Pottery Making in the First Oases: Comparison Between Bat and Bisya Domestic and Tower Assemblages

Abstract

The earliest known significant pottery production in Oman appears in the first oases of the Hajar mountains southern foothills during the Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2700–2000 bc) of the third millennium bc. Despite the history of ceramic research in southeast Arabia, the modalities of the establishment and organisation of this craft are little known because of limited excavations, stratigraphy and dating. Bat and Bisya are among the largest and earliest oasis sites in this region. Taking advantage of excavations by the Bat Archaeological Project and the French Archaeological Mission in Central Oman, this paper provides the first extensive comparison of pottery assemblages from domestic and tower monument contexts from these sites. Pottery from securely dated contexts is examined through typological classification and contextual situation to determine the degree of standardisation and centralisation of the crafts. The results of this study provide novel insights on Umm an-Nar period pottery use patterns and related social–economic interaction networks in the Hajar mountains.