Archaeological Rescue Excavations on Packages 3 and 4 of the Batinah Expressway, Sultanate of Oman

The archaeological excavations along the route of packages 3 and 4 of the Batinah Expressway, Sultanate of Oman, conducted during the spring and summer of 2014, recorded over 60 archaeological sites over the 200km stretch of roadway cutting through the Batinah plain, north-west of Muscat. The majority of these sites were prehistoric tombs of varying ages. These excavations have allowed a re-thinking of the dating of some of these tombs, looking particularly at the structural styles of the tombs as well as their location in the landscape. It has also demonstrated techniques of rapid yet reliable excavation and recording techniques adapted from UK commercial archaeology for the Omani conditions. The report builds on the work of academic studies and adds a large dataset to the archaeology of the Batinah, Oman and the wider region. It is hoped that this will allow a wider scale reconsideration of the burial styles of the prehistoric Gulf.

Table of Contents

Section I: Introduction

Section II: Tomb typology

Section IIIa: The excavations

Section IIIb: Package 4

Section IV: The human remains (Alyson Caine)

Section V: Finds from the excavations (Andrew Blair, Cameron Clegg, Anna Hilton, Heiko Kalweit, Derek Kennet, Peter Magee, Ben Saunders, and Michel de Vreeze)

Section VI: Discussion (W.M. Deadman)

Bibliography

"Ben Saunders has been working in archaeology in the UK and Middle East for the past 7 years as an excavator and ceramics expert, following on from his research masters in Indian Ocean trade at Durham University. The team behind the BEH 3-4 excavations are all highly experienced archaeologists combining expertise within the Middle East with modern commercial archaeological practice and techniques. The report they produced is a testament to their hard work in very challenging temperatures and their commitment to Omani archaeology.