EXPLORATIONS OF HD­60, A LARGE BRONZE AGE DEPOSIT OF CONUS SP. AT RA’S AL­HADD, SULTANATE OF OMAN

Lapo Gianni MARCUCCI*

AbstractThe HD-60 archaeological site, located in the village of Ra’s al-Hadd, Sultanate of Oman, dates to themiddle of the 3rd Millennium BC. It was surveyed over a period of four years (2000-2003) by the ItalianArchaeological Mission. The site is a unicum in archaeological terms with regard to the working of aspecies of shell. It is a large open-air deposit where protohistoric craftsmen worked the Conus sp. shell,and only that shell, in order to make rings.Keywords: Oman, Ra’s al-Hadd, Conus sp., ring, survey by transepts, test trenches, chaîne opératoire.

RésuméHD-60, un site archéologique situé dans le village de Ra’s al-Hadd au Sultanat d’Oman est daté du milieudu IIIe millénaire av. J.-C. Il a été exploré pendant quatre ans, de 2000 à 2003 par la Mission archéologiqueitalienne. Le site est un cas archéologique unique dans le domaine du travail de la coquille. Il s’agit d’un grandsite de plein-air où les artisans protohistoriques produisaient des anneaux en travaillant exclusivement lacoquille du Conus sp.Mots-clés : Oman, Ra’s al-Hadd, Conus sp., anneau, prospection en tranchée, sondages, chaîne opératoire.

S

The archaeological evidence from coastal Oman suggests that, during Early Holocene times, groups ofhunter-gatherers extended their subsistence bases to the vast stock of marine resources available to

them, collecting fish, crustaceans and molluscs from lagoons and other near-shore environments. By thebeginning of the Middle Holocene, coastal adaptations had successfully enlarged the economic bases ofprehistoric populations: hundreds of small sites now pepper the coasts of Oman. By the late 5th millen-nium BC, regional exchanges had expanded, and marine resources traveled across the interior: metals andsemi-precious stones were transported from the interior to the coast, while shells for ornaments and mostlikely cured fish for food were transported to the interior. By the 4th millennium BC, shells had spread andmay now be found throughout Eastern Arabia and beyond.

The emergence of the Land of Magan in the late 4th millennium BC is best indicated by the culturalhomogeneity across the Oman Peninsula, from the western Abu Dhabi Islands to the eastern coastalregions of the Sultanate of Oman. The entire population was involved in trade: settlements and seasonalcampsites had evolved from subsistence to large-scale production and export.

Aux marges de l’archéologie, GIRAUD J. ET GERNEZ G., ÉD., 2012, p. 443­450(TRAVAUX DE LA MAISON RENÉ­GINOUVÈS, 16)

* University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France, and University of Bologna, Italy, UMR 7041 ArScAn, équipe « Du village àl’État au Proche et Moyen-Orient » [lg.marcucci@libero.it].The author is particularly grateful to H. R. H. Sayyed Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture of the Sul-tanate of Oman, and to Mrs. Byubwa Ali al-Sabri, Director of Excavations and Archaeological Research. He is also grateful toProfessor Maurizio Tosi and the late Professor Serge Cleuziou, Co-Directors of the Joint Hadd Project, as well as to all the otherpeople who participated in the 2000-2003 campaigns at the site.

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The HD-60 archaeological site, situated within the village of Ra’s al-Hadd, the easternmost point of theArabian Peninsula in the Sultanate of Oman, was surveyed by the Italian Archaeological Mission, as partof the Joint Hadd Project1, between 2000 and 20032. The deposit dates back to the middle of the 3rd mil-lennium BC. It is an immense open-air deposit extending over several hectares. What makes it unique from

an archaeological viewpoint is itsextreme specialization: the proto-historic craftsmen worked here withonly one type of shell, Conus sp., inorder to make only one type ofobject: rings.

The siteThe archaeological compound of

HD-60 is a shallow depositextending over an area of approxi-mately 7 hectares with three distinctelevation points: Area 1 occupiesthe northern part, Area 2 thesouthern part, and Area 3 theeastern part (fig. 1). All are locatedeast of the main access road, awayfrom the Ra’s al-Hadd Castle andthe original core of the village builtaround it, in an area of recentexpansion connected with post-1970 settlement activity. Now thesite under investigation is crossed bymultiple secondary track waysincreasingly cut by the repeated pas-sage of pickups and other transportvehicles on their way to the newerquarters of the town. As a conse-quence of our research, the Ministryof Heritage and Culture hasdeclared part of the site a ProtectedArea3.

Taxonomy and Anatomy of the genus ConusThe Conus belongs to the Conidae family. It lives in tropical waters, but a few species are also found in

sub-tropical and temperate waters. The shape of the shell is similar to that of a cone (hence its name) withsizes varying from a couple of centimetres up to as many as thirty in the largest specimens. The surface issmooth and multi-coloured with a long, narrow opening. The habitat of the Conidae is variable: some liveburied in the sand while others stay in coral reefs and hide under stones or other objects when they areresting. They are entirely predatory, feeding on animals such as sea worms, other molluscs and also smallfish. All species have a radula, a sharp pointed tooth, for harpooning their prey and injecting them with apowerful poison. Some Conidae species that are commonly found throughout the Indo-Pacific region arevery dangerous, in particular Conus geographus; indeed, they can kill a human being. Although the mol-

1. The research conducted at the HD-60 site was a function of the Joint Hadd Project ( JHP), co-directed by Professor MaurizioTosi (University of Bologna) and Professor Serge Cleuziou (University Paris 1), under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Her-itage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman.

2. TOSI et al. 2001-2002; MARCUCCI 2004.3. This article presents only the findings of the field surveys conducted at site HD-60. A subsequent article will present a detailed

study of the chaîne opératoire, along with a spatial and statistical analysis of the thousands of Conus shells found.

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Fig. 1 - HD-60. Site plan with the indication of the extension of the three areas,the secondary track way and the location of the test trenches and the transepts(drawing by L. G. Marcussi).

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luscs could have been fished in their natural habitat, the archaeological evidence indicates that they weremostly gathered from the beaches as empty shells. Even today, on the beaches of Ja’alan and Dofhar, onecan pick up dozens of Conus shells either fully exposed or partially buried in the sand. When part of thecolouring is still present, though faded, it is also possible to identify the species: Conus ebreus, Conusflavidus, Conus virgo, Conus quercuinus, Conus textile and Conus tessulatus.

Investigation ProceduresThe surface of the site exhibited a very high concentration of shell remains (above all Conus sp.) and a

limited presence of flint tools, as well as pottery debris from the period between the Bronze Age and theIslamic Period. In order to better understand the spatial distribution of the manufactured objects and toestablish the nature of the archaeological deposit, we have applied two parallel survey methods:

1- Systematic survey and collection by transepts.2- Test trenches of various sizes randomly spread across a very wide surface.

Survey by transeptsFrom 1999 to 2003, an enormous quantity of Conus sp. fragment exposed to the action of atmospheric

agents for thousands of years was partially surveyed in corridors measuring 10 m wide and 100 to 140 mlong. In Area 1, covering a surface area of about 3 hectares, the largest of the three elevations identified inthe site, four transepts were laid out and indicated with the abbreviations NS 1, NS 2, NS 4 (facing north-northwest) and EW 1 (facing east-northeast). In Area 2, measuring about 1 hectare, transept NS 3 was laidout (facing north-northwest), while in Area 3, covering a total surface area of about 1 hectare, to the eastof the lower boundary of Area 1, transept NS 5 was laid out.

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Fig. 2 - Sections North and East of the trench TT 5 (drawing by D. Zaros, reproduced by permission of the draftsman).

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Test TrenchesEleven test trenches were excavated during the course of the four fieldwork seasons: 1- Seven of 2 x 1 m (TT 5, TT 6, TT 7, TT 8, TT 9, TT 10 and TT 11).2- Four of 1 x 1 m (TT 1, TT 2, TT 3 and TT 4).

All of the test trenches, except TT 9, brought to light at least one hearth relating to the period in whichthe site was occupied, while loose carbonised stone appeared in all of the layers. The archaeological sedi-ment resting above the sterile sand deposits varied between 39 and 58 cm. The thicker stratigraphic unitsrelated to the period of occupation are black in colour (fig. 2).

Shells were by far the most common objects found. The species identified include Ostrea cuccullata,Ostrea cristagalli, fragments of larger gastropods, Pinctada margaritifera, Clamis sp., Conus sp., Oliva Bul-bosa, Nerita polita, Barbata sp., Anadara antiquata, Cypraea sp., Engina mendicarla, Terebralia palustrisand others. Some had a hole in the apex (Oliva bulbosa, Anadara antiquata, Conus sp.) or on the wall(Cypraea sp., Engina mendicaria, Oliva bulbosa, Pinctada margaritifera).

The pottery discovered in all the test trenches (except for TT 6) has been dated to the second half ofthe 3rd millennium BC. It was of local manufacture or was introduced from the Indus valley4. Fragmentsof copper objects were also found, including two chisels, two plates, two curved points, perhaps fromhooks, and two straight points (fig. 3). The lithic industry was composed of a limited typological class offlint stone instruments, such as perforators and scrapers (fig. 4-5).

From site HD-60, given the quantity of fragments collected particularly in the archaeological sediment,it may be surmised that other types of objects were manufactured from Conus shells (as confirmed, in fact,at other sites dug in Oman by the JHP). The products include:

4. Personal communication from Serge Cleuziou.

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Fig. 3 - Some objects discovered during the excavation and the survey(drawing by F. Puorto, reproduced by permission of the draftsman).

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BeadsThese have been identified both stratigraphically, as in test trenches TT 1 and TT 6, as well as during

the survey. The beads were made from very small Conus shells.

Bracelet ComponentsBracelets made from the body of the Conus, in other words the part of the shell discarded during the

chaîne opératoire for the making of the rings, have never been found at the HD-60 site. Given the quantityof wall fragments collected, however, the possibility that certain bracelet components were made from thewalls of the larger Conus shells cannot be ruled out.

PendantsIn a very few cases whole Conus shells of small size (2 to 2.8 cm high, and 1.1 to 1.7 cm wide) found at

HD-60 could have been used as pendants by making a small hole in the spire and, in some cases, removinga portion of the peristome in such a way as to enable a thread to be passed through the hole.

On site HD-60, we found no limestone blocks with multiple cupmarks, normally used for polishing thespires of Conus ring roughouts. They are known, however, from RJ-2, the Bronze Age village at nearby Ra’sal-Jinz, where twelve5 have been found and identified by Charpentier6.

During the four fieldwork seasons, 6 462 items were discovered in the transepts on site HD-60. Themajority of these were fragments of Conus (72,37%), followed by lithic industry (17,96%), pottery

Lapo Gianni MARCUCCI 447

5. Eleven during the 80s excavations and one in 2006.6. CHARPENTIER 1994, p. 161, fig. 13.4e and p. 163.

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Fig. 4 & 5 - Flint tools (drawing by M. Boldrin, reproduced by permission of the draftsman).

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(5,37%), shells other than the Conus species(2,99%), and worked stones (0,26%). The greaterconcentration of items was recovered from Area1 and Area 3, mostly in transepts NS 2, EW 1 andNS 5 (fig. 6).

No area of the site was identified in which onlyone specific stage of the chaîne opératoire for themaking of rings was carried out. The rings wereclearly produced in all three areas (fig. 7). This isalso true of the flint stone industry. Over the courseof several hundred years, the craftsmen of Ra’s al-Hadd occupied the whole of site HD-60. Finishedrings were produced from the second half of the3rd millennium BC in order to meet the demand ofthe Ja’alan region in particular.

During the 2001/2002 expedition, two struc-tures from the Wadi Suq Period (2000-1600 BC)were identified in the northeastern portion of Area1 in which pottery and flint instruments (scrapersand perforators) were associated with Conus.

The entire site of HD-60 was therefore in usebetween 2500 and 2000  BC, as is confirmed by

the archaeological remains surveyed in the eleventest trenches. After a period of abandonment,perhaps 100 or 200 years, the area was re-occu-pied, certainly where the Wadi Suq structureswere excavated.

ConclusionsConus shells were used continuously since the

Early Holocene. The spire, a very compact disk,was used to extract circular pendants that were aswide as 8 cm, with a central hole, like those fromHD-6 in Ra’s al-Hadd7. However, in the large set-tlement of Mehrgarh (Pakistan), some Conusshell artifacts were found up to the time of theearliest burials, dating to the 7th millennium BC.In this case the followed chaîne opératoire didn’tproduce rings but hexagonal discs with bevelledcorners, the upper and lower faces smoothed. The

7. MARCUCCI 2004.

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Fig. 6 - Spatial distribution of all materials found on the site HD-60 (drawing by L. G. Marcucci).

Fig. 7 - Examples of Conus sp. rings (drawing by E. Badel, repro-duced by permission of the draftsman).

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polishing wasn’t complete; in mostcases the helical design of the spirewas still visible. Since they wereused as necklace elements, they pre-sented a hole or two specularnotches on two opposite sides ofthe hexagon8. Between the Chalcol-ithic and Bronze Age Period (4000-2000  BC), cylindrical rings madefrom Conus shells were exportedalong the Gulf and the Euphrates.For example, 23 Conus rings dis-tinctly similar to the Omani find-ings were found in grave 573 at TellBarri-Kahat in Syria9. Evidence ofsuch working of the Conus shell,used for making pendants, rings and

beads, has also been found in Central Asia, in several protohistoric sites in Iran, such as Shahr-i Sokhta andTepe Yahya10, in Egypt in the village of Qau11, and in Saudia Arabia, on the outskirts of Riyadh12. InEastern Oman, particularly in the area between the villages of Ra’s al-Hadd and Ra’s al-Jinz, the workingof Conus shell was one of the principal craft activities13 (fig. 8). Site HD-60 is a perfect example.

Bibliography

BRUNTON G. (1927), Qau and Badari I (with chapters by Alan Gardiner and Flinders Petrie), London,British School of Archaeology in Egypt, XLIV.

CHARPENTIER V. (1994), ‘A Specialised Production at Regional Scale in Bronze Age Arabia: shell ringsfrom Ra’s al-Junayz area (Sultanate of Oman)’, in KOSKEMIENNI K. and PARPOLA A., eds, South AsianArchaeology, Helsinki 1993, vol. I (Suomalainen Tiedakatemian Toimituksia ser. B tom 271), Helsinki,Suomalainen Tiedakatemia, pp. 157-170.

— (2002), ‘Archéologie de la Côte des Ichtyophages: Coquilles, Squales et Cétacés du site IVe-IIIe Millé-naire de Ra’s al-Jinz’, in CLEUZIOU S., TOSI M. and ZARINS J., eds, Essays on the Late Prehistory of theArabian Peninsula, Serie Orientale Roma XCIII, IsIAO, pp. 73-99.

KENOYER J. M. (1995), ‘Shell Trade and Shell Working during the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic atMehrgarh’, in JARRIGE C., JARRIGE J.-F., MEADOW R. H. and QUIVRON G., eds, Mehrgarh. Field Reports1974-1985 from Neolithic Times to the Indus Civilization. The Reports of Eleven Seasons of Excavationin Kachi District, Balochistan by the French Archaeological Mission to Pakistan, Karachi, Department ofCulture and Tourism, Government of Sindh, Pakistan (in Collaboration with the French Ministry ofForeign Affairs), pp. 566-581.

MARCUCCI L. G. (2004), L’industria su conchiglie di Conus sp. nell’Oman durante l’Antica età del Bronzo(c.3000-2000 BC), Degree thesis, Facoltà di Conservazione dei beni culturali, University of Bologna.[Unpublished ad interim report, IsIAO, Roma].

PECORELLA P. E. (1997), Tell Barri-Kahat. Relazione preliminare della campagna del 1997, Firenze.TOSI M., BISCIONE R. and DURANTE S. (1981), Conchiglie. Il commercio e la lavorazione delle conchiglie

marine nel Medio Oriente dal IV al II millennio a.C., Catalogo della mostra a Palazzo Brancaccio,Roma, 14 Maggio-19 Luglio 1981, De Luca ed.

TOSI M., CATTANI M., CURCI A., MARCUCCI L. G. and USAI D. (2001-2002), ‘Missione Archeologica nelSultanato di Oman “Joint Hadd Project”. Campagna di ricerca 2000-2001’, OCNUS 9-10, pp. 357-366.

ZARINS J., RAHBINI A. and KAMAL M. (1982), ‘Preliminary Report on the Archaeological Survey of theRiyadh Area’, Atlal, 6, pp. 25-38.

8. KENOYER 1995, p. 577, fig. 1.9. PECORELLA 1997.10. TOSI et al. 1981, p. 34 and fig. 43-44.11. BRUNTON 1927, p. 65 and plate XXXV.12. ZARINS et al. 1982, p. 32.13. CHARPENTIER 1994 and 2002.

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Fig. 8 - Distribution of Conus sp. shell and localisation of area productions in theAncient Middle East (drawing by L. G. Marcussi).

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