Döpper, S. (2020), Der Wadi Suq-zeitliche Siedlungsplatz von Tawi Said im Zentraloman: Bericht über den Survey 2018, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 152, 5-27

Abstract

In November 2018, a survey was conducted at the site of Tawi Said, which
is located at the edge of the Sharqiyah desert in the Sultanate of Oman and
was discovered in 1976 by Beatrice de Cardi. An area of 150 × 125 m was
field-walked. All surface finds were collected and their position recorded with
a hand-held GPS device. Nearly 8,600 objects were documented, the majority
of them pottery sherds. Other finds include sea shells, chipped stone tools,
copper production waste, jewellery and three fragments of chlorite vessels.
The most interesting objects from the survey are two stamp seals, one of them
resembling Dilmun style seals. Most of the pottery can be dated to the Late
Islamic period, but a significant amount in the centre of the survey area dates
to the Middle Bronze Age (Wadi Suq period, c. 2000–1600 BC), confirming
an early assessment of the site by Beatrice de Cardi as the only settlement site
of the Wadi Suq period so far known in central Oman. The far-reaching connections of Tawi Said in the Middle Bronze Age are testified by the presence
of Indus pottery sherds as well as by the seal in a Dilmun affiliated style, and
for the Late Islamic period by the large quantities of sea shells. One reason
behind the choice of the location near the desert might be connected to copper
production as other important metal working sites like Saruq al-Hadid (United
Arab Emirates) and ʿUqdat al-Bakrah are also located in the marginal desert
environment of the Rub al-Khali. All of this demonstrates the high potential
of the site for future research.