Ancient city discovered in Al Dhahirah Governorate

Muscat: The remnants of an ancient city dating back to the first millennium BC was discovered in the Wilayat of Dhank, Al Dhahirah Governorate.

The archaeological excavations carried out by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and a Polish mission from the University of Warsaw at the Ain Bani Sa’ida archaeological site for the sixth season resulted in finding remnants of a small city in the archaeological site dating back to the first millennium BC of the Iron Age. Other pottery vessels, ladders and cooking stoves were also found at the site.

Dr Peter Belinski of the University of Warsaw said: "We are uncovering an old small city which was a replica of a big city, and this is a reflection of a social situation that occurred at that time. A decorated pottery bowl made by hand was found at the new site. It is the first mixture of ceramics to be found whole ."

"When the inhabitants left the village, they took with them the small pottery vessels and left the large ones used to store water and grain, which were found in dozens. We couldn't figure out how they made the food, but we did know the methods they used to store the food." Dr Peter added.

Regarding the new site in which the city and the pottery were found, it is surprising that it is at an altitude of 8 metres from the flat of the plain, and the peasants used to go to the water sources every morning to fetch water in large pottery vessels for the entire population.

The head of the mission added that it was likely that the big house belonged to the sheikh, but we do not know if he was considered a sheikh or had another name, but a leader or ruler lived at it with his family members, unlike others who lived in modest places.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Polish mission from the University of Warsaw are also excavating excavations in the town of Balt, Wilayat of Dhank, to research and conduct studies in a new archaeological site.

Ali bin Khamis Al-Sudairi, Director of the Heritage and Tourism Department in Al-Dhahirah Governorate, explained that the site has a historical connection with other archaeological sites such as: the archaeological site of Bat, the archaeological site of Salut, and Dahwa in the Wilayat of Saham. It is closely linked to these ancient archaeological sites in successive ages.