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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Research at Mudhmar ancient site to continue

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AMAL AL RIYAMI -

Nizwa, Feb 1 -


The archaeological research will be continued at the site at Mudhmar East, near the town of Adam, where weapons from the iron age had been discovered.


The discoveries were made by the Sultanate’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Sorbonne University in France, which have been jointly conducting excavations in Adam since 2011.


The study is expected to shed more light on Arabia’s history.


Many metal weapons were discovered from the remains of a building, which went back to the Iron Age II (900-600 BCE), but continued to be used during the Samad Period (200 BC to 200 AD). Most of the weapons, found in a small room without a door, can be divided into three groups: The first consists of two small quivers made of copper/ bronze and six arrows.


After restoration, these rare objects were showcased in the GCC exhibition in October-November 2015.


The second group comprises five sets of weapons, including an unfinished shaft-hole axe, a dagger, 11 arrowheads, a bow and a bronze rope.


The height of the bow (70 cm) and the materials used indicates they are imitations of real bows.


No metal bow was known in Arabia or the Middle East.


The third group was the discovery of a lower layer in the same room. It comprised four axes, two daggers and two sets of arrowheads, all similar to those found in the second group.


One axe, apparently unfinished, seemed to have been used.


The site at Mudhmar has four buildings. Excavation of Building 1 began in 2015, two buildings remain untouched, while another one was destroyed during the installation of a power line.


Located at the edge of a mountain, the site gives a wide view of the desert; it’s a strategic position at the passageway of Wadi Halfayn. Building 1 is the biggest structure at the Mudhmar east site.


It measures 15m x 8m. It has seven distinct spaces, including five rooms.


Two rooms, including a courtyard, seem to be a part of the entrance complex.


Three stairs lead to a corridor. On each side, there is a small square room.


A stone threshold and a wooden door lead to the main room, which includes a series of stone pillars.


It could have been a meeting room.


A small room full of stones is located on the south-western corner.


Going by its form and size, the building may not have been a house.


The main room could have been a meeting place.


It is highly probable the building had a “ritual/cultic function”, especially because of the unique bronze objects found inside, and from the discoveries in Building 2, which include copper snakes, censers (containers for burning incense), lamps and burnt animal bones.


Walls are made of different materials and foundation from planktonic limestone from Jabal Mudhmar.


The elevation is made of russet sandstone and the upper part of the elevation from mudbrick.


The foundation was found buried, while the elevation was covered by a coating, which is silty, and of white and yellowish colour with vegetal inclusions whose imprints were clearly visible.


Its thickness varies from 3 cm to 12 cm. Walls, stairs, the threshold and the soil in the main room had the same coating.


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