Sabrina RIGHETTI

Les prospections menées dans la région d’Âdam (Sultanat d’Oman) lors des quatre premières campagnes (2007 à 2010) ont permis une évaluation de la densité et de la variété des vestiges archéologiques de cette zone située sur les marges du désert du Rub‘ al-Khâlî. Son peuplement remonte au Néolithique et les établissements se succèdent – avec une intensité variée – de la fin de la Préhistoire jusqu’aux époques historiques. Les principaux sites prospectés et/ou sondés sont présentés période par période ; les premières découvertes de terrain et les études préliminaires apportent une lumière nouvelle sur cette région jusqu’alors inexplorée.

The surveys that took place in the region of Âdam (Sultanate of Oman) during the four first campaigns (2007 to 2010) allowed us to evaluate the density and the variety of archaeological remains that are found in this area (situated on the margins of the Rub‘ al-Khâlî desert). Its population can be traced back to Neolithic and from then on, settlements follow each other - with varied intensity - between the end of Prehistory and historical periods. The main sites that were prospected and/or drilled are presented by period. The first discoveries made on the ground and the preliminary studies we have made bring a new light upon this unknown region.

After the discovery in 2006 of an engraved stone near Ādam, dated by Serge Cleuziou to the third millennium BC, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in the Sultanate of Oman allowed and assisted the team to set up an archaeological study of the region of Ādam, which is the last oasis north of the Umm al-Samīm and RubΚ al-Khālī deserts. For centuries, this area has been the final shelter before travellers crossed the desert, thus it is both the last oasis and the last crossroad on the desert routes. During the first three campaigns from 2007 to 2009, survey of the area by the French team has exposed the rich archaeological potential of the area, with 1155 structures already found. These sites can be dated from the Early Bronze Age to the Islamic period. Discoveries include a large Hafit necropolis at Jabal al-QarāΜ, Bronze Age graves and possible settlements in the north of Jabal MouΡmār (MaΡmār), an Iron Age graveyard at Jabal ДamrāΜ Kahf, and two buildings of Iron Age in the east of Jabal MouΡmār.