Beyond the major sites: rethinking small-scale copper production in ancient Oman. A preliminary report on the archaeometallurgical survey of the Salh site (Ad Dhahirah Governorate, northern Oman)

2025, 34, No. 1


Publication date

31.12.2025

Submission date

09.07.2025

Acceptance date

18.10.2025

Publishing model

open access

License type


Field

Humanities

Discipline

archeology

Language of publication

English

Downloads

PDF 2 MB

Article

Number of views:20

Number of downloads:24

Crossref citations:0

Altmetric score:0


Abstract

The site of Salh 1, situated in the Ad Dhahirah Governorate of northern Oman, offers insights into the organization of copper production in southeastern Arabia. Preliminary results of archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations indicate that this smelting site, active during both the Bronze Age and the Islamic period, functioned as a small-scale production center. Surface surveys and test trenching enabled the estimation of the total volume of slag deposits at approximately 288 tons. The discovery of stone-built structures, tools for copper processing, and fragments of clay smelting furnaces all point to a systematically organized and continuously operated metallurgical process. In light of the absence of nearby domestic architecture, Salh 1 is interpreted as a small, seasonal metallurgical site. These findings contribute to the growing body of archaeometallurgical research in Oman and highlight the significant, yet often overlooked, role of smaller smelting sites in shaping the region’s economic landscape during key periods of copper production.

Keywords:

Bibliography

Begemann, F., Hauptmann, A., Schmitt-Strecker, S., and Weisgerber, G. (2010). Lead isotope and chemical signature of copper from Oman and its occurrence in Mesopotamia and sites on the Arabian Gulf coast. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 21(2), 135–169

Bieliński, P. (2023). Omani–Polish Qumayrah Archaeological Project: The seventh season of field research in the area of Ayn Bani Sa’dah village—2023. Preliminary report. Unpubl. report for the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat

Bieliński, P., Pieńkowska, A., Białowarczuk, M., Kiersnowski, H., Bukowski, K., and Lenarczyk, S. (2023). Patterns of pre-Islamic settlement in the Qumayrah microregion, northern Oman: First results of an archaeological and geological survey. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 34(S1), 22–38

Bukowski, K. and Kiersnowski, H. (2023). Sprawozdanie z geologicznych i geomorfologicznych badań terenowych w Omanie (Report on geological and geomorphological field studies in Oman). Unpubl. report for the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat

Bukowski, K., Pieńkowska, A., Woronko, B., Moska, P., Kiersnowski, H., Piestrzyński, A., and Al-Ghafri, W.A.H.S. (2025). Archaeometallurgy in northern Oman: Diachronic copper production on a smelting site in Wadi al-Salh. Archaeometry, 67(6), 1692–1711

Childe, V.G. (1936). Man makes himself. London: Watts & Co.

Childe, V.G. (1950). The urban revolution. The Town Planning Review, 21(1), 3–17

Costa, P.M. (1978). The copper mining settlement of ‘Arja: A preliminary survey. Journal of Oman Studies, 4, 9–14

Costin, C.L. (1991). Craft specialization: Issues in defining, documenting, and explaining the organization of production. Archaeological Method and Theory, 3, 1–56

Eddisford, D. (2022). Exchange networks of the Early Bronze Age Gulf: The imported ceramics from Kalba 4 (United Arab Emirates). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 33(1), 23–48

Frenez, D. (2019). Cross‐cultural trade and socio‐technical developments in the Oman Peninsula during the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 to 1600 BC. Ocnus, 27, 9–49

Giardino, C. (2019). Magan—The land of copper: Prehistoric metallurgy of Oman. Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman

Goy, J., Le Carlier de Veslud, C., Esposti, M.D., and Attaelmanan, A.G. (2013). Archaeometallurgical survey in the area of Masafi (Fujairah, UAE): Preliminary data from an integrated programme of survey, excavation, and physicochemical analyses. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 43, 127–145

Hauptmann, A. (1985). 5000 Jahre Kupfer in Oman I. Die Entwicklung der Kupfermetallurgie vom 3. Jahrtausend bis zur Neuzeit. Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum

Hauptmann, A. (2020). Archaeometallurgy—Materials science aspects. Cham: Springer

Hauptmann, A. and Weisgerber, G. (1981). Third millenium BC copper production in Oman. Revue d’Archéométrie, 1(1), 131–138

Kutterer, J. (2013). The archaeological site HLO-1: A Bronze Age copper mining and smelting site in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE) (Ph.D. diss.). University of Tübingen. Retrieved from https://publikationen.uni-tuebingen.de/xmlui/handle/10900/56440 (accessed: 09.07.2025)

Kutterer, J. and Jasim, S.A. (2009). First report on the copper-smelting site HLO-1 in Wādī al-Ḥilo, UAE. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 39, 245–253

Kutterer, J., Neureiter, C., and Jasim, S. (2013). Second report on the copper smelting site HLO1 in Wādī al-Ḥilo (Sharjah, UAE). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 43, 185–196

Laursen, S. and Steinkeller, P. (2017). Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus: Archaeological and textual evidence for contact in the third and early second millennia B.C. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns

Proctor, L., Döpper, S., and Schmidt, C. (2024). Hafit period fuelwood preferences associated with early copper production at Building V, al-Khashbah, Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 53, 230–247

Sivitskis, A.J., Lehner, J.W., Harrower, M.J., Dumitru, I.A., Paulsen, P.E., Nathan, S., Viete, D.R., Al-Jabri, S., Helwing, B., Wiig, F., Moraetis, D., and Pracejus, B. (2019). Detecting and mapping slag heaps at ancient copper production sites in Oman. Remote Sensing, 11(24), 3014.

https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11243014

Sobczak, M. (2023). Preliminary report on pottery from surface surveys in the Salh 1 and Salh 2 (Oman). Unpubl. report for the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat

Steinkeller, P. (2013). Trade routes and commercial networks in the Persian Gulf during the third millennium BC. In C. Faizee (ed.), Collection of papers presented to the Third International Biennial Conference of the Persian Gulf (pp. 413–431). Tehran: Scientific Board of the Third International Conference of the Persian Gulf, Department of History, University of Tehran

Weeks, L.R. (2003). Early metallurgy of the Persian Gulf: Technology, trade, and the Bronze Age world. Boston: Brill

Weisgerber, G. (1980). Patterns of early Islamic metallurgy in Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 10, 115–126

Weisgerber, G. (1978). Evidence of ancient mining sites in Oman: a preliminary report. Journal of Oman Studies, 4, 15–28

Weisgerber, G. (1987). Archaeological evidence of copper exploitation at ‘Arja. Journal of Oman Studies, 9, 145–172

Weisgerber, G. (2007). From green to red: Smelting red copper from the green ore. In S. Cleuziou and M. Tosi (eds), In the shadow of the ancestors: The prehistoric foundations of the early Arabian civilization in Oman (pp. 133–136). Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman

Weisgerber, G. (2020). Copper from Magan for the Mesopotamian cities. In S. Cleuziou and M. Tosi (eds), In the shadow of the ancestors: The prehistoric foundations of the early Arabian civilization in Oman (2nd ed., pp. 301–303). Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman

Zaribaf, A., Lehner, J., Paulsen, P., Dumitru, I.A., Sivitskis, A., Arsenault, B., Fisher, B., Buffington, A., Dollarhide, E., and Harrower, M.J. (2024). Socio-political factors influencing early Islamic copper production in Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 53, 316–332

Similar publications