Roman Garba

Report from the 1st season of TSMO (Trilith Stone Monuments of Oman) 3-year archaeological field  project in Oman focused on research of TRILITHS (stone monuments embedded in ritual/sacred spaces distributed in the landscape throughout the coastal highlands of Southern Arabia). Trilith dataset raised to 634 recorded sites, 41 trilith fireplaces were sampled and 24 samples were submitted to the radiocarbon laboratories for AMS 14C measurements and respective calibrated dating. Highlight of mission TSMO 1A was relocation of endangered trilith monument from Duqm to the National Museum in Muscat for permanent exhibit. TSMO mission also newly recorded extensive shell midden complex and several Palaeolithic sites in Duqm, central Oman.

On April 1st, 2012, in desert sand, three tourists announced to the authorities their finding the remains of an ancient battlefield. In reality they discovered the remains of an ancient metal melting site ‒ an ancient crime scene. Most of the artefacts consisted of weapons fashioned from copper-alloy, especially daggers, evidently many grave-goods. Everything about this find was unusual. How and when did it get there, just inside the Empty Quarter. Why should it be here, distant for markets and roads? The editors combined an international team which consisted of the original archaeologists at the site and experts on metal-finds.
The text begins with an introduction from Sultan al-Bakri in which he explains the discovery from the point of view of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, which sponsored the field-work. Clearly the true site toponym is ʿUqdat al-Bakrah, although the first archaeologists on the site incorrectly called it as-Saffah, al-Ṣafāʾ and other names, after an oil prospection camp 40 km away.
In the first chapter Gösta Hoffmann explains the geology of the area, in order to get an idea of the pre-requisites for placing the site here. Important is water and fuel availability.
Roman Garba tells the story of the discovery from first-hand experience. He also worked in the communications branch in the area prior to the find.
Francesco Genchi and Claudio Giardino present the documentation of the excavations and find recovery made a few weeks after the finds were first sited. These finds establish the site dating and character.
Paul Yule updates the chronology for south-east Arabian metal-finds for the age from 3000 to 300 BCE. A main hurdle is to identify heirloom pieces and update the find chronology.
Claudio Giardino and Giovanni Paternoster examine the metallic finds by means of energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and therewith characterise the chemical composition and technology available to the ancient metallurgists.
Their results correlate nicely with the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy of Julie Goy with which she analysed 65 artefacts.
Guillaume Gernez synthesises the results of the different studies based on his expertise in metallic weaponry. His independent opinion is designed as a final representation of the find and its cultural importance.
It was deemed essential to make an exhaustive catalogue study of the entire find inventory with the intention that it would not be necessary to document any of the finds again. At the end concordances order the finds first by catalogue and then by find number. Except for 1:1 scale photographs of arrow-heads, the finds are drawn 1:3 in scale.

Lithic raw material properties are often invoked to explain the presence, absence, form, or ontogeny of Paleolithic stone tools. Here, we explore whether the frequency of the Middle Paleolithic Nubian core form and core-reduction systems co-varies with toolstone quality in two neighboring regions in Oman: the southern region of Nejd, Dhofar, and the south-central region of Duqm, Al Wusta. Specifically, we predicted that if raw material differences were influencing the distribution of Nubian cores, the chert would be of higher quality in the southern region, where Nubian cores were frequent, and of lower quality in the south-central region, where they were scarce. We tested this prediction by collecting 124 chert samples from 22 outcrops and then quantitatively assessed two geochemical variables that are widely thought to influence knapping: impurity amount and silica content. We also examined the mineralogical composition, and the crystallite size and lattice strain for quartz (crystalline α-SiO 2) of representative chert samples. Our results suggest that the cherts in the two regions are similar, which is not consistent with the hypothesis that lithic raw material quality contributed to Nubian core spatial distribution in Oman. We discuss potential alternative hypotheses to explain Nubian core geographic patterning, and provisionally suggest that the scarcity of Nubian cores in south-central Oman may be due to a concomitant scarcity of toolmakers, given a lack of water availability.

Ongoing archaeological investigations in the Dhufār region of southern Oman have mapped some 800 lithic findspots distributed across the Dhufār Mountains, Nejd Plateau, and the southern Rub’ al Khali Desert. These include extensive lithic workshops, specialized activity sites, as well as isolated armatures and cores. The array of lithic reduction strategies represents successive stages of technological evolution from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, supported by a handful of absolute dates from stratified contexts. This paper explores distribution patterns for sites with technological and typological attributes belonging to the Lower, Middle, Upper, Late Palaeolithic, and Neolithic periods. The aim is to synthesize the comprehensive results of two decades of prehistoric investigations in southern Oman. These results seek to contextualize changes in settlement patterns within the oscillating palaeoenvironments of South Arabia.


Les recherches archéologiques en cours dans la région du Dhufār, au sud du sultanat d’Oman, ont permis de cartographier plus de 800 localités et gisements préhistoriques se trouvant dans la zone montagneuse du Dhufār, les canyons du Nejd et jusqu’au désert du Rub' al Khali. Il s’agit notamment d’ateliers de taille, de sites d’activités spécialisées, de nucléus et de pointes pédonculées isolés. Les différentes chaînes opératoires identifiées représentent les étapes d’une évolution technologique depuis le Paléolithique inférieur jusqu’au Néolithique. Allant du Pléistocène jusqu’à l’Holocène, ces contextes sont soutenus par des datations absolues. Cet article explore la variabilité technologique et les schémas de distribution des sites au cours du Paléolithique. L’objectif est de synthétiser les résultats exhaustifs de deux décennies de recherches archéologiques dans le sud du sultanat d’Oman. Ces résultats permettent de contextualiser les modèles de dynamiques des populations préhistoriques au sein de paléoenvironnements extrêmement variables de l’Arabie du Sud.

The site of Korolevo II in western Ukraine, located in the border area between central and eastern Europe, is mainly known for its Early Upper Palaeolithic assemblage, argued in the past to represent an assemblage at the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. Hence, the site holds a potential for a better understanding of the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic transition and the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans. Here we report on our new fieldwork between 2015 and 2017, which provided a new view on the stratigraphy, chronology and archaeological sequence of the site. We present a new assessment of the stratigraphy, new Upper Palaeolithic assemblages and first radiocarbon dates for some of them. Our results show the great potential of the site and contribute to a better understanding of a key sequence along the northern fringe of the Pannonian Basin. Of special interest is the assemblage of cultural layer D, adding to our understanding of the first Upper Palaeolithic assemblages and their diversity across western Eurasia.

The aAl-Duqm area (al-WusΓā administrative division, Sultanate of Oman) is located in eastern-central Oman and is marked by a
relatively flat topography (Quaternary Period sedimentary cover) with some residual hills (mostly Upper Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary).
In November–December 2015 the whole area, which is covered by the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD), was
surveyed with the main aim of assessing the archaeological potential and related risks of this area, now affected by rapid development.
The team recorded about 900 archaeological finds, ranging from a single hearth to clusters of tumuli tombs, flint scatters, triliths
clusters, and stratified open-air sites. It encountered archaeological remains from a wide chronological period, ranging from at least
the Late Pleistocene, with some earlier less certain evidence, to the early first millennium AD. The huge amount of data, all conveyed
in a GIS (geographic information system) database, will be used for academic purposes (research in land-use modalities, resource
acquisition strategies, population dynamics) and as an analytical tool of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MOHC). The collected
data will be used in all phases of the archaeological valorization and preservation of the archaeological heritage within the SEZAD
area.

First two excavation field missions of TSMO (Trilith Stone Monuments of Oman) project placed research on trilith monuments and their chronology on a sound footing. Preliminary results are divided into three themes: excavations and sampling of trilith-associated fireplaces across Oman for 14C dating; results of surveys in al-Duqm area (new trilith sites, multi-period occupation shell midden site, middle Palaeolithic sites); and relocation of endangered trilith monument from al-Duqm to The National Museum in Muscat. The 14C dating sample collection across Oman produced extensive dataset representing different geographical locations; fireplace types and generations; and different stratigraphic context. The results of AMS 14C analyses and respective dating ranges allowed chronological tracing and provided critical inputs for re-assessment of triliths chronology.The next TSMO seasons will continue on research on triliths and other archaeological evidences in Duqm, with plan to use OSL and cosmogenic nuclide dating methods.

The Ad-Duqm area (al-Wusta region, Sultanate of Oman) is located in eastern-central Oman and it is marked by a relatively flat topography (Quaternary sedimentary cover) with some residual hills (mostly Upper Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary). In November-December 2015 an Italian team, headed by Dr. Francesco Genchi, surveyed the whole area covered by the Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZAD) with a focus on the assessment of the archaeological potential and related risks; identification of the new sites and validation of the existing sites in a previously investigated region. The team recorded about 900 archaeological evidences, ranging from a single earth to clusters of tumuli tombs, from flint scatters to a complexes of triliths and stratified open-air sites. The archaeological evidence belong to a wide chronological interval, at least from Late Pleistocene, with some earlier more dubitative evidences, to the early I millennium AD. The huge amount of data, all conveyed in a GIS database, will be used both for the investigations on land-use modalities, resources acquisition strategies, population dynamics and as an analytical tool the MOHC (Ministry of Heritage and Culture) will use in all the phases of the archaeological valorisation of this Region. Data will be also used for preservation of the archaeological heritage within the SEZAD economic zone. Special thanks to: the entire staff of the Ministry of Heritage & Culture of the Sultanate of Oman. This project would have not been possible without the wise guidance of Undersecretary H. E. Salim Mohammed al-Mahrooqi, and the Advisor for Special Project, H. E. Hassan Mohammed Ali al-Lawati. Many thanks to Mr. Sultan Saif Nasser Al-Bakri, Additional Director General for Archaeology and Museums, for his continuous support and the resources provided for the team, and to Mr. Khamis al-Asmi, Director of the Department for Excavations and Archaeological Studies. We want to thanks the staff of SEZAD-Duqm for the logistic sustain and Prof. Maurizio Tosi for the scientific support and his important advices. Thanks come to John Munnery for English edit. TRILITH GRAVE FLINT SCATTER STONE STRUCTURE FIREPLACE MAIN SEZAD AREAS The research area offers clear evidence of intense and repeated settlement episodes during Pleistocene and Early-Middle Holocene, probably linked to the widespread outcrops of Tertiary geological formations, where flint of exceptional quality can be easily found in different outcrops. The lithic clusters so far recognized are mainly characterized by wide surface scatters (fig. 6) usually localized in the immediate surroundings of the primary outcrops, while coastal settlements are nonetheless present, but very rare. Many lithic concentrations are linked to Holocene foliate reduction sequences and all the characteristic by products can be easily found, together with rarer finished or almost finished products (fig. 3), while a good number of surface scatters, with laminar and rarer lamellar cores (fig. 4) and blanks with a very low degree of transformation (fig. 5), suggest an Upper Paleolithic attribution. Only few sites are characterized by flake assemblages (fig. 7) with both unipolar recurrent and centripetal cores thus pointing to an older phase (Early and Middle Paleolithic) and widening the chronological frame of the intense occupation of this pericoastal area in Prehistory. To perform an overall survey in the SEZAD, the area (1745 km2) was subdivided into 28 virtual sectors, whose boundaries reflect both the limits of development areas and the morphological features observed on the terrain. The fieldwork has allowed identifying different types of structural remains: stone cairns or tumuli graves, located along the rims of wadyan terraces or on hill crests; triliths and different types of lithic scatters. Some of the mapped sites correspond to sites already discovered by the COPS Project in 2007-2008 (University of Basel) and the French Archaeological Mission "Shores of Arabian Sea" (2012-2015), while several evidences have been newly recorded. To produce an accurate map of archeological risk, each archaeological feature was documented by high resolution images, GPS position and mapping, detailed metrical measurements and descriptions, geographical contextualization. For the most interesting sites, an exhaustive relief by total station has been done (fig. 1). This work allowed the creation of a precise census and accurate systematization of archaeological data in order to make easily accessible all the information. The cairns identified follow an identical general architectural organization. Below the pile of stones covering the cairn, the main architectural feature of construction was a peripheral stone ring, laid around the perimeter of the tumulus. This circular feature seems to be composed of two or more rows of stone (fig. 8), an internal row of big blocks and upright stones against which was set an external line of smaller boulders. Since offerings were rarely exposed, the age of these tombs remains unknown. This applies also for the stone cairns or tumuli, i.e. circular pile of stones of various size that were stacked over the deceased person. The rather small size (usually between 2 and 4 m across) points to individual and not collective burials. Only a very few exceptional structures recall the sophisticated tombs from the later Bronze Age. In the area around Saay village, where many of the tombs are severely eroded, exposed grave goods such as ceramics and pieces of weaponry made of iron suggest a period from Late Bronze Age to Late Iron Age (fig. 9). Triliths are the Late Iron Age stone monuments characterized by the three upright flat stones on a low platform filled with small pebbles, associated with arranged square-like shape stones and large fireplaces (fig. 2a). Triliths are forming prominent landmarks in the landscape with symbolic significance. Interpretation is difficult, but they are probably used as a space in the landscape for religious and social rituals of nomadic tribes and tribal alliances. The team recorded evidence of total of 130 trilith groups/clusters and 8 trilith complexes (seven within the SEZAD area and one outside in wadi Sidrah). The highest concentration of triliths was recorded in 5 km long section of wadi Nafun with more than 64 trilith clusters in heterogeneous compositions and various stages of preservation (fig. 2b). The longest trilith cluster form a line of 63 m long with peculiarly located ring of hearths surrounding neighboring hilltop. Collected data will form the base for further studies on the spatial distribution of triliths, landscape context and relation vis-à-vis patterns of tribal mobility.