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The site of Al Tikha is located on the eastern slopes of the Al Hajar Mountains, between Wadi Sahtan and Wadi al-Ghashab, approximately 42 km southwest of the Batinah coast and north of the modern city of Rustaq. First identified during the Rustaq-Batinah Archaeological Survey, it preserves evidence of occupation from the Umm an- Nar and Iron Age periods. Between 2022 and 2026, the Omani-Italian Archaeological Expedition — a joint project between the University of Pisa and Sultan Qaboos University, under the supervision of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism — carried out five field seasons aimed at investigating the settlement sequence and organization of the site. The 2026 campaign continued the excavation of the Umm an-Nar towers, the copper workshop area, and the associated settlement sectors, with the goal of achieving a more comprehensive understanding of architectural development, craft production, and spatial organization within the community. After five years, the results provide an increasingly detailed picture of the site’s internal layout, phases of occupation, and its role within the settlement dynamics of inland South Al Batinah during the 3rd millennium BCE.

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