The Rustaq-Batinah Archaeological Survey

This paper reports on the first two seasons of the multi-period Rustaq-Batinah Archaeological Survey that was begun in 2013 and will continue until 2018. The project is funded by the Anglo-Oman Society and is a collaboration between Sultan Qaboos University, Durham University, and the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture. The aim is to investigate the development of ancient settlement on the Batinah and to try to understand why the archaeological record seems so much poorer here than elsewhere, especially in relation to modern population density and agricultural production. After the first two seasons' fieldwork it has already been possible to demonstrate a much greater density of archaeological evidence than has hitherto been reported. It is also possible to suggest some preliminary trends in settlement density and the intensity of human activity during the past 5000 years.