Muscat: Excavation work at an archaeological site in Mudhaibi province, eastern Oman, has led to the discovery of the oldest Bronze Age towers and ‘workshops’ that produced copper, dating back to the 3100 BC. The Ministry of Heritage and Culture, in collaboration with a German delegation from Tubingen University, began the survey and excavation work at the Al Khashba site in Mudhaibi for the third season. It is related to the extraction and production of copper.
The survey work and archaeological excavations began in 2015. Many sites and stone towers in the villages and towns of the Governorate of North A’sharqiyah were discovered and documented. Additionally, prospecting work in mud and stone buildings in Al Khashba area was also undertaken.
A Carbon-14 analysis of the samples proved the site dates back to 3100 BC. Excavations in one of the stone towers indicated it was the oldest tower in Oman, dating back to the Bronze Age. The mission discovered what are believed to be the oldest copper production workshops.
In January, 3,000 arrow heads and 10 snake-shaped idols, which were likely to have served as religious symbols in the Iron Age, were discovered in Oman.
The Ministry of Heritage and Culture, in collaboration with a French mission from the Sorbonne University headed by Dr. Geum Gerd, discovered the artifacts at Al Madhmar area of Adam province. Two semi-complete pottery urns and a large number of pottery fragments were also discovered at the site.
The team is continuing archaeological research at the site, in the hope of understanding better the culture and lifestyle of Iron Age communities in the area.
Similarly five old settlements and cemeteries dating back to between 2500 and 2000BC, were unearthed in Saham province in north Al Batinah in January.
