First discovery of ancient soft‐stone (chlorite) vessel production in Arabia: Aqir al‐Shamoos (Oman) |
| |
| Authors: | Michael J. Harrower Hélène David‐Cuny Smiti Nathan Ioana A. Dumitru Suleiman Al‐Jabri |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA;2. , Paris, France;3. Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA;4. Department of Excavations and Archaeological Research, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Bat, Al‐Dhahirah, Sultanate of Oman |
| |
| Abstract: | Soft‐stone vessels are a prominent feature of ancient culture throughout south‐east Arabia and the Gulf. Chlorite and steatite occur naturally in the al‐Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman; but until now, apart from the discovery of a few unfinished pieces, ancient production of soft‐stone vessels had yet to be documented in Arabia. This paper reports the discovery and preliminary analysis of soft‐stone vessel production at the site of Aqir al‐Shamoos. At this small and secluded mountain village, a range of soft‐stone vessels that are well known in the south‐east Arabian Iron Age were produced on a scale far beyond what was needed for local consumption. |
| |
| Keywords: | ancient Arabia ancient trade Oman United Arab Emirates Iron Age soapstone |
|
|
