A House Complex in Bronze Age Arabia: A Study of 'Umm an-Nar' and 'Wadi Suq' Domestic Architecture at the Settlement Slope, Bat (Oman)

Abstract

In comparison with the well-documented funerary and monumental archaeology, remarkably few settlement sites have been excavated that can be dated to the Umm an-Nar (c. 2700 - 2000 BC), Wadi Suq (c. 2000 - 1600 BC) and Late Bronze Age (c. 1600 - 1250 BC) periods in southeast Arabia. Consequently, domestic architecture from this region is often studied in chronological isolation. A multi-period analysis of the nature of settlement sites and their domestic structures is key to understanding how these cultures functioned and developed during these periods.

A complex of domestic structures was discovered at the Settlement Slope in 2013, situated within the Bronze Age archaeological site at Bat in Oman. The aim of this dissertation is to present and analyse the architecture of this single, well-preserved settlement site from the Umm an-Nar, Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age periods.

To this end, a catalogue of domestic structures from published Umm an-Nar and Wadi Suq sites was assembled, identifying architectural trends typical of these periods. The stratigraphy and construction style of the walls from the Settlement Slope were analysed and, from this, a provisional sequence of construction phases could be proposed for the site. The sequence was compared with the domestic structures attested at contemporary settlement sites to establish whether the architectural development of the Settlement Slope is typical of the Umm an-Nar, Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age periods.