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The article attempts to place Musandam in the context of a relationship with the ancient trade center of Hormuz. It tentatively tries to give some directions that define Musandam not only as the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula, but also as the southern hinterland of the former world trade metropolis. And in this context as an active part of the flows and activities of the strategic strait for a period of at least 400 years in Hormuz heyday between the 14th and 17th centuries. The spatial approach is based on field research in Musandam focusing on grain production and regional mobility, conducted first in the 1970s and later in the 2010s, completed by the analysis of literature on the history of Ilormuz and the greater region. Traces of this ancient connection are still recognizable, shaping the landscape and culture of today's Musandam.

n Oman, the numerals of sheep and goats in the present time reflect a clear disparity in both animals' populations numbers. The Agricultural Census 2018 stated that the livestock of Oman contains 2,302,000 goats and 605,000 sheep. The divergence between the two animals is attracting attention and notice through the unexpected and conspicuous population numbers. In addition, archaeological excavations in Oman and the United Arab Emirates indicated the same situation during prehistory. This paper examines the discrepancy in the numbers of the sheep and goat populations in Dhofar region, southern Oman. There must be an explanation for this disproportion between goat and sheep in prehistoric and present times. This is an attempt to find the compels and the conditions that characterize this discrepancy. It examines the environmental conditions in Dhofar for both animals and the preference of the traditional herdsmen in Dhofar over sheep and goat. Moreover, the paper examines the effect of copper in soil and grass on both animals and finally provides the archaeological record of the osteological remains of sheep and goat. The examination of these factors can possibly facilitate a reasonable analogy between the present and prehistoric situation.

In May 2013 Gõesta Hoffmann and Maurizio Tosi had the opportunity to document some surface clusters of Islamic period remains in the wilayät Sib, along the coastal area between Wadi Al Lawami and Wadi Al Khars. This consisted mainly of pottery dated between the early to late Islamic period (8th to 20th centuries CE). In June 2013, on behalf of the then Ministry of Ileritage and Culture, a first survey allowed us to recognise more archaeological materials focused around al-Rawdah Roundabout and the remains of a fort made of mudbricks and heavily obliterated by vegetation further to the south. In light of written sources referring to the ancient settlement of Damă as located in the southern al-Bäținah plain probably identifiable as As Sib (Seeb), further field analyses were undetaken in September 2013 in order to define the geoarchacological landscape via systematic survey, investigative excavations, and the definition of the palco coastline pertaining to the fort. The results of the project support the hypothesis that the ancient town and harbour of Dama is indeed to be located in present day As Sib.

While the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, Oman, is famous as an exceptionally large and well-preserved Early Bronze Age oasis settlement, the site's archacological landscape extends far beyond the oasis. The Bat Archacological Project (BAP) aims to better understand the complex array of Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2700-2000 BCE) cultural activity and human-environment interactions evidenced at the site and its environs in the Wadi al-Hijr. This paper presents the excavation results and preliminary interpretations of BAP's winter 2022-23 field season, which targeted three areas of suspected Umm an-Nar period settlement in the Bat landscape within a 10 km radius of the oasis: "Operation A," al-Khutm Settlement, and Rakhat al-Madrh. In choosing to look beyond the site's oasis center and examine ancient occupation in three geographically distinct areas within the greater Bat landscape, this research sheds light on the diverse cultural processes and socioecological strategies practiced by the region's Umm an-Nar period inhabitants.

Archaeological campaigns led during five years on the necropolis of Khawr Jirama, located in the Sharqiya, have brought to light what appears to be a new prehistoric funerary tradition still unknown in Oman. The excavation of seven tombs, located not far from the Jarama lagoon, has enabled the discovery of the earliest monumental Neolithic tombs built in Oman. The oldest ones have been dated from the middle of the 4th millennium BC, that is to say several centuries before the tower tombs of the Hafit period. These tombs discovered at Jarama are characterized by new architecture and funerary practices, rising the question of either the arrival of a new population in this area, carrying new funerary tradition reflecting their social organization, or cultural evolution of local Neolithic cultures. This discovery participate to fill a relative void of data observed until now in Sultanate of Oman between 3500-3100 BCE, a period of transition between the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Halit period. Moreover, the Jarama tombs challenge the standing interpretation of the first prehistoric socictics in Sultanate of Oman. The evidence presented in the paper suggests that, before the intensification of trading routes with the city-states of Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley during the 3rd millennium BC, the region was home to strongly structured and probably hierarchical groups, led by members buried in monumental tombs.

ABSTRACT This study presents a new epigraphic inscription from Ḥimā (Najrān, Saudi Arabia), which records the arrival of an individual from ʿUmān during the reign of Abīyathaʿ Ghaylān, king of the Amīr tribe. Written in a South Arabian script but showing non‐Ancient South Arabian—possibly Hasaitic—linguistic features, the inscription provides rare evidence of trans‐Arabian mobility and diplomatic relations during the Hellenistic period. By contextualizing this text alongside other inscriptions and coins from southern and eastern Arabia, the article explores the political role of Abīyathaʿ, the integration of the al‐Asd tribe and the significance of long‐distance networks involving Gerrha and Mleiha. A newly discovered graffito referencing the gentilic Ġr‐ite also contributes to ongoing debates on the ancient name of Gerrha. The use of regnal and Seleucid‐era dating in these inscriptions offers further insight into evolving chronological systems across pre‐Islamic Arabia.

Une mission archéologique pluridisciplinaire conduite par Corinne Castel, sous l’égide du CNRS, de l’Université Lyon 2 et du Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman, mène des fouilles au Sultanat d’Oman depuis 2019 sur le secteur d’Al-Arid. Ce secteur est situé sur la rive gauche du wadi Khuwaybah, dans une large vallée au pied des monts Al-Hajar, à une quinzaine de kilomètres au nordouest du site archéologique de Bāt classé au patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco. Les fouilles ont mis en évidence deux phases principales d’occupation du site d’Al-Arid au début de l’âge du Bronze, aux périodes Hafit (environ 3200-2700 avant notre ère) puis Umm an-Nar (environ 2700-2000 avant notre ère). Elles ont révélé un nombre remarquable de vestiges : sept tours, une nécropole, des bâtiments, un atelier de transformation du minerai de cuivre en métal de la période Hafit.

The sewn-plank ships that sailed the Indian Ocean during the medieval Islamic period carried people, goods, and ideas between East Africa, Arabia, India, and China. Despite their key role, we know relatively little about them. To date, archaeological work related to sewn boats in the region has been limited, while the few textual references generally lack crucial details regarding their design, structure, and operation. Due to the paucity of archaeological evidence until 20 years ago, the study of medieval shipbuilding in the region has often been flawed by Orientalism and fuelled by principles of the Enlightenment in early studies. Scholars had previously approached this topic through a European lens, typically with a strong colonialist attitude, and viewed this technology as basic, primitive, and incapable of developing without an external force, such as the more technologically advanced Europe. This book presents the first comprehensive study on medieval sewn boats of the Indian Ocean, using new and original data. It provides a technical analysis of the ship timbers recently discovered at al-Balid and Qalhat, Oman, in a comparative context. Pieces are examined from a material perspective, and then compared with textual, iconographic, ethnographic, archaeological, and experimental archaeological evidence. It contextualizes the ship timbers within the broader material networks in the Indian Ocean during the medieval Islamic period, thereby increasing our knowledge of maritime communities and their shipbuilding technology.

Located at the margins of the Rub Al-Khali desert, a place of interactions between settled and nomadic populations, the Adam oasis occupies a pivotal role in the history of Oman. However, almost nothing was known about its foundation and early developments. In 2006, the French Archaeological Mission in Central Oman began the exploration of the area. After ten years of field research using innovative methods and technologies, much is now revealed about the importance of Adam in the prehistory and early history of Oman. This is the first monograph about the research carried out at Adam and it includes seven chapters written by specialists directly involved in the field activities. Each major period is described in detail, including evidence of Palaeolithic occupation, Neolithic settlements, Early and Middle Bronze Age necropolises, Iron Age ritual sites and also an ethnographic study of the traditional water sharing within the oasis

Turtles, ibexes, ships, inscriptions ... Thousands of engraved and painted figures intrigue visitors in the wadis of Al-Hajar Mountains. Who created these enigmatic figures and when were they made? What are their hidden meanings? For the first time, this volume tries to answer these questions. It is the result of the archaeological surveys and investigations undertaken by the author over the last ten years under the patronage of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. In this book, the author takes the reader on an in-depth journey into the various themes present in the rock art of Oman. He offers theories on the chronology and interpretation, while exploring the landscape setting of the decorated panels and how best to research these. Several beautiful photographs and scientific tracings of the rock art accompany the text. The volume closes offering to enthusiasts and tourists a series of guided visits with GPS maps to the most interesting and visible rock art sites protected by Royal Decrees of the Sultanate

In Dhofar, the southern Governorate of the Sultanate of Oman, the deep canyons cutting the Nejd plateau once flowed with perennial rivers, feeding wetland environments, forests, and grasslands across the now desiccated interior. The first peoples of Oman flourished along these waterways, drawn to the freshwater springs and abundant game, as well as the myriad chert outcrops with which to fashion their hunting implements and other tools. The landscapes of the Nejd Plateau are a natural museum of human prehistory, covered in carpets of chipped stone debris. The archaeological evidence presented in this work encompasses the cultural remains of over a million years of successive human occupations, from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Late Palaeolithic. Once considered an evolutionary backwater or merely a migratory way station, the archaeology of Dhofar requires a fundamental reconsideration of the role of Southern Arabia in the origin and dispersal of our species

Prehistoric Fisherfolk of Oman' reports on excavations at the prehistoric site Ras Al-Hamra RH-5, located on a large promontory in the Qurum area of Muscat, conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Oman with support from the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism. The site dates from the late fifth to the end of the fourth millennia BC and comprises an accumulation of superimposed food discards deriving from continuous and repeated subsistence activities such as fishing, collecting shells, hunting and herding. Dwellings and household installations, including objects of daily use and ornaments, have also been found throughout the occupation sequence. Excavations at RH-5 yielded unprecedented data on the economic and social dynamics of Neolithic societies in eastern Arabia. The exploitation of different ecological niches supplied all the necessary requirements for year-round sedentary human occupation. The lifestyle of fisher-gatherer communities during the Middle Holocene represents a fundamental step of the neolithisation process in Oman