threshold Centuries takes in the Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic period, from the ancient queens of Mleiha to the Abbasid invasion, discussing the origin of the Arab tribes and considering the place of the UAE in the Dar al-Islam. It is assessed by another 1,500 word essay worth 20% of your final grade. Module 4: Towards Modernity focuses on the later Islamic centuries, examining the emergence of the shaikhdoms and emirates which make up the present UAE, and exploring the forts of the rulers and homes of the people. It is assessed by an essay in the final exam worth 20% of your course grade. There will be a reading homework each week and your graded notes together account for 25% of your final mark.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.