Qumayrah
Dates of work: 19 September–4 October 2015
Team:
Director: Prof. Piotr Bieliński, archaeologist (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Omani representative: Sulaiman Al-Jabri
Archaeologists: Dr. Agnieszka Pieńkowska, Dr. Łukasz Rutkowski (both PCMA UW), Dr. Marcin Białowarczuk, lithics specialist (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw), Dorota Bielińska (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Topographer: Roman Łopaciuk (freelance)
Brief reconnaissance in the microregion of Qumayrah prior to the inception of a joint PCMA and Department of Archaeological Excavation and Study of Oman project. The survey covered an L-shaped depression between hill massifs, extending from the village of al-Ayn in the south to Bilt in the east. Near al-Ayn a small burial ground of 10 circular tombs was noted, most probably of the Umm al-Nar period (2700–2000 BC). There was also a prehistoric site; three tower structures built of roughly dressed ashlars, the best preserved being about 3 m high and 20 m in diameter. A second concentration of sites lay about 10 km out of Qumayrah in the direction of Bilt; at its core was a single tomb of Umm an-Nar date with a facade of well dressed and fitted blocks (“sugar lumps”), now scattered around the base. The ruins of an extensive village, still undated, were observed near the tomb.
Text: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 25