Al-Ḥajar Oasis Towns Again!

The highly‐elevated and rugged topography of the Al‐Ḥajar Mountains in Northern Oman requires a topographically‐optimised survey methodology. To reconstruct the archaeological landscapes in the southern piedmont area of the Tanūf District, we applied a combined ground survey and satellite imagery analysis. In the narrow canyon, we travelled towards visible caves on the cliffs and cairns on the ridges and recorded all encountered sites on the way. In the open floodplain and surrounding hills, we visited all visible features after scanning them from higher viewpoints. We utilised satellite imagery to complement inaccessible sites. Accordingly, we identified 23 sites from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Islamic period through ground surveys, and an additional nine sites through satellite imagery analysis. In our qualitative evaluation, this combined method was effective enough to reconstruct the archaeological landscapes of the survey area.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological surveys of a canyon and floodplain in the Tanūf District, North‐Central Oman: Optimised methodology and applications

Kuronuma

Miki

Kondo

2022

“…A number of theories have been presented. It has been argued, admittedly in relation to a purported pre‐Umm an‐Nar (al‐Hajar) phase that is not widely accepted, that the towers at many sites were organised according to a planned arrangement, with two standing close to each other in the centre of the oasis—one of them close to the domestic occupation—while others marked the outer boundaries of the cultivated area (e.g., Orchard & Stanger, 1999, p. 91). Other researchers have suggested that each of the towers might instead be associated with a separate area of domestic occupation—an arrangement that Orchard somewhat mockingly referred to as the ‘tower hamlets’ model (e.g., Humphries, 1974, p. 51; Orchard, 2000, pp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Deadman

Kennet

Vreeze

et al. 2022

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.

“…Several researchers have conducted surveys and excavations in the region surrounding Tanūf (Al‐Shanfari & Weisgerber, 1989; Bandyopadhyay, 2005; Clarke, 1975; Costa, 1983; de Cardi et al, 1976; Häser, 2000, 2003; Ibrahim, 2001; Orchard, 2000; Orchard & Stanger, 1999; Schreiber, 2007a). Beatrice de Cardi visited Tanūf in the 1970s and recorded the existence of two Umm an‐Nār towers (de Cardi et al, 1976).…”

Section: Site and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cave occupations in Southeastern Arabia in the second millennium BCE: Excavation at Mugharat al‐Kahf, North‐Central Oman

Miki

Kuronuma

Kitagawa

et al. 2022

This paper reports the results of excavation at Mugharat al‐Kahf (WTN01) in Wādī Tanūf, North‐central Oman. It also provides information on the nonmortuary and nonsedentary activities in central Oman during the Wādī Sūq period (2000–1600 BCE), as the subsistence and social arrangements of this period are the subject of much debate. Previous surveys had discovered a substantial amount of Wādī Sūq pottery at the site. This project took forward the excavation for further exploration. The excavation at Test Pit 1 identified Layers Ia and Ib, wherein pottery sherds, charred date stones and other samples for radiocarbon dating were discovered. These prove the cave's occupation during the early third millennium BCE, early second millennium BCE and the Islamic period. The analysis of artefacts and floral remains provided insights into the sojourn, storage and consumption of dates in the cave, and the mobile lifestyle in central Oman.