27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

5,000-year-old Settlement Unearthed in Al Mudhaibi, Oman

The Oman News Agency announced that a 5,000-year-old settlement was discovered during archaeological excavations at the Al Gharyein archaeological site in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi in the Ash Sharqiyah North Governorate.

The settlement was uncovered by a team of experts from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

The traces of the Hafeet and Umm Al Nar cultures found here suggest that the site dates from the early Bronze Age.

Umm Al Nar  (Mother of the Fire) is a Bronze Age culture that existed around 2600-2000 BCE in the area of modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The name derives from the same-named island, which is adjacent to Abu Dhabi city and provided early evidence and finds attributed to the period.

Photo: Oman News

Between 2500 and 2000 BCE, this small island was home to a relatively large settlement that played an active role in regional commerce. Artifacts show that people on the island traded with civilizations as far away as ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and the Indus Valley Civilisation (modern-day Pakistan and India).

The excavation team was headed by Dr. Nasser Said Al Jahwari, a Professor in the Department of Archaeology at the SQU College of Arts and Social Sciences. The team comprised Dr. Khalid Douglas and Dr. Mohammad Hussein.

The settlement at the Al Gharyein site has a distinctive layout. It included a tower structure, multi-room homes surrounding it, a cemetery with mass graves, and the ruins of other structures.

Photo: Oman News

Al Gharyein settlement is distinguished for its large buildings as huge as 600 square meters each.

Aside from its exceptional architectural styles, the settlement played an important role in the region, with manifestations of human activities such as early farming, herding, copper smelting, and trade exchange, particularly among coastal communities.

Related Articles

4,000-Year-Old Dilmun Temple Discovered on Failaka Island, Kuwait

12 November 2024

12 November 2024

A joint Danish-Kuwaiti excavation team led by the Mosgard Museum has uncovered a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age temple linked to the...

Unlocking the Secrets of Jersey’s Le Câtillon II: A Celtic Settlement Discovered Near the Enigmatic Hoard

12 March 2025

12 March 2025

Recent archaeological investigations near Jersey, an island in the English Channel situated just off the coast of France, have unveiled...

The ‘boiler room’ of the bath in the Ancient City of Metropolis was unearthed

11 August 2022

11 August 2022

The vault section, called the ‘boiler room’, which provides a heat source, has been unearthed in the historical bath of...

Archaeologists discovered the secret ingredient that made Mayan plaster durable

20 April 2023

20 April 2023

Ancient Mayan masons had their own secrets for making lime plasters, mortars, and plasters, which they used to build their...

Excavations of Aççana Mound, the Capital of the Mukish Kingdom, Continue

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

2021 excavations have started at Aççana Höyük, the old city of Alalah, in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district. The ancient city of...

5,000 years old Mother Goddess statuette unearthed in Yeşilova Mound

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

A Mother Goddess statuette, determined to be 5 thousand years old, was found during the excavations carried out in the...

A 1,700-year-old trident discovered in Assos ancient city in Türkiye

10 October 2023

10 October 2023

An iron trident, believed to be used for fishing, dating to the 3rd or 4th century A.D. has been discovered...

DNA Elucidates Mysteries of the Iron Age Log Coffin Culture in Thailand

9 February 2024

9 February 2024

The Northwestern Thailand highlands region of Pang Mapha is dotted with dozens of caves that contain some incredibly odd prehistoric...

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

30 October 2024

30 October 2024

Tulane University researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic...

Researchers able to reconstruct the development of Barbegal’s former watermills over time with the help of carbonate deposits

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

Archaeologists are faced with a difficult task: how can information be obtained about buildings or facilities of which – if...

Archaeologists unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman era in Sicily

1 April 2024

1 April 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman period in the small village of Tripi in...

Two mysterious stone balls were found buried in a tomb dating to 3500 BC in Orkney

2 September 2021

2 September 2021

In Orkney, archaeologists discovered two carved stone balls in a tomb dating from 3500 BC. Archaeologists are on-site at Tresness,...

Archaeologists unearthed the exact place of the tomb of Saint Nicholas, also known as “Santa Claus,” and the floor on which he walked

17 October 2022

17 October 2022

An excavation team has discovered the exact location of Saint Nicholas’ tomb, also known as “Santa Claus,” as well as...

5,000-Year-Old Burial of High-Status Woman with Feathered Mantle Unearthed in Ancient Caral

27 April 2025

27 April 2025

Archaeologists in Peru have announced the remarkable discovery of a 5,000-year-old burial of a woman of high social standing at...

13th-Century skeletons Unearthed in Annaea Mound

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

At the historical Kadıkalesi archaeological site in Turkey’s western Aydin province’s Kuşadası district, a total of five skeletons thought to...