Presentations

This paper presents results of an excavation conducted between 2019 and 2020 at Mughara al-Kahf, a cave site located in Wādī Tanūf in Ad-Dākhiliyah Governorate, Oman. We found this cave site in 2017 and collected potsherds dated to the Wādī Sūq period (c. 2000-1600 B.C.E.) and a stone vessel sherd in the Umm an-Nar style (c. 2700-2000 B.C.E.). After the trial excavation conducted in 2018-19, we confirmed that the Wādī Sūq pottery was deposited in the sediment of the cave and that there was also a stone vessel sherd in the Wādī Sūq style from the surface. Although the cave usage in the Wādī Sūq period was reported in Shimal, the cave site had not been excavated, and the nature of its usage was almost completely unknown. In order to clarify the cave’s usage in the Wādī Sūq period, further excavation was conducted in 2019-20. As a result, we first identified two cultural layers and obtained 20 radiocarbon dates. The dates range from the first half of the third millennium B.C.E. to the first half of the second millennium B.C.E. Second, analysis of the pottery assemblage of this cave indicates the presence of storage jars, despite the difficulty of the location for carrying large vessels. This result implies usage of the cave as storage. We also mention a preliminary result of petrographic analysis of ceramic sherds. These findings shed new light on the mobile way of life in the Wādī Sūq period.

The Al-Ḥajar Mountains, which divide Northern Oman, are rich in archaeological sites. Situated in the southern piedmont of this mountain range, a canyon, ridges, and floodplains can be found in the Tanūf district in Ad-Dākhiliyah Governorate. This topographical setting is suitable for testing specific methodology. Nevertheless, survey methods for the rugged mountain range remain to be developed because of difficulties in applying the business-as-usual linear walk methods and low visibility of the features made of local stones. To develop an effective survey method in this particular topographical setting and reconstruct the diachronic transformation of archaeological landscapes, we have been working in the district since 2017. This paper presents the methods and outcomes of these surveys.