al‐Khafaji reinterpreted: New insights on Umm an‐Nar monuments and settlement from Bat,Oman

Al‐Khafaji is a central and well‐known point on the early third millennium BC map of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, in the Sultanate of Oman. For years, Kasr al‐Khafaji (“Tower 1146”) has been understood as an Umm an‐Nar (ca. 2800–2000 BCE) monument standing amid a contemporary village. However, recent excavations by the Bat Archaeological Project (BAP) reveal that the entirety of the known site—monument(s) and settlement—is situated on an anthropogenic clay mound that elevated it meters above the surrounding landscape. This paper presents the results of BAP's recent excavations, emphasising the social spaces created by architecture of various functions and scales. It also considers the implications that this new interpretation of al‐Khafaji may have for how the relationship between Umm an‐Nar towers and settlement should be understood. The paper closes with a discussion of Umm an‐Nar tower function and social meaning, concluding that the Khafaji monument(s) likely served a symbolic and possibly performative role in Umm an‐Nar society that was perceived as separate from Umm an‐Nar settlement.     

The Wadi al‐Hijr (Sultanate of Oman) in the third millennium BC

In 2010–11 a pedestrian survey of the western end of Wadi al‐Hijr in northern Oman identified 1507 archaeological features in a 124 km² area. Data were collected on each feature's architectural characteristics, associated artefact assemblages, topographic and environmental locations, condition of remains, and relations to other archaeological features. The majority of datable features belong to the third millennium BC and divide unequally between the Hafit and Umm an‐Nar periods. While the majority of these third‐millennium BC features were tombs, other feature types were identified, including towers, settlements, quarries, dams, enclosures, and possible platforms. Third‐millennium BC features were organised into clusters and ranged considerably in size, from a few features to several hundred. All of the clusters established during the Hafit period were maintained in the Umm an‐Nar period, suggesting a continuity throughout the third millennium. Some preliminary hypotheses regarding settlement patterns are suggested.     

First discovery of ancient soft‐stone (chlorite) vessel production in Arabia: Aqir al‐Shamoos (Oman)

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.     

Carnelian,agate, and other types of chalcedony: the prehistory of Jebel al‐Ma'taradh and its semi‐precious stones,Emirate of Ra's al‐Khaimah

The Jebel al‐Ma'taradh and its surroundings contain exceptional deposits of lithic raw materials, including flint and chert, but especially chalcedony, agate, carnelian, and chrysoprase. These deposits were intensively exploited during the Neolithic, and some of the artefacts produced entered the trade network that included settlements on the coast and inland, sometimes as far as 300 km. During earlier periods, probably as early as the Pleistocene, only flint was used. Between the sixth and the fourth millennia, carnelian and agate were exploited to make beads, which are found in the necropolises and settlements of the UAE.     

A sequence of inland desert settlement in the Oman peninsula: 2008–2009 excavations at Saruq al‐Hadid,Dubai, UAE

The 2008–2009 excavations conducted by the Dubai Desert Survey at Saruq al‐Hadid, Dubai, have transformed our interpretation of the site from an Iron Age bronze production centre to a site with multiple occupations over the course of more than three millennia; they underline the importance of this site for understanding land use and settlement patterns in the deserts of the Oman peninsula. Saruq al‐Hadid probably began as an oasis site where nomadic pastoralists during the Umm an‐Nar and Wadi Suq periods camped and took advantage of a relatively well‐watered landscape. In contrast, Iron Age remains at the site do not bear any definite signs of settlement per se; instead, the material culture suggests that Saruq al‐Hadid may have been one of several sites in south‐east Arabia that were dedicated to a snake cult. The site is capped by waste from an intensive metalworking operation that appears to have taken place during the later first millennium BC. Iron age and later remains from the site tie Saruq al‐Hadid to a regional network of settlement and trade centres and suggest that, like the mountain piedmont and coasts, the sandy desert expanses of the Oman peninsula held economic and ritual importance in the overall landscape.     

Neolithic nomadism in south‐east Arabia — strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in human tooth enamel from al‐Buhais 18 and Umm al‐Quwain 2 in the Emirates of Sharjah and Umm al‐Quwain (UAE)

Human skeletal remains from the Neolithic sites BHS18 in the interior of the Sharjah Emirate and the Neolithic shell midden UAQ2 (Umm al‐Quwain) on the coast of the Persian Gulf (United Arab Emirates, UAE) were analysed for their isotope ratios of strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O). The results are not in agreement with earlier assumptions about a Neolithic nomadism between inland regions and the south‐eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. Existing evidence of nomadic movements of the people from BHS18 most possibly refers to transhumance within the mountains in the hinterland. The strontium isotope measurements on human skeletons from UAQ2 on the contrary indicate uninterrupted residence of this population on the coast. Nevertheless, evidence was found of individual mobility between inland regions and the coast.     

Recent archaeological research at Saruq al‐Hadid,Dubai, UAE

In September 2014, the University of New England (UNE), Australia, began a three‐year programme of archaeological fieldwork and post‐excavation analyses focused on the site of Saruq al‐Hadid. In this paper, we present the initial results of our current field and laboratory research particularly related to site stratigraphy and formation processes, relative and absolute chronology, and the preliminary results of various programmes of post‐excavation analyses including archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, ceramic and archaeometallurgical studies. These studies provide new data to build into the archaeological understanding of Saruq al‐Hadid that has, to date, focused largely on intensive excavation.     

The garden in Umayyad society in al‐Andalus

The majority of Arab sources concerning gardens and spaces dedicated to the cultivation of any kind of plant species in al‐Andalus date mainly from the eleventh century onwards and offer very little specific information about the Umayyad period (mid‐eighth to the beginning of the eleventh centuries). However, we do know the importance that gardens, understood broadly, had both in the material and daily life, as well as in the emblematic and symbolic life, of al‐Andalus during the Umayyad period. The present article reconsiders the early history of the Andalus garden in the context of the cultural history of the Umayyad period in order to understand better the foundations of the specific nature of Andalusī gardens and to show that, despite the influence of the reigning dynasty, the history of the garden in al‐Andalus has a notably collective dimension.     

Socio‐cultural innovations of the Final Umm an‐Nar period (c.2100–2000 BCE) in the Oman peninsula: new insights from Ra's al‐Jinz RJ‐2

The Early Bronze Age site of RJ‐2, located close to the coastal village of Ra's al‐Jinz on the eastern Omani coast (Niyabat Ra's al‐Hadd), was the focus of archaeological investigations for over two decades. The latest campaigns of excavation unearthed an architectural complex (Building XII) dated to the very end of the Umm an‐Nar period (Final UaN, c.2100–2000 BCE), previously attested on site by poorly preserved remains. This paper presents the remains explored during the most recent fieldwork, focusing on the stratigraphic‐structural sequence and the spatial layout. It also considers the transformations affecting structural evidence and material culture during this period, at both local and regional level, highlighting their significance for a comprehensive assessment of the last occupations related to the Early Bronze Age in south‐eastern Arabia. The paper concludes by showing how the Final Umm an‐Nar phase represents an age of substantial socio‐cultural innovations, which most likely shaped the transition towards the following Wadi Suq period.