A Hafit-period stone tool assemblage from Al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman
Keywords:
stone tool assemblage, Al-Khashbah, Early Bronze Age, Hafit period, Sultanate of OmanAbstract
In 2015, an intensive surface survey was conducted at several selected locations of the site of Al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman, under the direction of Dr Conrad Schmidt (University of Tübingen). Al Khasbah is a well-known site for its Hafit and Umm an-Nar buildings. It is one of the first Early Bronze Age settlements with clearly associated stone tools in the interior of Oman. A unique stone tool assemblage was discovered in and around Building I, clearly dating to the Hafit period. It includes a variety of tools, which have little in common with Hafit-period stone tool assemblages from the coast. The discovered micro-debitage, which was found during the subsequent excavations, shows that this place was also a knapping area. The paper will give a short overview of the different types of stone tools represented and their spatial distribution within Building I.
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Archaeopress Publishing, Oxford, UK
