The Hafit/Umm an-Nar Transition of the Third Millennium BC

The shift between Hafit (ca. 3100–2700 BC) and Umm an-Nar (ca. 2700–2000 BC) mortuary traditions on the Oman Peninsula is poorly understood, primarily because the semi-nomadic communities of this liminal period left little to the archaeological record, with the exception of monumental tombs. Because of the ambiguity surrounding this transition, tombs from this time are typically classified as either ‘Hafit’ or ‘Umm an-Nar’ without regard for the considerable geographic and temporal variation in tomb structure and membership throughout southeastern Arabia. Recent survey and excavation of a Bronze Age necropolis at Al Khubayb in the Sultanate of Oman have revealed Transitional tombs that—far from exhibiting a simplified dichotomy—represent a blurring of the traditionally discrete boundaries dividing the Hafit and Umm an-Nar periods. Bioarchaeological analyses of tombs at Al Khubayb further enable researchers to make a distinction between tomb types and elucidate the process by which mortuary treatments changed. Over the late fourth and into the early third millennium BC, these entombment practices changed from (a) relatively small, roughly-hewn limestone tombs known as Hafit-type cairns to (b) Transitional tombs displaying features intermediary to both Hafit and Umm an-Nar period mortuary structures to (c) large, expertly-constructed Umm an-Nar communal tombs.

Animals and the Changing Landscape of Death on the Oman Peninsula in the Third Millennium BC

Animal bones form large components of Early Bronze Age burials in Syro-Mesopotamia, and they reflect concepts of death, vestiges of funerary ceremony, and artifacts of life. However, in the contemporary burials of third millennium BC Bronze Age cairns from the north-central Oman Peninsula, finds of faunal remains are scarce. At the Al Khubayb Necropolis, near Dhank in the Sultanate of Oman, transitional tomb forms (dated to the later Hafit and early Umm an-Nar periods) have yielded new information about rare instances of animal bones deliberately interred with human remains. Despite their scarcity, the context of these bones—particularly their associations with individuals of a certain age and sex—offers insights into a transitional mortuary landscape and its relationship with the living. The authors assess the data in relation to both regional examples of faunal inclusion elsewhere in southeastern Arabia and their significance with regard to the practice and ritual meaning of faunal interments.

Geographical and administrative divisions of Oman peninsula in Islamic Middle Ages from 1 H/ 7 Ad to the end of 9 H/ 15 AD

This article discusses the major geographical and administrative divisions of Oman and their villages and the borders between these divisions, according to Arabic and Omani primary sources, from the first century of the Hijra to the end of the ninth century of the Hijra. This study is an attempt to establish a good knowledge of historical geography of Oman in the Islamic Medieval era.

Al-Ashoosh: a third-millennium BC desert settlement in the United Arab Emirates

The archaeological site of Al-Ashoosh is a third-millennium BC settlement located in the Rub al-Khali Desert (or Empty Quarter), 70km south of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Figure 1). This site provides an excellent example of the type of occupation of the inland deserts of the Oman peninsula during the period following the Holocene Climatic Optimum. Between November 2015 and May 2016, the Dubai Municipality and the Sanisera Archaeology Institute conducted excavations at the site of Al-Ashoosh. This site was discovered during two seasons of survey in 2002–2003. This survey work, undertaken by the Dubai Municipality and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, identified 33 archaeological sites ranging in date from prehistory to the late Islamic period. In 2006–2007, more-detailed archaeological investigations of the area of Al-Ashoosh were conducted, including survey, excavation and geological sampling (Casana et al.2009; Herrmann 2012; Contreras & Carcacer 2016).