Evolution of the funerary landscape and mortuary practices in the Hajar foothills during the Early Bronze Age: the case of the Bisya region (Sultanate of Oman)
Résumé
The Arabiancairns project, funded by the French National Research Agency, aims to better understand the funerary phenomenon of tower tombs and cairns in protohistoric Arabia through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach. We present here the results of the first field campaign carried out in collaboration with the French Archaeological Mission in Central Oman (FAMCO) and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman on Bronze Age necropolises in the Bisya area.
Two tombs were excavated and several dozen recorded during pedestrian surveys, which complement satellite surveys. Tomb 24488, located on a rocky ridge 1 km southeast of the site of al-Dhabi AD-2, delivered some beads and well-preserved internal architecture, attributable to the Hafit period. The excavation of tomb F4169/21635, located in height near a tower (AD-2) and a settlement, had begun in 2022.
Its location and appearance before the excavation suggested that it was a Hafit tomb. However, the excavation revealed architecture and furniture (ceramics and beads) attributable to the Umm an-Nar period, which provides a new understanding of the organization of the necropolis and burial practices during the Early Bronze Age.
The data collected are presented and put into perspective in the broader context of the Bronze Age in the Oman Peninsula.