Oman Peninsula Research Articles

The skeletal remains from Umm an-Nar tomb QA 1-1: spatial distribution and anthropological analysis

Collective aboveground circular tombs of stone are one of the main categories of architectural structures from the Umm an-Nar period (2500–2000 BC) in the Oman peninsula. The tombs have been known since the late 1950s but various aspects of their functioning still await a full explanation. Most of them survived in poor condition, often empty, only a dozen or so actually yielding any human remains. Tomb QA 1-1, one of ten Umm an-Nar-type tombs at Wadi al-Fajj in northwestern Oman, has yielded a substantial assemblage of human skeletal remains (estimated MNI 25) from the two of four burial chambers excavated between 2016 and 2018. While the excavation of the tomb should be continued, a presentation of the bone assemblage recovered to date, including a distribution analysis of the remains, deposition characteristic, and preliminary osteological analysis, adds to the existing source base of Early Bronze Age populations in the ancient land of Magan.

Revisiting ‘Settlement’: A case study of terminology and Early Bronze Age southeast Arabia

The settlement—a place on a landscape where a human group lives and interacts—has become such a fundamental social and material concept in archaeology that it is rarely explicitly defined. The breadth of meaning built into the term allows it to transcend regional, temporal, and contextual differences in site form, size, and composition. However, just as this combination of versatility and implied meaning makes settlement applicable to archaeological studies worldwide, it also creates conditions in which the term’s social significance may be overlooked or where it may be misapplied in ways that lead to false equivalencies and mischaracterizations. Through a literary review of research on Umm an-Nar period (UaN; ca. 2700–2000 BCE) sites of the Oman Peninsula, this paper examines the ways in which broad (mis)applications of the term ‘settlement’ can deeply impact scholarly understanding of an ancient society. Inconsistencies in UaN settlement identification—born of regional variations in the archaeological record, coarse temporal clarity, and the history of scholarship in southeast Arabia—are shown to have significant ramifications for how UaN society is analyzed, interpreted, and characterized in archaeological literature. It is argued that settlement-focused archaeological studies would universally benefit from explicit definition(s) of the term and greater precision in its application.

Settlement and Chronology in the early Bronze Age of Southeastern Arabia

The Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2700-2000 BC) of southeastern Arabia is a critical phase of social growth and cultural development in the region. Archaeological understandings of this key time period, however, have been limited by chronological ambiguity, especially in the interior of the Oman Peninsula. Settlements and domestic contexts, often understudied in Arabian prehistory, offer rich and temporally sensitive datasets that are well-suited to filling gaps in regional chronologies, which are commonly developed from excavations of mortuary and monumental contexts. This paper combines architectural and ceramic data from recent settlement excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, in the Sultanate of Oman, to build a refined chronology for the site’s Umm an-Nar period occupations. These results place Bat in temporal and material context with settlements in ancient Arabia and offer valuable comparanda for establishing chronological patterns across the region.

An Early Bronze Age Incense Burner from Dahwa (DH1), Northern al-Batinah, Oman

More than fifty years of archaeological investigations in the Oman Peninsula have yielded only four Early Bronze Age (Umm an-Nar period, 2500–2000 BCE) incense burners: three from the coastal settlement at Ras al-Jinz-2 and one from the hinterland settlement of Dahwa in the northern al-Batinah plain. The latter was found by the authors and is the oldest incense burner to be found so far in the Oman Peninsula, with C14 analysis and pottery confirming that it dates to 2450–2200 BCE.

Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

Cotton (Gossypium sp.), a plant of tropical and sub-tropical origin, appeared at several sites on the Arabian Peninsula at the end of the 1st mill. BCE-beginning of the 1st mill. CE. Its spread into this non-native, arid environment is emblematic of the trade dynamics that took place at this pivotal point in human history. Due to its geographical location, the Arabian Peninsula is connected to both the Indian and African trading spheres, making it complex to reconstruct the trans-continental trajectories of plant diffusion into and across Arabia in Antiquity. Key questions remain pertaining to: (1) provenance, i.e. are plant remains of local or imported origin and (2) the precise timing of cotton arrival and spread. The ancient site of Mleiha, located in modern-day United Arab Emirates, is a rare and significant case where rich archaeobotanical remains dating to the Late Pre-Islamic period (2nd–3rd c. CE), including cotton seeds and fabrics, have been preserved in a burned-down fortified building. To better understand the initial trade and/or production of cotton in this region, strontium isotopes of leached, charred cotton remains are used as a powerful tracer and the results indicate that the earliest cotton finds did not originate from the Oman Peninsula, but were more likely sourced from further afield, with the north-western coast of India being an isotopically compatible provenance. Identifying the presence of such imported cotton textiles and seeds in southeastern Arabia is significant as it is representative of the early diffusion of the crop in the region, later to be grown extensively in local oases.

VIDA EN EL OASIS-MUERTE EN LAS COLINAS

El proyecto que lleva a cabo la misión arqueológica de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid en al Madam se desarrolla en el interior de la península de Omán, en el emirato de Sharjah, uno de los emiratos que conforman los Emiratos Árabes Unidos. En 2020, la concesión del estudio de una necrópolis al norte de al Madam, en el municipio de al Khudairah, abrió nuestro estudio al mundo funerario de la antigua Magan. De acuerdo con las autoridades locales, y para cubrir tanto el poblado como la necrópolis, nuestro equipo se amplió y sumó un grupo de arqueobiólogos ya no de forma intermitente, sino permanente. Así en febrero de 2020 se pusieron las bases de la Spanish Archaeological and Archaeobiological Mission at Sharjah (SAAMS) y de un nuevo proyecto: al Madam-al Khudaira Project. Live in the Oasis-Death on the Hills.

Cross-Cultural Trade and Socio-Technical Developments in the Oman Peninsula during the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 to 1600 BC

Cross-Cultural Trade and Socio-Technical Developments in the Oman Peninsula during the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 to 1600 BC

Cross-Cultural Trade and Socio-Technical Developments in the Oman Peninsula during the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 to 1600 BC

Cross-Cultural Trade and Socio-Technical Developments in the Oman Peninsula during the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 to 1600 BC

Al‐Ghoryeen: An Early Bronze Age settlement in central Oman peninsula

AbstractAl‐Ghoryeen, located 95 km southwest of Muscat, is a unique settlement dating to the Umm an‐Nar period and is built upon a Late Hafit period settlement. It was found in 2004 and excavation began in 2018. Preliminary analysis of the results revealed two major occupation phases with an occupational gap in between. A change occurred between the earlier and later phases of the settlement system reflected mainly in the difference in building sizes and plan. We excavated either partially or completely a stone round tower and more than 10 domestic structures. The distribution of the architectural features including the round tower, domestic structures and burials showed some kind of organised settlement structure. The Hafit period settlement was tested in two trenches where 14C analysis dated the earliest occupation to the late Hafit period.

Geographical and administrative divisions of Oman peninsula in Islamic Middle Ages from 1 H/ 7 Ad to the end of 9 H/ 15 AD

This article discusses the major geographical and administrative divisions of Oman and their villages and the borders between these divisions, according to Arabic and Omani primary sources, from the first century of the Hijra to the end of the ninth century of the Hijra. This study is an attempt to establish a good knowledge of historical geography of Oman in the Islamic Medieval era.

Geographical and administrative divisions of Oman peninsula in Islamic Middle Ages from 1 H/ 7 Ad to the end of 9 H/ 15 AD

This article discusses the major geographical and administrative divisions of Oman and their villages and the borders between these divisions, according to Arabic and Omani primary sources, from the first century of the Hijra to the end of the ninth century of the Hijra. This study is an attempt to establish a good knowledge of historical geography of Oman in the Islamic Medieval era.

“Y ATRAVESÓ EL MAR INFERIOR”: LA DINASTÍA ACADIA Y SU MIRADA A LAS COSTAS DEL GOLFO PÉRSICO

The first mention which we have on the region of Magan in the Mesopotamian texts appears in the Akkadian Age, always connected to the regions of Dilmum and Meluhha. While regions such as Dilmun, recorded in the Uruk texts or even as an expression like `Lower Sea´ already appear at the end of the Early Dynastic, the region of Magan, what will be called in the texts `Black Mountains´, are not recorded until the Akkadian times, concretely since Manistusu´s reign. In this article, we are going to take an historical tour on the Mesopotamian texts which tell us about Magan in the Akkadian Age. We are building this on both the materials coming from those mountains (current mountains of al Hayyar) and the archaeological remains of the Umm an Nar Culture, contemporary of the Akkadian World in Oman Peninsula. Between them, Akkad and Magan, the region of Dilmun, intermediary by excellence, will also have a place in our investigation, as it is a compulsory place of transfer of the materials, objects and the ideas which circulated all over the Persian Gulf in the Second half of the III Millennium BC.

The contribution of the domesticated camel and advanced irrigation techniques (the horizontal well/Falaj system) to the Iron Age economy and settlement patterns of the Oman Peninsula and Arabia.

Iron Age II is considered the classical period of the Iron Age (figure: 2). This period shows sudden increase in distribution and diversification in settlement pattern, in South-eastern Arabia (Magee 1998b:49). The settlements during this period expanded to include inland (Herrmann et al. 2012), mountains (Haser in Avanzini 2010:162) and coastal sites (Mouton & Schiettecatte 2014). Settlements became more diverse to include non-residential architecture. An appearance of irrigation technology (Falaj) along with camel domestication coincides with this increase. This increase was accompanied by regional (Benoist & Mery 2012: 88) (between the varied types of settlements) and trans-regional contact (with south Arabia) and goods exchange (Magee 1999, 2004, 2005).The layout, the location, the structure and the material culture excavated from this period reflects a complex community (Magee & Thompson 2001:129) (Magee 1998b:54). This manifested in the appearance of a belief system related to both irrigation and bronze production (the snake cult) (Benoist 2007:50), specialized labour in pottery (Benoist & Mery 2012:88), metal production (Magee 1998a:114) (Nashef in Avanzini 2010:215) and administration systems (al-Tikriti 2010:240), fortification structures related to the agriculture activity (Magee 2014:237), symbolic (axe heads on the stamp seals) and prestigious goods for elites (Magee 1998b:56). This paper argues that irrigation technology was responsible for creating a social elite class. This class was responsible for cyclic production, the expansion and the diversification of settlement patterns using the domestication of the camel.The Iron Age is divided into three sub periods based on ceramic evidence from Tell Abraq: I (1200–1000 BC), II (1000–600 BC) and III (600–300 BC) (Magee 2001:345).Table 1: Brief description of the settlement patterns and economy of Iron Age I and III: Iron Age I(1300-1000BC) Iron Age III(600-300BC) Settlement Patterns Known Shimal, Tell Abraq, al- One-third reduction in number Hamriyah and possibly Kalba; of sites when compared with on the Gulf coast, and the East Iron Age II. Known sites are Coast (Fig. 1) (Potts 2001:50). Tell Abraq, Shimal, Rumeilah, Hili17, Hili 2, Nud Ziba, al- Thuqaibah, graves in the Wadi al-Qawr and Dibba oasis (Potts 2001:50). Economy A) Dependency of the Little is known about Iron Age inhabitants on fish and III. However, excavations in shellfish (Potts 1990:103-109). Thuqeibah shows that the B) Metrical and technological economy consisted of analysis suggest that pottery agriculture, stock breeding and was produced on a part-time goods exchange with the coast or occasional basis with non- (Del Cerro 2015:23) specialized labor, and that the main reason for production was to satisfy domestic needs (Magee 2005:51). Cause of decline in May be due to: May be due to:Number of sites and a) Drought conditions that a) The limitation ofeconomy. impacted water resources, archaeological surveys in 3 b) The decline of maritime some regions versus the trade which might have been intensive explorations of caused by the Mesopotamian others restrict the knowledge replacement of Omani copper about this period (Mouton & production with that from Schiettecatte 2014:45). Anatolia, b) The collapse of the Iron c) The political instability in Age II Irrigation technology the Indus Valley during Aryan (al-Tikriti 2010:240) invasion which led scholars to ((Mouton & Schiettecatte speculate that this may have 2014:45) caused further disruption, through a cultural effect, in south-eastern Arabia (Brunswig in Potts 1990: 29 and Carter 1997: 95-7).

Glass and glass production in the Oman peninsula in antiquity reconsidered – chemical and mineralogical investigation of sands

A batch of green‐ and amber‐coloured glass chunks and unguentaria dating from the first century CE was found in 2007 at Dibba al Hisn, a site on the Arabian Sea coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its elemental and isotopic composition revealed the glass to be of a previously unknown plant ash glass type, different from known contemporary Roman, Mesopotamian, and Indian glass. The Sr isotopic composition of the glass corresponds to locally available plants, pointing to the possible existence of a first‐century CE local glass production centre. To explore this possibility, sands from around the UAE were analysed to establish their suitability for glass making and correspondence with the Dibba finds. This paper presents the results of the elemental analysis of fourteen sands. The analysis, performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES), revealed all sands to be rich in lime and alumina. X‐ray diffraction revealed the presence of calcite and other carbonate minerals, as well as antigorite and quartz. Comparison of the sand compositions to average first‐century CE non‐Roman glass found at Dibba showed them to be unsuitable as raw material for producing the glass of Dibba. The evidence thus identifies this glass batch as imported, contrary to what was suggested before. This paper also reviews the occurrence of thick‐walled unguentaria in the region.

Archaeology of a falaj in al Madam Plain (Sharjah, UAE); a study from the site

Since the 1990s, several archaeological teams have been investigating the link between Iron Age settlements in the Oman Peninsula and qanat systems. It is assumed that the development of water-draining galleries, such as qanat, or falaj as they are called in Oman, allowed for the settlement of populations on the desert fringes and the growth of villages at this time. Fieldwork undertaken by a Spanish archaeological team working at al Madam has provided evidence for the existence of wells and water-draining galleries (falaj/aflāj) in contemporaneous use at the beginning of First Millennium BC. The excavation of an underground gallery, the course of which forms a zig-zag pattern, has revealed a system that would have permitted the collection of a significant amount of groundwater. This proves the existence in Antiquity of a large shallow water table in the area of al Madam. The water that was brought to the surface by this system was diverted into secondary channels, tree-pits, ponds and pools, corresponding to the ancient cultivated fields. This unprecedented network of irrigation channels was dug into the natural rock. The archaeological record of al Madam shows that this cultivated area was situated to the east of the village in the Iron Age, and included a palm grove of significant size (at least 15 ha).

New perspectives about Iron Age and the oasis culture in the Oman Peninsula: two conclusive seasons at la Madam (Sharjah, UAE)

En el curso de las dos últimas campañas (2010-11 y 2011-12) en al Madam (AM 1 y 2) se han obtenidos inesperados resultados en dos áreas de la economía y la cultura de los poblados apenas conocidas hasta hoy. El uso del entorno para reunir material de construcción y la naturaleza de las explotaciones agrarias. Al cierre provisional del yacimiento encontramos aspectos novedosos sobre la Edad del Hierro en la Península de Omán.Palabras clave: Península de Omán, Edad del Hierro, adobe, área para la elaboración de adobes, falaj, gallerie de captage, red de acequias para la agricultura. AbstractIn the course of the last two seasons of work (2010-2011 and 2011-12) at al Madam Site (AM 1 and AM2) the Spanish archaeological team working in Sharjah since 1994, has got unexpected results concerning to the economy and culture of the Iron Age villages, that we just knew. For example, we can study the use of the environment in order to collect building materials or the nature of farmlands. Before the provisional closure of our work in al Madam, we find some news aspects about Iron Age communities in the Oman Peninsula.Keywords: Oman Peninsula, Iron Age, mud-brick, mud-brick working area, falaj, gallerie de captage, network channels for agriculture.

Human Response to Climate Change during the Umm an‐Nar/Wadi Suq Transition in the United Arab Emirates

AbstractStable oxygen isotope ratios in archaeological human dental enamel represent an under‐utilised tool in the examination of changing climatic patterns in the ancient world. In the Oman Peninsula at the end of the third millennium bc, rapid aridification was accompanied by a breakdown in interregional trade relations; however, the human response to these changes is poorly understood. At the Bronze Age necropolis at Shimal in the United Arab Emirates, dental enamel from individuals interred in both Umm an‐Nar (ca 2700–2000 bc) and Wadi Suq (ca 2000–1300 bc) tombs underwent oxygen, strontium and carbon isotope analyses to examine how local inhabitants of southeastern Arabia responded to both environmental and socioeconomic change. While individuals from Shimal exhibit a clear shift in mean δ18Oc(VPDB) values from the Umm an‐Nar (−3.5 ± 0.6‰, 1σ) to the Wadi Suq (−2.4 ± 0.9‰, 1σ), corresponding 87Sr/86Sr and δ13Cap signatures display homogeneity indicative of continuity in Bronze Age lifeways. Together, these data highlight the ability of local communities to successfully adapt to their changing environs (in lieu of societal collapse or a shift to a more mobile lifestyle) in an effort to maintain their way of life. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of archaeological potsherds excavated at Mleiha using XRF

The site of Mleiha in the emirate of Sharjah, excavated by the French archaeological mission since 1986, offers a stratigraphical ceramics sequence which became the chronological reference for the Late Pre-Islamic period (3rd c. BC–3rd. c. AD) in the Oman peninsula. If most of the wares are conveniently distributed in chronology, their origin and place of production are rarely precisely defined. In the present study 26 potsherds collected at Mleiha, were analyzed using an X-ray fluorescence microscope. The objectives of the study were multi-fold. First, the elemental composition had to be identified with reasonable accuracy. Second, the potsherds were compared statistically using the Chi-test. Finally, possible similarities were defined according to elemental composition. Sizes of the potsherds ranged from a few square centimetres to tens of square centimetres. A matrix containing the elemental concentrations for each fragment was used to answer a number of specific questions pertaining to the grouping of various potsherds according to possible geographical origin or provenance. Analysis confirms the homogeneity of the group called Late Mleiha ware, and the variability of other groups as Grey and Black wares. It brings new insights, as the relation of some samples with Indian productions.

Geographic origins and dietary transitions during the bronze age in the oman peninsula

The nature of the Bronze Age transition from the Umm an-Nar (ca. 2700-2000 BC) to the Wadi Suq (ca. 2000-1300 BC) period in the Oman Peninsula has been highly debated by archaeologists, with some characterizing the latter as a time of cultural isolation, social collapse, and/or population replacement following the successful involvement of the area in widespread interregional exchange networks across Arabia and South Asia. The hypothesis that a substantial change in residential mobility, immigration, and diet took place in response to considerable societal changes as reflected by the archaeological record was tested using stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis. Archaeological human dental enamel from individuals interred in six Umm an-Nar (n = 100) and seven Wadi Suq (n = 16) communal tombs in the United Arab Emirates was used. Oxygen isotope data reveal largely homogeneous ratios indicative of a predominantly local population that acquired water from isotopically similar sources, although the presence of immigrants during both periods suggests that the region was not as isolated as previously held. Carbon isotope data exhibit a substantial temporal shift from an extremely varied to a more restricted diet, demonstrating that while considerable changes in subsistence strategies and social organization took place in the early second millennium BC, population continuity and sustained (although lessened) participation in pan-Gulf trade systems best characterizes this regional transformation.

Pots, plates and provenance: sourcing Indian coarse wares from Mleiha using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry analysis

The identification of more than 25% of the pottery sherds from the late PIR.D period (ca. 2nd - mid. 3rd c. AD) assemblage from the recently excavated building H at Mleiha as Indian is based on form and fabric, but using only visual assessment. Petrographic analysis of the fabrics can provide more precise indicators of the geographical origin of the wares. In this study, a total of 21 sherds from various key sites in Western India were compared with 7 different 'Indian' coarse-ware vessels sampled at Mleiha using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. The analyses were conducted on powdered samples collected from the core of each sherd. Each sample was irradiated for 1000 seconds using a 1.2 mm diameter X-ray beam. The resulting spectra were used for quantification of the X-ray intensity and elemental concentration. Levels of correlation in the elemental ratios of the sherds were statistically tested using an F-test as well as a Chi-test. Initial review of the XRF results indicates that the Maharashtra and Gujarat regions of India are probable source areas for at least two of the types of wares. Collection of additional samples from these areas and other regions of India, and further statistical analysis through methods such as Principal Component Analysis will help to isolate groups of wares from India and correlate them with types of vessels imported into the Oman peninsula in antiquity.