Excavations carried out by the French Archaeological Mission at Bithnah‐44/50 (Emirate of Fujairah) have provided new data about Iron Age II cultic practices in the Arabian Peninsula centred on the symbol of the snake. The site includes a public building, various types of shrines, and a central area of offerings where the remains of animal sacrifices were buried in pits. These remains are presented and a preliminary account of the evolution of the site is given on the base of the site's stratigraphy.
Oases are subject to decreasing resources and changing human activities. Fully aware of their rich heritage, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have undertaken work to preserve and revitalize these oases. However, there is a clear lack of understanding of the dynamic links between climate change, hydraulic and agricultural management, and socioeconomic activities. To clarify these links, our team conducted a systematic geoarchaeological, geophysical, spatial, and chronological study of the Masafi oasis, UAE. Results indicate the existence of a natural humid area as early as the late Pleistocene (~18 cal ka BP). These conditions persist during the early-mid Holocene with drainage activation and soil development (~12–6.3 ka). During the late Holocene, after the emergence of the “artificial” oasis around ~3250 cal yr BP, cycles of intense management suggesting water availability (~3250–2380 cal yr BP; 550 cal yr BP) alternate with episodes of fluvial detritism (~2380–1870 cal yr BP; >550 cal yr BP) and scattered evidence of farming activities with complex hydroclimatic signatures (~2300–550 cal yr BP). These results, together with regional environmental data, indicate that water and soil resources were available and exploited strategically throughout the Holocene despite adverse climatic conditions, and the oasis of Masafi could have acted as a desert refugium.
Dans cette contribution la céramique de plusieurs sites de l'âge du Fer de la péninsule d'Oman (I 350-300 av. J.-C.) est comparée en privilégiant deux critères : les caractéristiques techniques des céramiques d'une part, les possibilités fonctionnelles déterminées par leur forme d'autre part. Ces deux aspects sont mis en relation avec te type et la fonction du site dont provient l'assemblage : habitats d'oasis de piémont, village de montagne, installations légères, habitats fortifiés, bâtiments publics, tombes individuelles ou collectives. D 'un type de site à un autre, les variations les plus nettes et les plus systématiques que l 'on peut observer le sont dans la fonction des pots. Ces différences tendent à s 'affirmer au début du Fer II, ce qui conduit l'auteur à souligner la relative spécialisation des espaces et à proposer un modèle ďorganisation d'un type de territoire particulier, l 'oasis de piémont, modèle qui met en avant le rôle privilégié de certains bâtiments collectifs dans la gestion de l'eau.
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