A non-Egyptian «Egyptian» stone vessel from Ras Al Jinz RJ-2, Sultanate of Oman: Critical review of an entrenched hypothesis

Abstract

This short communication aims to re-discuss the proposed provenance of a reworked stone vessel fragment from the Early Bronze Age site Ras Al Jinz RJ-2 along the coast of central Oman. In the original publication (Cleuziou and Tosi, 2000), it was linked with Egypt thus becoming the first and sole known connection between the Umm an-Nar communities of south-eastern Arabia and late Old Kingdom's Egypt. However, a reappraisal of the mineralogical texture of the stone used to manufacture the object seems to confidently exclude an Egyptian origin. Other possible sources are therefore discussed.