“Arabia is no longer an empty space on the map but an antique and civilized land whose secrets are slowly being revealed to successive generations of questing archaeologists”

(Words of Sir Terence Clark in the Preface to the Journal of Oman Studies, Vol XII)

Theses such as Huntington’s “Clash of Civilisations” have revived the belief in the value and benefit of area studies. Oman, as part of the Middle East region, and as an important stop-over in ancient trade routes, has managed to sustain the interest in its history and archaeology through several expeditions over the last three decades.

The Journal of Oman Studies (JOS) has contributed significantly to the documentation of Oman’s heritage and Volume XII stands as a testimony to this fact. The JOS which was launched in 1975 as a vehicle for archaeologists, historians and naturalists to publish academic articles, is published by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, with generous support from The Historical Association of Oman and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This volume has been dedicated to the proceedings of the Conference “Historic Oman: Culture, Contacts, Environment”, which was held at the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum in London 17-19th July 2000. The Conference was organized by the Anglo-Omani Society in London, in association with the British Museum and the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture (now Ministry of Heritage and Culture).

Volume XII contains 16 well-illustrated articles of varying length and covers a diverse selection of interest areas including the history of archaeology in Oman, incense trade routes, early fishing practices, history of coastal environment, architecture, natural history, geography, history of urbanized dwellings etc. The Preface to this volume contains the concluding remarks delivered by Sir Terence Clark, the Chairman of the Anglo-Omani Society, at the aforementioned Conference, which sets the stage for the topics addressed by the articles.

Of the 16 articles published in this volume, a few stand out due to either their significance, length or personal interest. Beatrice de Cardi’s article on “British Archaeology in Oman: The Early Years” narrates Cardi’s experience and reveals the archaeological potential in the Sultanate. The old saying that a country is a gift of its geography comes across manifestly clear in Alessandra Avanzini’s article on incense routes and pre-Islamic kingdoms in Arabia. Perhaps the most colourful article in the volume is Paolo Costa’s on “The Great Mosque at Qalhat”. Qalhat is today a small fishing village about 22 kms north of Sur. It is a “place of ancient origin, known to classicial geographers and also famous in Omani historical traditions as the terminus of the most important migration of Azd tribes from the Yemen, some 2,000 years ago”. Visited by famous travellers such as Ibn Battuta, Qalhat stands today in ruins offering some explanation as to the rise and fall of trade in this corner of Arabia. This article and Stephen Kite’s article on Oman’s traditional architecture, provide a good account of Omani architectural features, and their evolution as influenced by Islam and other nations met by Omanis in their naval expeditions.

Michael Gallagher’s article on Juzor al-Hallaniyat is by far the longest in this volume. The extent of details of Gallagher’s “observations” on the natural history and landscape of the islands justifies its length. It acts almost as a field guide for visitors to the islands, with descriptions of the geography, climate, flora and fauna, and most importantly its historical account of settlement activities on the islands. Tim Mackintosh-Smith’s article analyzing the origins of the name of the islands dovetails very well with that of Gallagher, and brings to life the significance of local dialects in understanding names of places and the history behind them.

It is worth noting here that the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century was referenced in many of the articles. The aforementioned book, written around 50AD, acts as a navigational atlas describing important towns, cities, ports and anchorage harbours between Roman Egypt, the Horn of Africa, South Arabic and India. Map readers would find this book very valuable in identifying present-day places in the Gulf and Arabia on old maps.

Volume XII of the Journal of Oman Studies (ISSN 0378-8180) is a “must compendium” for all readers interested in the history of Oman. It has been edited well and provides good reading material, useful bibliography and, most importantly, good contacts for any further research.

Available at RO 5.000 per copy from the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (e-mail: da@mnhc.gov.om or fax: 00968.602735) or from the Historical Association of Oman (e-mail: wardah@omantel.net.om ). Members of the association can purchase the book for discounted price of R.O. 3.00 per copy.