4,000 year old Early Bronze Age settlement discovered in Oman

The Early Bronze Age settlement is 'large and sophisticated' and includes a number of huge buildings and burial sites, according to state media.
2 min read
25 January, 2022
The new finding comes after archaeologists made another "rare" Bronze Age discovery in the country earlier this month [Getty]

A large settlement dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered in Oman, according to state media. 

The discovery was made during an archaeological excavation in the Wilayat of Rustaq, Al-Batinah, specifically in the Tehka area on the outskirts of the Hajar MountainsOman News Agency (ONA) reported on Sunday.

The excavation shows the site was inhabited for the first time in the third millennium BC, during the Early Bronze Age, as increased effort has been made to learn more about the ancient period and how Omani society progressed during it.

"Archaeological excavations... reveal a large and sophisticated settlement that... includes a large number of huge buildings and burial sites," ONA wrote, stating the site represents "one of the settlements of the Umm Al Nar culture, which witnessed great and wide prosperity in the Sultanate of Oman".

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The excavation was completed by the joint archaeological mission between Sultan Qaboos University and the Italian University of Pisa, under the supervision of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

The new finding comes after archaeologists made another "rare" Early Bronze Age discovery earlier this month - a 4,000 year-old board game in the country, found close to Ayn Bani Saidah village.