This paper attempts to draw a more nuanced picture than previously provided of ceramic change at the start of the second millennium in south-east Arabia. Previous research has accentuated the novelty of shapes and decoration of Wadi Suq... more
This paper attempts to draw a more nuanced picture than previously provided of ceramic change at the start of the second millennium in south-east Arabia. Previous research has accentuated the novelty of shapes and decoration of Wadi Suq period ceramics, indicating a clear break at the start of the second millennium. Yet a study of the recently excavated ceramic assemblage from tombs at Qarn al-Harf in Ras al-Khaimah points to a more gradual transition, with some ceramic practices inherited from third-millennium traditions. Building on this observation, this paper aims to place the assemblage within its wider regional context, suggesting that the new features of Wadi Suq ceramics relate to the use of key shapes such as beakers and spouted jars in acts of communal consumption. As such, ceramic change offers an important avenue to study social developments in south-east Arabia at this time. It is specifically in the domain of funerary practices that ceramics find a new niche resulting in particular regional developments throughout the Wadi Suq period.
The late Wadi Suq has been an elusive phase in the archaeology of the Oman peninsula. It is mostly documented in the settlements of Kalbāʾ and Tell Abraq, both located in the United Arab Emirates. The tell deposits with late Wadi Suq... more
The late Wadi Suq has been an elusive phase in the archaeology of the Oman peninsula. It is mostly documented in the settlements of Kalbāʾ and Tell Abraq, both located in the United Arab Emirates. The tell deposits with late Wadi Suq levels at these sites remain poorly understood, and the same applies to the limited evidence from funerary sites. In the Ṣuhār hinterlands we have previously found what appears to be late Wadi Suq materials in cemeteries, but these surface finds consist of a few sherds and soft-stone fragments that can be interpreted in various ways. In the 2018 season, however, an unequivocal Wadi Suq non-funerary site was found on a steep outcrop in Wādī Fizḥ, at Site 84. In this contribution we present Site 84, its characteristics and location, the structures that are visible, and the artefact assemblages collected from its surface.
Keywords: late Wadi Suq, ceramics, soft-stone vessels, visibility, landscape archaeology
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Summary On the north bank of Wādī al-Zahaimi, east of the town of Liwaʾ in northern Oman, a remarkably well-preserved Bronze Age cultural landscape was discovered and documented in January 2018 by the Wadi al-Jizzi Archaeological Project.... more
Summary On the north bank of Wādī al-Zahaimi, east of the town of Liwaʾ in northern Oman, a remarkably well-preserved Bronze Age cultural landscape was discovered and documented in January 2018 by the Wadi al-Jizzi Archaeological Project. It includes first, a well-preserved Umm an-Nar settlement with two circular tombs, a possible watchtower, and imported pottery from the Indus and Dilmun; second, a large transitional cemetery, with about 170 tombs dating to the late Umm an-Nar and early Wadi Suq periods, which has striking parallels with the famous linear alignments from ʿAsimah; and third, a small Wadi Suq settlement with stone-built houses. In this paper, we present this well-preserved Bronze Age cultural landscape and its relevance to our understanding of the late third and early second millennia BC in south-eastern Arabia.
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In Spring 2016, the first field season of the Fujairah-German Archaeological Projekt (FGAP), a cooperation between the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority and the Orient Department of the German Archaeological institute (DAI), was... more
In Spring 2016, the first field season of the Fujairah-German Archaeological Projekt (FGAP), a cooperation between the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority and the Orient Department of the German Archaeological institute (DAI), was carried out. The aim was to conduct a joint reappraisal work at the site of Qidfa 3 in the Emirate of Fujairah (UAE) since the results of the former archaological investigations were not published and the importance of that 2nd millennium site was therefore never promoted.
In: R. Eichmann and M. van Ess (eds.), Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 10/2017, p. 312-355
Two stamp seals were found during the 2018 survey at Tawi Said, located at the northern limits of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman. They were associated with Wadi Suq (2000–1600 BC) pottery sherds as well as a few flint tools... more
Two stamp seals were found during the 2018 survey at Tawi Said, located at the northern limits of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman. They were associated with Wadi Suq (2000–1600 BC) pottery sherds as well as a few flint tools and remains of copper processing. The first seal has a dome shape and thus reveals affiliations to Dilmun type seals, although its motif is clearly local. The second seal is disc-shaped with a ring. It’s motif with circular drillings and straight lines can be compared to other seals from the Oman Peninsula from Early Iron Age (1300–300 BC) contexts.
Significant changes in the material culture, subsistence and mode of life are associated with the Middle (c. 2000–1600 BCE) and Late Bronze Ages (c. 1600–1300 BCE) in Eastern Arabia. Since first excavations in the 1970s, research has... more
Significant changes in the material culture, subsistence and mode of life are associated with the Middle (c. 2000–1600 BCE) and Late Bronze Ages (c. 1600–1300 BCE) in Eastern Arabia. Since first excavations in the 1970s, research has focused on the United Arab Emirates, where all major sites of this period known to date are situated. This birthed the idea of two different lines of development in the second millennium BC. While a more gradual change is assumed for the United Arab Emirates, Central Oman was regarded as having completely abandoned settled agricultural life, returning to a less complex social organisation. This article presents new evidence from Tawi Said, Al‐Mudhairib and the Wilayat al‐Mudhaybi that shows that the developments in both regions were more akin to each other than previously assumed. This encourages us to reconsider our assumptions about Central Oman’s social complexity during this pivotal period of Oman’s history.
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12210) This paper reports the results of excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf (WTN01) in Wādī Tanūf, North-central Oman. It also provides information on the nonmortuary and nonsedentary... more
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12210)
This paper reports the results of excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf (WTN01) in Wādī Tanūf, North-central Oman. It also provides information on the nonmortuary and nonsedentary activities in central Oman during the Wādī Sūq period (2000–1600 BCE), as the subsistence and social arrangements of this period are the subject of much debate. Previous surveys had discovered a substantial amount of Wādī Sūq pottery at the site. This project took forward the excavation for further exploration. The excavation at Test Pit 1 identified Layers Ia and Ib, wherein pottery sherds, charred date stones and other samples for radiocarbon dating were discovered. These prove the cave's occupation during the early third millennium BCE, early second millennium BCE and the Islamic period. The analysis of artefacts and floral remains provided insights into the sojourn, storage and consumption of dates in the cave, and the mobile lifestyle in central Oman.
In November 2018, a survey was conducted at the site of Tawi Said, which is located at the edge of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman and was discovered in 1976 by Beatrice de Cardi. An area of 150 × 125 m was field-walked. All... more
In November 2018, a survey was conducted at the site of Tawi Said, which is located at the edge of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman and was discovered in 1976 by Beatrice de Cardi. An area of 150 × 125 m was field-walked. All surface finds were collected and their position recorded with a hand-held GPS device. Nearly 8,600 objects were documented, the majority of them pottery sherds. Other finds include sea shells, chipped stone tools, copper production waste, jewellery and three fragments of chlorite vessels. The most interesting objects from the survey are two stamp seals, one of them resembling Dilmun style seals. Most of the pottery can be dated to the Late Islamic period, but a significant amount in the centre of the survey area dates to the Middle Bronze Age (Wadi Suq period, c. 2000–1600 BC), confirming an early assessment of the site by Beatrice de Cardi as the only settlement site of the Wadi Suq period so far known in central Oman. The far-reaching connections of Tawi Said in the Middle Bronze Age are testified by the presence of Indus pottery sherds as well as by the seal in a Dilmun affiliated style, and for the Late Islamic period by the large quantities of sea shells. One reason behind the choice of the location near the desert might be connected to copper production as other important metal working sites like Saruq al-Hadid (United Arab Emirates) and ʿUqdat al-Bakrah are also located in the marginal desert environment of the Rub al-Khali. All of this demonstrates the high potential of the site for future research.
Sites with towers in eastern Arabia have been interpreted as regional centres of the Early Bronze Age. One of those sites is Al-Khashbah in central Oman. Until now, however, nothing was known about its hinterland that would support the idea of a regional centre. The Al-Mudhaybi Regional Survey was therefore initiated in order, for the first time, to provide comprehensive and detailed knowledge of this third-millennium BC landscape. This paper presents the results of the remote sensing and ground truthing of potential features in the 2019 field season. Nearly 4000 archaeological structures ranging from the Neolithic to the modern era have been positively identified. Interestingly, some periods such as the Hafit and Wadi Suq were abundantly present, while the Umm an-Nar and Late Bronze Age were almost totally missing. It is also important to note that, except for the possible Hafit-period tower at Al-Fath, no Bronze Age settlement sites were found. The reasons behind this pattern remain to be discovered.
