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Rocks and shards: geoarchaeology and palaeoenvironments of the Al-Rustaq Manaqi Archaeological Complex in north-central Oman Cover

Rocks and shards: geoarchaeology and palaeoenvironments of the Al-Rustaq Manaqi Archaeological Complex in north-central Oman

Geologos
Volume 32 (2026): Issue 1 (May 2026)
By: ,  ,  ,  ,   and    
Open Access
|May 2026
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.

A – Geographical location of the study area (South Batinah Governorate, north-central Oman); B – A 3D-topographic projection of the central Al-Hajar Mountains and adjoining desert plains of the coast of the Gulf of Oman; the Manaqi archaeological locality positioned at the Jabal Akhdar foothills; C – Satellite view of the Wadi Al-Fara valley and the Manaqi Site with the excavated Iron Age structures (1, 2) and the burial tombs (o).

Fig. 2.

A – View of the Manaqi locality and Wadi Al-Fara, seasonally draining waters from the Jabal Akhdar Range; B – Upper Palaeozoic (Permian) – Mesozoic (Triassic) bedrock exposure (Hawasina chert) along the margin of Wadi Al-Fara; C – Erosional cutting along the wadi with exposure of the Pliocene-Quaternary alluvia (field photographs by J. Chlachula).

Fig. 3.

A – Loose blocks of near-vertically exposed, folded low-metamorphic bodies, forming the geological base of the site; B – Hawasina chert used as raw material for the prehistoric (Palaeolithic to Neolithic) tool making; C – Cemented gravel pavement overlying bedrock; D – Coarse-grain sandstone at the base of the Quaternary sedimentary formation defining a major stratigraphical and time disconformity (~200 Ma) in the geological record at Manaqi; E – Unconsolidated imbricated cobble-boulder gravels of a former channel, positioned 10 m above the present wadi; the stones were used for Iron Age constructions (buildings, tombs). Anthropogenic placement of the linearly arranged boulders seen at the base provided a fixing ground support; F – Late Quaternary fluvial/alluvial fan gravity flow facies forming the top surface of the site.

Fig. 4.

Manaqi; Iron Age constructions. A – Stratigraphical section (building S2), showing horizontal and vertical layouts of construction blocks. Some stones were re-used for cairns; B – South wall of building, built from alluvial limestone boulders placed on a mud mortar; the non-weathered stones were brought from the wadi below the site; C – Shallow, circular burial mounds of mixed construction materials adjoining building S1; D – Small Iron Age cairns with vertically placed boulders and metamorphic slabs aligned along a former household wall (S1); E – Arrangement of alluvial boulders forming a bank-attached dam(?) or a pathway to the former Wadi Al-Fara during high-water season; F – Water-dam construction in a subsidiary valley near the site within a relief depression (January 2025).

Fig. 5.

Manaqi; Iron Age archaeological monuments. A – Looted tumuli tombs on the northern site hilltop (Fig. 1C); B – Partly exposed building structure (S1) on the alluvial platform; C – Central building structure (S2) with secondary tombs (2025 excavation).

Fig. 6.

Manaqi; Iron Age constructions. A – Staircase made from regularly worked/cut step blocks and partly naturally pre-shaped bedrock stones; B – Large quadratic sandstone blocks removed and transported from nearby (50 m upslope) vertically exposed bedrock strata in the northern, rocky hill sector; C – Vertically split, hard limestone cobble with an anthropogenically used distal end; D – Grave placed into a small cairn of building S2 with a votive jar. Poor preservation of skeletal remains due to carbonate-rich deposit fill; E, F – Fragments of wheel-made Iron Age pottery of a diverse artisanal quality, and technological processing and performance discarded on present rocky desert surface (January 2025).

Fig. 7.

A – Cross section of Iron Age pottery sample analysed; B – Sample surface area displaying a partly removed fine clayey finish; C – Petrographic image of shale fragments dispersed within ceramic groundmass (CPL) pointing to local provenance of clayey matrix; D – Petrographic view (PPL); red and yellow serpentinite (Serp) fragments and dark red spinel (Sp); E – SEM image in backscattered electron mode (SEM-BSE) with EDS spectrum; a coarse white fragment (arrow) replaced by chlorite; F – Micro-photograph SEM-BSE, spectrum EDS of pottery shard micro-mass within marked area (Table 1) with presence of magnesiochromite.

Fig. 8.

Manaqi Site. A – Petrographic image of a representative sample of the desert sediment (MH7) from the S2 stratigraphic section at −30 cm obtained in plane-polarized light (PPL); B – The same view field in cross-polarized light (CPL). Abbreviations: Ch – chert; Opx – orthopyroxene; Sp – serpentinite; Lm – limestone; Eo – aeolianite.

Fig. 9.

A – Present-day rocky desert with patchy Acacia woods at the archaeological site Manaqi above the dried-up Wadi Al-Fara; B – The aflaj irrigation system following prehistoric irrigation-channel practices; gardens of the Al Hazm Islamic fort (18th century AD) near Al-Rustaq; C – Khabat al-Qadan (White Sands) dunes with an active sand drifting, with the Al-Hajar Mountains in the background.

Fig. 10.

Manaqi Site subfossil pollen from culturally significant archaeological strata. A – Asteraceae; B – Rosaceae; C – indeterminate; D – Acacia sp.; E – indeterminate; F – Chenopodiaceae; G – Poaceae; H – Pinaceae; I – Microscopic fragments from Semail Ophiolite (analysis by L. Savelieva).

Semi-quantitative chemical composition of pottery sherd micro-mass (see Fig_ 6F)_

ElementWeight [%]Atomic [%]Oxide FormulaOxide [%]
O47.69 S63.32 –
Mg2.682.34MgO4.44
Al8.616.78Al2O316.26
Si30.5423.10SiO265.34
K2.441.33K2O2.94
Ca2.451.30CaO3.43
Fe4.301.64Fe2O36.15
Ba1.290.20BaO1.44
Total100.00100.00 100.00
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/logos.2026.32.geo03 | Journal eISSN: 2080-6574 | Journal ISSN: 1426-8981
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Language: English
Page range: 1 - 24
Submitted on: Feb 10, 2026
Accepted on: Mar 3, 2026
Published on: May 30, 2026
Published by: Adam Mickiewicz University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
Hajar Mountains,
Quaternary,
climate change,
desert,
wadi,
geoarchaeology,
prehistory,
occupation
Related subjects:
Geosciences,
Geophysics,
Geology and mineralogy,
Geosciences, other

© 2026 Jiri Chlachula, Mohamed Hesein, Guillaume Gernez, Khaled Douglas, Jacek Michniewicz, Nasser Al-Jahwari, published by Adam Mickiewicz University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 32 (2026): Issue 1 (May 2026)
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