Archaeologists from UAE and US uncover one of the earliest trading settlements found in Oman

Following nearly a decade of excavations at Dahwa, a complex of five Early Bronze Age sites on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, all associated with the Umm al-Nar culture of that era, the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has Announcement details About unearthed things. Archaeological finds include building plans, industrial infrastructure and silver jewellery that carries new stories of ancient trade.

Led by Nasser Al-Jahouri and Khaled Douglas of the Department of Archaeology at the nearby Sultan Qaboos University, in collaboration with Kimberly Williams of Temple University, USA, the archaeological team has uncovered new artifacts dating back to the heyday of Umm al-Nar, about 2600 BC Year to 2000

“These sites represent the oldest permanent settlements in the northern Sultanate of Oman,” Al-Jahouri said in a statement. Another important Umm al-Nar settlement and cemetery, 300 km west In Abu Dhabi, it became a UNESCO site in 2012.

Al-Jahouri originally discovered Dahwa in 2013. He believes that “due to the nature and number of archaeological finds, it is one of the important Early Bronze Age sites in the Al-Batinah plain”. An exhaustive seven-season survey followed. By mapping the building and its surrounding conditions, archaeologists have determined the exact timeline of the settlement and its economic and social functions.

More recently, researchers have unearthed Dahua’s stone buildings, which include warehouses, industrial copper processing centers, administrative offices and religious houses. According to Al-Jahouri, these structures are “the first of their kind to be discovered in Oman in prehistoric times”.

The team also discovered a mass grave. Williams oversaw its excavations, which unearthed human skeletons and a wealth of local and imported pottery, talc and jewellery.

“The most important and outstanding tools in this tomb are the remains of silver jewelry, such as necklaces and beads from many rings,” Wilson said in a statement.

A silver ring is engraved with the seal of the Indian bison, “a unique decorative pattern and pattern famous in the Indus Valley (harappa) culture,” Wilson added.

Similar talc seals have been found around Salut and Maysir in Oman, but the Dahwa example marks the first time the logo has been seen on a metal ring. The researchers determined that the silverware behind the coin may have come from modern-day Turkey, incorporating Oman into ancient exchanges between the civilizations of Iran, Bahrain, and Mesopotamia.

“This discovery proves that people in the Bronze Age were smarter and more technologically advanced than previously thought,” Jonathan Mark Kinville, an expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an announcement about the discovery. “In the early stages, they Management solutions were introduced that enabled them to achieve economic growth for the next few millennia.”

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