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The rock art of Ẓufār, consisting of both engravings and paintings, was first documented through the pioneering work of Ali Ahmad Mahash al-Shahri in the early 1990s. He reported the presence of painted caves in the monsoon- affected coastal area and subsequently identified engraved rocks in the semi-desert region of the Nejd. Despite their significance, these paintings and engravings—including several rock inscriptions in the South Arabian alphabet (27- 29 letters) with a local variant that can be called ‘Omani script’, whose earliest traces date back to around the 4th-3rd century BCE —have not yet been the subject of systematic scientific study. The iconographic context includes animals (mainly ibex, camels, dogs, snakes), anthropomorphs, footprints, ships and inscriptions in Ancient Arabic alphabet. Two fieldwork campaigns, conducted in 2023 and 2024 by the CNRS–CEFREPA (Centre Français de Recherches de la péninsule Arabique) with the authorization of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman, mark the beginning of such an effort. The project included the complete recording of a boulder from Wadi Lahjeej, now housed in the Oman Across Ages Museum, carried out with the support of the museum’s directorate. A multi-level documentation process has been initiated, comprising the inventory of engraved rocks with GPS coordinates, a photographic survey, plastic-sheet tracings of the engravings, the compilation of a figure catalogue, and the establishment of a relative chronology leading to preliminary interpretative hypotheses. Particular attention is devoted to identifying and characterizing the figurative styles represented in the rock art of Ẓufār—both in the cave paintings and in the Nejd rock carvings. In addition, a comparative study of the inscriptions is underway to determine whether the painted scripts found in the caves differ from those engraved on rocks in the Nejd. The language of the rock inscriptions will also be determined: Old South Arabian epigraphic as Hadramatic epigraphic, Old Shahri, or Old Arabic, or another unknown local language. Finally, the project seeks to investigate the possible connections between the rock art of Ẓufār and that of Central Oman (Al-Wusta Governorate) and the northern regions of the Sultanate of Oman.

The bay of Ras Al Jinz, at the easternmost tip of the Arabian Peninsula, hosts one of the most significant Early Bronze Age settlement complexes of coastal Oman, offering a unique window onto the settlement patterns and socio- economic transformations that marked the region during the Bronze Age. Excavations conducted over the past three decades at RJ-2 and RJ-3 reveal a long sequence of occupation spanning from the Late Neolithic (ca. 4300–3200 BCE) through the Hafit period (ca. 3200–2600 BCE) to the Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2600–2000 BCE). During the Umm an-Nar period, these two neighbouring sites, located on opposite sides of the bay, formed a single, extensive settlement complex covering 3–4 hectares, continuously occupied throughout this phase. This integrated landscape reflects an evolving organization of space, work, and community life that illustrates the broader cultural and societal developments of the Early Bronze Age in Southern Sharqiyah. RJ-2, the main residential nucleus, presents a long stratigraphic sequence organized into successive architectural compounds that demonstrate evolving construction techniques and increasingly complex spatial planning. Evidence of domestic life, storage, and large-scale food processing, including smoking installations for fish curing, attests to intensive exploitation of marine resources and the production of surpluses. Across the bay, RJ-3 functioned as a specialised workshop quarter, where excavations revealed a series of ephemeral huts and working floors with abundant production debris related to the manufacture of shell and stone ornaments, supported by specialised toolkits. Together, RJ-2 and RJ-3 represent a coherent socio-economic system in which residential and productive dimensions were closely integrated. Their spatial and functional complementarity embodies a decisive step toward economic diversification and intra-site specialisation, key hallmarks of complexification during the third millennium BCE.

Paleolithic research in the Sultanate of Oman, which is still in its formative stage compared to neighboring regions such as the Levant and the Iranian Plateau, requires extensive application of absolute dating methods on undisturbed cave and rock-shelter deposits to establish a reliable and detailed chronological framework for early human occupation and environmental change. In 2023, our field surveys across the governorates of Ad Dakhiliyah and Ad Dhahirah identified a wide range of rock shelters, each with distinct geomorphological and archaeological potential (Beshkani 2023). For the first time, we propose that several inselbergs surrounding the Wilayat of Manah- most notably Karsha Rock (Jabal Sarouj), located within the residential area of Karsha and previously known primarily for its Islamic- period villages and fortifications- were likely occupied during the Late Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. In the outskirts of Ibri, where the Umm er Radhuma Formation provides a favorable lithological context for speleogenesis, our preliminary studies attribute the dispersed lithic artifacts discovered at the entrances of rock shelters to the Late Paleolithic.This evidence corresponds with increased precipitation during the Early Holocene and suggests a demographic expansion and intensification of habitation along the foothills of the Al Hajar Mountains (Preston et al., 2015). We also registered three relatively large caves in Wadi Dhank. The characteristics and composition of the cemented deposits within these caves indicate the former presence of enclosed water basins prior to the collapse and subsequent exposure of their entrances. The occurrence of speleothems in Al Mihayniyah-2 Cave, located adjacent to the Dhank–Fida road, provides a valuable opportunity to reconstruct the paleoclimate of the western Al Hajar Mountains, a region that today exhibits a semi-arid to arid landscape.

Despite the significant scarcity of water resources, human groups in Oman developed long-term strategies enabling sustainable occupation of drylands. These adaptive capacities were shaped over millennia of settlement in challenging and fluctuating environments that, over the past 10,000 years, experienced major shifts from humid to arid conditions driven by monsoon variability. Such climatic fluctuations profoundly influenced the availability of water, plant, and animal resources. The long-standing interactions between environment and early Omani societies, situated at the intersection of natural processes, climatic trends, and resource management strategies, are traceable in both archaeological and environmental records. The UmWeltWandel joint project (2020–2024) investigates the local-scale environmental evolution of the Al-Khashbah area in Oman through a multidisciplinary approach integrating geochemistry, geomorphology, geophysics, soil science, archaeobotany, and palynology. The project aims to reconstruct the long-term evolution of landscapes and resources in Central Oman over the last 10,000 years. This paper presents an overview of the project’s results, focusing on how the Al-Khashbah sector in the Ash Sharqiyah North Governorate evolved from the humid conditions of the Holocene Humid Period to the present arid climate, and how Bronze Age societies began to transform the surrounding landscape to optimize local resources around Al- Khashbah. By intensively investigating a single area through a multidisciplinary framework, this study both extracts new and challenging datasets and highlights the potential of selected environmental proxies for reconstructing human–environment interactions in Oman and, more broadly, in drylands.

Research conducted along the Omani coastline of the Arabian Sea has revealed a new chapter in the history of early maritime communities. Globally, most coastal habitats from the early Holocene have been submerged by rising sea levels. The caves in the cliffs of Natif (Hasik, Dhofar) are an exception in Arabia: they are currently the only evidence of maritime communities from the Late Paleolithic period on the peninsula. Between the early 9th and 8th millennia BCE, these early Arabian fishermen focused on catching small pelagic species (anchovies and sardinella), as well as rays and sharks. Around 6000 BCE, the shores of the Arabian Peninsula were covered with Neolithic settlements, sometimes consisting of large shell middens. The mission discovered a large number of these along the Arabian Sea and explored several, notably at Suwayh, Ruwayz, Khuwaymah, Masirah Island, Sharbithat, Hasik, Ad Dahariz, Hallaniyah Island, etc. Among these, the Suwayh SWY-1 settlement is particularly noteworthy, as its inhabitants specialized in shark fishing between 5800 and 4400 BCE. This Neolithic period also saw the conquest of island environments, including the large island of Masirah and the Hallaniyat archipelago. While Masirah was occupied early on (5900-5600 BCE), Hallaniyah was settled much later (around 4400 BCE). By this time, the entire territory of Oman had been conquered by Neolithic communities. At the same time, the mission worked to establish a chronology for these periods. In Sharbithat Bay, as in Hasik, it is currently bringing to light a new facies from the very end of the Neolithic period, between 3700 and 3100 BCE.

This paper presents new evidence of Late/Final Palaeolithic occupation in central Oman... [cite: 4]

The wide scope of the Salūt and Bisya Archaeological Mission (SBAM) includes the survey and investigation of the different types of archaeological remains that together form the remarkable palimpsest of the ancient oasis of Bisya and Salut. A significant component of this work, involves the investigation of graves located on Jabal Salūt. Among these are burials dating to the Wadi Suq period (Middle Bronze Age, c. 2000–1600 BC). While Wadi Suq funerary architecture is generally characterized by a high degree of variability, with unique variants suggesting the expression of specific intent, new research suggests the presence of regional trends in these practices. This contribution specifically highlights the recent discovery of peculiar structural annexes to Wadi Suq graves on Jabal Salūt. These features are interpreted as a possible demonstration of such emerging regionality and will hopefully contribute to a broader understanding of Middle Bronze Age funerary patterning.

Recent excavations carried out at Al-Ghoryeen (2018–2024), located on the western slopes of the Hajar Mountains in North Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, have uncovered a distinctive building (S3) dating to the early phase of the Umm an- Nar Culture (2800/2700 BCE). The structure was built with a certain and specific architectural layout, consisting of two symmetrical halves separated by a wall running along the building. One half includes a series of parallel, adjoining rooms that open onto a long corridor, while the other half contains fewer rooms, arranged differently from those in the adjacent section. The building is connected to a large courtyard enclosed by a massive wall. This architectural concept shows a remarkable similarity to Dahwa (DH1)—particularly in building (S10). Dahwa lies about 200 km northwest of Al-Ghoryeen, on the eastern slopes of the Hajar Mountains in North Al-Batinah Governorate, and dates to the middle phase of the Umm an-Nar Culture (2500/2400 BCE). What, then, is the spatial and chronological relationship between the two sites? And does the architectural similarity reflect a shared functional aspect of both buildings?

Archaeological excavation is a systematic method, providing direct and detailed information for the recovery of buried structures at archaeological sites. Its limitations are the labor-intensive nature of the implementation, the low rate of production and the disturbance of the stratigraphy. Applied geophysics provide several methods which are non-invasive and non-destructive... [Texte intégral conservé]

Oman’s built heritage needs a modern, repeatable way to document complex sites and make conservation decisions based on evidence rather than intuition. This pioneering study demonstrates a complete, end-to-end Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) workflow on the Bibi Maryam Mausoleum (Qalhat) and shows how the same method can scale nationally. The research integrates four strands: (1) literature synthesis on documentation in hot- arid contexts; (2) stakeholder engagement through surveys and expert interviews; (3) multi-sensor field capture— terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), UAV photogrammetry, close-range imaging, and selective manual measurements; and (4) a semantic, parametric HBIM at roughly LoD 300, encoding geometry, construction systems, materials (including lime–sarooj plasters and stucco layers), chronology, and pathologies within a single, queryable model. Implemented in a Revit-based environment, the workflow privileges interoperability (IFC/CSV) and living records over one-off drawings, enabling multi-party updates without model corruption. Results show that compared with mesh-only outputs, HBIM delivers greater adaptability, semantic depth, and life-cycle updatability. It supports diagnosis, risk mapping, and option evaluation (from minimal intervention to compatible repair) while reducing duplication of effort across agencies. The pipeline translates directly into policy actions: defining national HBIM standards (LoD/ LOI/metadata and QA/QC), assigning custodianship, and training teams to extend the method to forts, harāt, and urban ensembles. Crucially, the model accommodates intangible heritage, oral testimonies and craft knowledge, anchoring conservation in the memory of making. In short, this case proves HBIM is feasible and scalable under Omani conditions, offering a template to standardize workflows, de-risk conservation spending, and build a national digital heritage backbone.

The discovery in 2020 of the Nafūn rock art complex, located in al-Wustā Governorate in south-central Oman, has emerged as one of the most extensive rock art sites in south-eastern Arabia. To date, the archaeological investigations led by the Institute of Archaeology Prague and the permission of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, has brought to the discovery of 61 flat limestone panels, bearing approximately 1000 engraved figures and 200 rock inscriptions offering further evidence of the regional use of South Arabian writing traditions (abecedary of 27-29 letters) used in South Arabian kingdom who are Sabaic, Qatabanic, Minaic and Hadramatic inscriptions, as is the case with the North Arabian variants (Dadanite, Lihyanite, Thamudic, Safaitic, etc.). This variant - Omani script - was also used in the Ẓofār region and in the north of Sultanat of Oman, whose earliest traces date back to around the 4th-3rd century BCE (in the Khôr Rôrî in Ẓofār region). The engravings depict a remarkable variety of subjects, including maritime fauna such as sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), sperm whales, squid, jellyfish, ray fish, and mola mola, alongside the more characteristic representations of dromedary camels—sometimes mounted—horsemen engaged in hunting scenes featuring oryx and wild canids, and other terrestrial motifs. The Nafūn assemblage attests to a long and complex rock art tradition that can be tentatively dated from the 5th millennium BCE to the 2nd millennium CE, providing an unparalleled window into the evolution of cultural expressions and lifeways in the Arabian Peninsula over a span of more than six millennia.