The first excavation season at the Early Bronze Age settlement of Ra's al-Jinz RJ-3.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the first excavation season at the Early Bronze Age settlement

of Ras Al Jinz RJ-3, in the coastal southern Sharquiyyah. Unexplored until the recent excavation

campaign, except for a small sounding excavated during the 1990s by the Joint Hadd Project (JHP),

the Um An Nar site of RJ-3 most likely formed a single, large settlement with the site of RJ-2, located on the other side of the bay, and explored for over two decades in the frame of the JHP. Based on preliminary survey, the distribution of surface material at RJ-3 hinted at a specialised area, related to different sorts of craft activities. The results of the current season of excavation confirm the presence of craft-related areas, at least for the most recent Um An Nar occupations, which were extensively excavated. Furthermore, a series of deep trenches shows the presence of three periods of occupations, spanning from the late Neolithic to the end of the Um An Nar period, and with an intermediate phase that might be ascribed to the very beginning of the Bronze Age. Although the chronological frame of this occupation needs to be verified through further explorations, a stratigraphic sequence of over 2.5 m is quite exceptional in the coastal contexts of the area. Besides, shall the presence of a Hafit phase be confirmed, the site would display a continuity of occupation so far unique in coastal Sharquiyyah.