The Ras al-Jinz reloaded. Resuming excavations at the edge of Arabia

This paper presents the recent excavations at the previously unexplored site of RJ-3, in the bay of Ras al-Jinz, one of the key archaeological areas in the Omani Sharqiyah. During the Umm an-Nar period, RJ-3 most likely formed a single, large settlement with the nearby — and well known — site of RJ-2, located on the other side of the bay. Results of extensive excavations over two long field seasons suggest that RJ-3 was a function-specific area within this settlement, related to different sorts of craft activities. Moreover, a series of deep trenches reveals a stratigraphic sequence of over 2.5 m, quite exceptional in the coastal contexts of the area, and shows a long sequence of occupations, spanning from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Umm an-Nar period, and including the very beginning of the Bronze Age.