Hafit tombs in ash‐Sharqiyah,Oman: assessing the accuracy and precision of Google Earth remote‐sensing survey and analysing their distribution in the landscape

Google Earth and high‐resolution satellite imagery provide a means of carrying out remote‐sensing survey of Hafit tombs able to cover large areas in short periods of time. While the potential of such research has already been demonstrated in the Wādī Andam area, the accuracy and precision of the methodology are not yet clear. A ground survey carried out by a Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) team in western Ja'alan provides an excellent control to assess the efficacy of the method. The study area was surveyed using Google Earth, and the two datasets were compared. Hafit tombs were identified to a high level of accuracy, but approximately 50% of the structures were not visible, with badly preserved tombs more likely to be missed than those in good condition. Remote sensing can be used in the preliminary stages of survey or more generally to discover and analyse broad patterns of Hafit tomb distribution. Comparisons of the distribution of Hafit tombs in western Ja'alan and Wādī Andam reveal clear similarities: the structures occupy elevated positions adjacent to sizeable wadi channels. The density of tombs is much greater in the western Ja'alan study area, which may suggest that Wādī Batha supported a larger Hafit population than Wādī Andam.     

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.     

The Early Bronze Age funerary archaeological landscape of western Ja'alan: results of three seasons of investigation

This paper presents the results of three seasons of investigations in the western part of Ja'alan in the southern al‐Sharqyiah Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. The results highlight the importance of this part of Ja'alan during the Early Bronze Age (EBA), particularly the Hafit period and provide us with important information about the funerary archaeological landscape during this period. The results also reveal important aspects of landscape utilisation and occupation during this time and add to our knowledge of the cultural and economic facets of the earliest Bronze Age societies. The distribution of tombs in the landscape suggests that they were constructed by nomadic or semi‐nomadic pastoral groups that shifted from one location to another in search of grazing for their livestock. The availability and seasonality of natural resources such as water, pasture and game made it necessary for them to mark their tribal territory with their funerary structures.     

Development of the Bronze Age landscape in the southeastern Arabian Gulf: new evidence from a buried shell midden in the eastern extremity of the Rub' al-Khali desert, Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, U.A.E.

Recent sand quarrying operations for building and construction work in the eastern extremity of the Rub' al-Khali sand sea has revealed sediment exposures through a number of coastal and inland dunes. In the al-Daith district of Ras al-Khaimah (U.A.E.) a Holocene shell midden was exposed 2.8 m below the present dune surface interstratified between phases of Late Pleistocene and late Holocene dune sands. C¹⁴ and OSL ages constrain the site giving an insight into phases of landscape instability, dune formation, rates of sediment accretion, and a period of stability and human occupation. To date, Hafit period sites (5200–4500 cal BP) have been recorded in large numbers in the mountains and gravel plains of the Oman mountains. Coastal shell middens have not, as yet, been ascribed to the Hafit period from this part of the region and the study presents the first radiocarbon age from such a site. This study indicates the potential that many other sites exist elsewhere buried under late Holocene dune sediments and these provide an important insight into the development of the coastal landscape of this region.     

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.     

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

Stable 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 δ¹⁸O_c(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 δ¹³C_ap 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.     

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

The Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project has conducted three seasons of survey and excavation in north‐western Oman. Focusing 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.     

The nature of third-millennium settlement: The example of al-Tikha (Rustaq) an Umm an-Nar site on the Batinah coast of Oman

al-Tikha is a mid to large Umm an-Nar (c. 2700–2000 BC) settlement situated near Rustaq at the back of the Southern Batinah coastal plain in the Sultanate of Oman that was discovered (or rediscovered) in 2014. The site is unique because its layout and spatial organisation are very largely (possibly completely) visible on the surface. This includes two separate areas of stone-built housing, a large pottery scatter of varying density, three or four typical Umm an-Nar round towers and a small cemetery consisting of at least four tombs, along with a few other features. The layout of the site is described and discussed in detail, in particular, in relation to what it might tell us about the nature of Umm an-Nar settlement and social organisation more generally. The location of the site within a pattern of repeating Umm an-Nar settlement along Wadi Far (Wādī al-Farʿī) is also described and discussed.     

Rescue excavation of a third‐millennium BC tomb at Al‐Khubayb,Sultanate of Oman

A third‐millennium BC tomb was subject to a rescue excavation in connection with the construction of a new road near the village of Al‐Khubayb in the Sultanate of Oman. It yielded a small number of finds, especially small metal objects that belonged to a later reuse of the tomb in the Samad period. As all diagnostic finds from the tomb date to the reuse, its architectural elements were the only indicator for the construction date of the tomb. Besides its small size and large wall thickness, which might suggest that the tomb is a transitional type between the Hafit and the Umm an‐Nar periods, its separation into two chambers and its facade made of white, dressed stones, can be seen as a clue for a construction date of the tomb in the Umm an‐Nar period.     

Silver phiale said to be from al‐Juba (al‐Wusṭa Governorate) — an archaeological puzzle

In March 2014, while recording finds in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in al‐Khuwair, artefacts unexpectedly came to light reportedly from al‐Juba in Oman's Bar al‐?ikmān, in al‐Wus?a Governorate, until recently an archaeologically little‐researched part of the Sultanate. Some of the pieces could be attributed to the Samad LIA or perhaps the PIR, both from the centuries at the turning point of the ages from BCE to CE. Such finds have never before come to light in this part of Oman. Samad LIA sites are generally located some 220 km to the north on the southern flank of the al‐?ajjar mountains in a zone c.160 x 105 km in area. Diagnostic pottery finds spread from Wadi Bānī Ruwāhah (UTM 40Q 620570 m E, 2561848 m N) eastwards to the coast, a smaller area than previously believed.     

Wadi Suq and Iron Age period ceramics from Sharm, Fujairah (U.A.E.)

The Wadi Suq period and Iron Age ceramics from Sharm are examined in terms of morphological, compositional and decorative features. The assemblage is typical of the second- and first-millennium BC ceramics of southeastern Arabia. The more unusual Iron Age 'imitation soft stone' ceramics are amply represented and the Sharm assemblage considerably expands upon this corpus of ceramics which has hitherto been less than abundant in the region. Comparisons with other second- and first-millennium sites suggest the tombs were largely occupied in the late Wadi Suq period, a pattern of occupation which again peaked in the Iron Age II period.     

Estimates of Historical Tree Densities in the North Lachlan River Catchment,New South Wales,Australia

Vegetation structure and composition during the pre‐ and early‐European period in Australia is often proposed as a benchmark against which to measure the effects of modern landscape management practices. However, little quantifiable information exists for that historical period. One potential source of information is the land survey record, used in this study to provide estimates of tree densities that existed during the period 1870 to 1900 in part of central New South Wales. Estimates were obtained for 23 parishes in the north Lachlan River valley, between the towns of Condobolin and Tottenham. Densities were calculated from portion corner to nearest tree data obtained from historical survey plans, using the plotless, closest individual method. Densities ranged from 6.0 to 31.4 trees per hectare for parishes with enough data points for reliable calculation. These figures would account for trees of a diameter large enough to be blazed with a survey mark. Any smaller trees would be additional and, although no quantitative data existed for this, qualitative evidence suggested that the figures obtained were more likely to be underestimates due to the presence of such small trees. The study area was predominantly covered by woodlands which varied in density across the landscape, in comparison to the modern landscape where much of the native vegetation has been cleared for agriculture. Although the tree density figures should be considered to be indicative rather than precise, they provide quantifiable historical figures for past conditions in an area where the historical record is otherwise sparse. Such information is valuable for interpreting ecological changes brought about by modern land management.     

Beyond dots with dates: A landscape approach to the Sohar hinterlands

Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results obtained to discuss both the potential and problems of the data that the project generated. In particular, I will focus on ephemeral sites and assemblages, data quality and data representativity.     

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 11 June 2009

Abstract

A total of 119 rock-cut burial caves of the Roman and Byzantine periods were surveyed in the study area, all of which had been subjected to robbing at some point in the recent past. This tomb raiding in the Saffa region has resulted in severe damage to a large number of rock-cut tombs, the desecration of several hundred ancient burials, and in the extraction of thousands of funerary objects from their original context. This study depends mainly on interviews with several of the raiders of these tombs and on a field survey carried out by the author in February and March 2011. The main aim of this study is to address three questions: What are the present and future challenges facing the tombs of the Roman and Byzantine periods in the study area? Could an ethnographical study help us to expand our understanding of the looting history of these burial caves and the kinds of looted objects that were found there? What can such an ethnographical study add to our understanding of the past?     

Lead isotope and chemical signature of copper from Oman and its occurrence in Mesopotamia and sites on the Arabian Gulf coast

Lead isotope data, together with an evaluation of previously published results for the chemical composition of Omani ores and copper‐base artefacts are used to define a material signature of Omani copper. Absent from our group of Bronze Age metal (Umm an Nar and Wadi Suq periods) are the signature of ores from Masirah Island and also from the vast deposits in north Oman inland from Suhar. Contemporaneous copper from Bahrain and from Tell Abraq on the Gulf coast is consistent in its material signature with Omani copper; a derivation from Omani ores of this copper is highly likely. A few exceptions at Tell Abraq point to Faynan/Timna in the southern Levant as a possible source region. Among Mesopotamian artefacts the signature of Omani copper is encountered during all cultural periods from Uruk at the end of the fourth millennium BC to Akkadian 1000 years later. Oman/Magan appears to have been particularly important during Early Dynastic III and Akkadian when about half of the copper in circulation bears the Omani signature.     

Persistent deathplaces and mobile landmarks: The Holocene mortuary and isotopic record from Wadi Takarkori (SW Libya)

Recently, a new program of territorial study was launched in the area of Wadi Takarkori (Wadi Takarkori Project, hereafter WTP), located in south-western Libya at the border with Algeria in a strategic position between the Tassili and Acacus Mountains. The core of this program was the excavation of a rock shelter together with the systematic mapping and selected excavations of stone structures in the wadi area, mainly tumuli, a typical Saharan feature.     

The PalaeoEnvironments and ARchaeological Landscapes (PEARL) project: Recent findings from Neolithic sites in Northern Oman

The PalaeoEnvironments and ARchaeological Landscapes (PEARL) research project is a joint German–British project with the principal objective of developing a framework of past human occupation and landscape change in south-eastern Arabia. Fieldwork during 2018 and 2019 involved the systematic survey and excavation of sites in the Rustaq and Ibri regions of Northern Oman, with the aim of establishing the nature and timing of human occupation and landscape change during the Early Holocene period (c. 10,000–7,000 years BP). Further to the findings previously reported, results from recent excavations of the site Hayy al-Sarh in Rustaq revealed the presence of animal remains, stone and shell beads and stone structures, indicating a large Neolithic settlement with burial areas. In addition, preliminary excavations at a rock shelter site near Ibri have revealed stratified archaeological remains, including a Fasad-type assemblage. Future fieldwork will further develop archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records to help build a framework for studying cultural and natural developments in Northern Oman.     

The Compositional study of ceramic samples from tombs dating to the Zhou Dynasty at Xiaoshan,Zhejiang Province (China)

Xiaoshan in Zhejiang Province was an important ceramic production area in ancient China. During recent years, local archaeologists have found a number of mound tombs dating to the Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. Many shards of stamped stoneware and proto‐porcelain have been unearthed from these tombs. In this paper, we report how we collected ceramic shards from tombs and samples from local ancient kilns as reference materials in order to clarify their relationship. We have used the energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence technique to analyse the chemical composition of the ceramic samples. The results indicate that some of the tomb artefacts may be imported from other production areas. We infer that the other tomb samples were produced at local kilns, but due to production process–related compositional differences, there are small differences in chemical composition between different categories of samples.