The 2018 Archaeological Survey at Tawi Said, Sultanate of Oman


Book Description

The 2018 archaeological survey at Tawi Said, located on the edge of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman, yielded close to 8,600 artifacts, the majority being pottery sherds. Two significant phases are attested by the survey's finds: the Wadi Suq period (2000-1600 BCE) and the Late Islamic period (1650-1970 CE).




The Reuse of Tombs in Eastern Arabia


Book Description

This book investigate reuse of tombs in Eastern Arabia from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age until the end of the Sasanian period in order to understand the underlying purposes and social context of this practice.




Landmarks of Identity: Bronze Age Towers of the Oman Peninsula


Book Description

In the Early Bronze Age, monumental stone and mud-brick structures known as towers appeared in Oman. This book aims to update the long-standing discussions on these towers and to assess their chronological depth of more than a millennium. The book also reassesses their possible functions in the light of recent archaeological research.







Archaeometallurgy – Materials Science Aspects


Book Description

This book successfully connects archaeology and archaeometallurgy with geoscience and metallurgy. It addresses topics concerning ore deposits, archaeological field evidence of early metal production, and basic chemical-physical principles, as well as experimental ethnographic works on a low handicraft base and artisanal metal production to help readers better understand what happened in antiquity. The book is chiefly intended for scholars and students engaged in interdisciplinary work.




Geology of the Oman Mountains, Eastern Arabia


Book Description

This book describes in detail numerous geological sites throughout the mountains of Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Eastern Arabia. The region is well known for its oil and gas reserves in the desert interior, and Permian-Mesozoic shelf carbonates exposed in the mountains of the Musandam peninsula, Jebel al-Akhdar and Saih Hatat, where deep wadi canyons provide impressive three-dimensional views into the crust. The region has numerous globally important geological sites, including the world’s largest and best-exposed ophiolite complex, the Semail Ophiolite, which is a vast thrust sheet of Cretaceous ocean crust and upper mantle emplaced onto the Arabian continental margin. Other sites include spectacular fossil localities, subduction zone metamorphic rocks (eclogites, blueschists, amphibolites), fold-thrust belts, giant sheath folds and Precambrian salt domes, as well as the huge sand dunes of the Rub al’Khali, the Empty Quarter, and the separate Wahiba (Sharkiyah) sandsea of Eastern Oman. Written by Mike Searle, who has worked on geological research projects throughout Oman and UAE almost every year since 1978, this book describes the field geology of each site and includes a wealth of maps, field photos and diagrams illustrating key features. It also discusses the history of exploration of Arabia and the search for its hidden geological secrets. The book provides the geological basis for the establishment of a series of World Heritage Sites, National GeoParks and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) throughout the region. As such, it is of interest to geologists, tourists, mountaineers, trekkers, rock climbers and naturalists.




Sundaland: Tracing The Cradle of Civilizations


Book Description

Sundaland is a bio-geographical region of Southeastern Asia which encompasses the Sunda Shelf, the part of the Asian continental shelf that was exposed during the Last Ice Age. It included the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland, as well as the large islands of Kalimantan, Java and Sumatera, and their surrounding islands. Sundaland is in the tropics, surrounded by oceans, and within the Ring of Fire. Benefitting from the heavy precipitation, volcanic deposits in Sundaland develop into some of the richest forestry and agricultural lands, and developed into some of the richest fauna on Earth. The vast majority of scholars accept that every living human being is descended from a small group in Africa, who then dispersed into the wider world. Archaeological and fossil evidence support an early migration of modern humans left Africa and followed the coastlines of Africa, Arabia, India and Sundaland. After migrating from the semi-deserted savannas of Africa, man first found a place in Sundaland where food was abundant and it was there that they left hunter-gatherer culture and invented farming, agriculture, trading and civilization, which made humanity first flourished. All this took place during the Last Glacial period. The sea levels continued to rise gradually to peak levels about 5,500 years ago, causing land loss on tropical coasts with flat continental shelves. Cracks in the earth’s crust as the weight of the ice shifted to the seas set off catastrophic events compounded by earthquakes, volcano eruptions, super waves and floods drowned the coastal cultures and all the flat continental shelves of Southeast Asia, and wiped out many populations. As the sea rolled in, there was a mass migration from the sinking continent. Genetic studies show that there has been a sharp decline in the population of the world, and population turnovers from Southeast, East and South Asia to Europe, Near East and the Caucasus beginning at the the end of the Younger Dryas period. The Younger Dryas disasters are also documented as legends, myths or tales in almost every region on Earth, observable with tremendous similarities. They are common across a wide range of cultures, extending back into Bronze Age and Neolithic prehistory. The overwhelming consistency among legends and myths of flood and the repopulation of man from a flood hero similar to the Noah Flood are found in distant parts of the Earth. The myths similar to the Garden of Eden, Paradise or Divine Land echo among the populations around the world. Memories of their origin are documented in their legends, such as the stories of Atlantis, Neserser, Land of Punt, Land of Ophir, Kumari Kandam, Kangdez and Taprobana. Pyramids spread in many parts of the world and emerged separately from one another by oceans who supposedly never discovered each other’s existence. Those indicate that they were derived from a common origin. Further, scholastic belief by etymologists and linguists are positive that all world languages sprang from a common source.




Cultural Sustainable Tourism


Book Description

This book includes research papers submitted to and presented during the first international conference on Cultural Sustainable Tourism (CST) that was held in Thessaloniki, Greece in November of 2017. Discussing complex relations between Culture, tourism, and the role of planners and architects in their maintenance, this conference was jointly organized by IEREK –International Experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange- and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The conference was an attempt to shed a light on the significance of Culture and Heritage as two important factors attracting tourists and promoting economic growth and convey civilizations through tourism. Themes covered in this book give an overview on current research and topics of discussion that focus on Cultural sustainable tourism through several sections. The first section, titled “Art, Architecture and Culture”, discusses urban regeneration as a road to the preservation of cultural and tourist destinations and the importance of understanding and benefitting from our heritage to allow for modern day improvements. “Heritage Tourism”, the section 2 of the book, is more focused on offering nontraditional solutions and management plans to sustain cultural tourism and improve quality of life around historically significant areas. The third section on the “City and Rural Tourism” follows by providing sustainable strategies to attract tourists and promoting the use of existing resources. The last and final section with the title of “Sustainable Tourism, Development and Environmental Management” maneuvers around the different yet common environmental issues existing today and proposes new and innovative solutions for their elimination. Presenting a wide range of topics in chapters, this book provides the scientific community with a collection of unique and enlightening literature.




Oman Reborn


Book Description

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the few "good news" stories to have emerged from the Middle East in recent memory. This book traces the narrative of a little-known and relatively stable Arab country whose history of independence, legacy of interaction with diverse cultures, and enlightened modern leadership have transformed it in less than fifty years from an isolated medieval-style potentate to a stable, dynamic, and largely optimistic country. At the heart of this fascinating story is Oman’s sultan, Qaboos bin Sa’id, friend to both East and West, whose unique leadership style has resulted in both domestic and foreign policy achievements during more than four decades in office. Exploring Oman from a historical perspective, Funsch examines how the country’s unique blend of tradition and modernization has enabled it to succeed while others in the region have failed. Accounts of the author’s own experiences with Oman’s transformation add rich layers of depth, texture, and personality to the narrative.




Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris


Book Description

The seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute and the fate of Kashmiris throughout South Asia and beyond are the twin themes in Snedden's meticulously researched book.