This paper presents the results of survey and excavations carried out at an Early Bronze Age (Hafit [c. 3400-2700/2600 BC] and Umm an-Nar [c. 2600/2500-2000 BC]) site called al-Ghoryeen. The area within which this site is located is known as the Wadi Andam region to the east of Izki and south of Samā'il in the Northern al-Sharqiyah Governorate of Oman; around 95 km southwest of Muscat (Figure 1). Topographically, al-Ghoryeen is located on the southern fringes of the so-called eastern Hajar Mountains. It is part of a larger extension of settlements or wadi villages that are predominantly scattered along and near wadis, such as the large Wadi Andam. These areas have limited available agricultural land and some access to surface and underground water. The area where these settlements are located is characterised largely by high, rugged mountains and rocky hills with very steep slopes (Al-Jahwari, 2008). The al-Ghoryeen settlement is located on a wadi terrace of the western bank of Wadi Mahram, at the point where that wadi meets the larger Wadi Andam, close to the current village of al-Ghoryeen from the southwest and the village of Mahleya from the northeast (Figure 1). The wadi terrace rises up to around 10 m above the bed of the Wadi Mahram. Al-Ghoryeen represents a well-preserved site that yields important information on the nature of Umm an-Nar settlement more generally (Al-Jahwari & Kennet, 2010). The site consists of an Umm an-Nar round tower, a cemetery consisting of around 49 tombs and a largely preserved domestic occupation area. Visible on the surface are stone alignments marking the location and layout of walls and buildings of different sizes and plans. The northeastern part of the site is occupied by Late Iron Age tombs that overlie earlier Umm an-Nar remains. 1.1 | Site discovery and history of research This Umm an-Nar settlement came to light in 2004 during the course of the Wadi Andam Survey (designated Site CS.2.52) and was published briefly in a few places (Al-Jahwari, 2008,
This research focuses on studying the pottery sherds collected in the period 2018–19 from settlement DH7 in the northern al‐Batinah region in north‐eastern Oman. The material mainly comes from stratified contexts from the largest building at the settlement, building S42, whose function is interpreted as a warehouse. Three main classes of pottery are recognised: The Indus red micaceous ware, the Umm an‐Nar fine red ware and the Dahwa sandy buff ware. Compared with most of the other known Umm an‐Nar settlements, the black‐slipped jars (Indus red micaceous ware) are clearly over‐represented at DH7. Intriguingly, local pottery Dahwa sandy buff ware shows a typical Indus rim form. This is presumably a result of existing Indus potters in the al‐Batinah region who adapted to the local market. Radiocarbon dating places the beginning of the occupation of settlement DH7 to c.2500 cal. BCE. Such a date accords well with the results of stylistic comparisons of DH7 pottery with other sites of the Umm an‐Nar period.
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