The book presents the results of two field seasons that the Italian Mission To Oman spent excavating a few tombs located on top of Jabal Salut, in Central Oman. A cluster of these tombs was later razed and replaced by a small, rectangular pillared shrine built in stone and mortar that represents so far a unicum for the whole South East Arabia.
The funerary monuments can be dated to the third and second millennium BC (Early to Middle Bronze Age), with evidence for reuse during the first millennium BC (local Iron Age). The small shrine is also datable to the Iron Age.
In addition to architectural details, the excavations produced an abundance of pottery and soft stone vessels, which provide important dating information and enable the use of the tombs to be considered alongside evidence obtained from the excavation of nearby Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements.
As well as showing the results from the excavations and placing them in a local context it will be discussed how typical the results obtained from Jabal Salut might be for the rest of South East Arabia. In particular, it is tempting to consider what importance the region's ancient inhabitants gave to high places.
1. Introduction
2. Two Early Bronze age tombs at salut
The excavation
Structure 39
Structure 33
discussion
Tombs structure
The finds
3. Excavations on Jabal Salut
Jabal Salut 1
Grave 1
Jabal Salut 2
Grave 1
Grave 2
Finds from US8
Grave 3
Grave 4
Grave 5
Grave 6
The pillared building
Other surface finds
Jabal Salut 3
Grave 1
anthropological analysis
by Chiara Condoluci and Giuliana Pagni
Burial 1
Burial 2
discussion
Tombs typology
Pottery
Stone vessels
Beads
Shells
4. ThE "ShRINE" ON JABAL SALuT:
ExCAvATION, INTERpRETATION, CONSERvATION ANd RESTORATION
by Carl Phillips
The excavation of JS2 "shrine
The date of the building
Possible external influences; building techniques
Possible external influences; material
The function of the building
Some preliminary conclusions regarding the Jabal Salut building
The conservation and restoration of the Jabal Salut shrine
The reconstruction of the shrine
technical note: petrographic characterization of the coluMns Mortar
by Marco Giamello and Andrea Scala
Comments on The Plaster's Compositional Analysis
by Chiara Condoluci and Michele Degli Esposti
5. The Jabals Survey
JSS1
JSS2
JSS3
JSS4
6. Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Plates
Stratigraphy, Architecture, Material Culture
