The Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman project: the mortuary landscape of Dhank

Abstract

The Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project has conducted three seasons of survey and excavation in north-western Oman. Focus- ing on third-millennium BC archaeological features, this project is unique because of the combination of geospatial survey and bioarchaeological excavation of mortuary monuments in and around the town of Dhank. Here we report our initial findings, define our survey area and techniques and discuss excavated funerary structures and associated radiocarbon dates from both charcoal and human skeletal remains. This report presents preliminary results that introduce this new project on the prehistoric mortuary landscapes of Oman and highlight the techniques the SoBO team employs to examine Bronze Age communities in this rural location.