Kalba: Basic research on Bronze Age trade networks and resource management strategies

Around 5,000 years ago, we can attest the first evidence of far-reaching trade networks reaching from the Indus region to the Aegean Sea. Since 2019 the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) has therefore been conducting excavations on the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula to research these early trade routes. In addition to land routes, maritime waterways appear to have played an important function. This is evidenced by numerous sites at important junctions of possible routes, where objects made of exotic raw materials (e.g. carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold) are found. Presumably, the Gulf region already served as a mediator between East and West about 5,000 years ago.

Research goal

The focus of the basic research is, on the one hand, the continuation of the excavations, the establishment of a solid chronological framework through radiocarbon dates and the reconstruction of the prehistoric environmental conditions (by archaeobotany, archaeozoology, marine reservoir effect). On the other hand, investigations into the possible local production of elaborately manufactured finished products, such as beads made of semi-precious stones or stone vessels, from raw materials deposits in the UAE are to be continued. The research should contribute to provide insights into the daily life of the settlement inhabitants and their raw material procurement strategies as well as interaction radii. Finally, the data generated will be used to clarify the question of whether the coastal find site of Kalba was not only a trading centre but also a production centre of regional or even supra-regional importance due to its geostrategic location.

Methodology

A key site for answering important socio-economic questions, such as prehistoric resource management and early supra-regional trade networks, is the coastal site of Kalba (Emirate of Sharjah) on the Gulf of Oman, which was settled from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age (c. 2500–600 BC). Kalba is currently being investigated by an international team of experts from the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI) of the OeAW and the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) in Mainz, together with the Archaeological Authority of the Emirate of Sharjah (SAA), in order to integrate the results into broad studies on early networks.

Of particular interest are the spectacular prehistoric walls of a monumental tower from the late 3rd millennium BC, the Umm an-Nar culture, which were excavated to a depth of about 7 m below the surface level and were certainly visible from faraway in the past. Imports originating from Mesopotamia, present-day Iran and the Indus region suggest that the site was already a trading junction in an extensive economic network more than 4,000 years ago. The research suggests that copper, but also high-quality chert and semi-precious stones such as agate and carnelian, may have served as trade goods. The scientific analyses of the archaeological finds carried out so far prove that raw materials reached the coastal settlement from more than 50 km away from the hinterland via caravan routes through the Hajar Mountains and were probably exported by ship.