Muscat – The French National Centre for Scientific Research, in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, has announced the discovery of two water channels dating back to the early Islamic era at the archaeological site of Al Arid in Ibri, Dhahirah.

The team also unearthed houses dating back to the 3rd millennium BC, with two rooms and multiple sites for lighting fire. The foundations of the houses were built of rocks, while the walls were made of mud bricks.

The site also includes remains of seven towers and close to a thousand tombs dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. These tombs contained skeletons, shards of pottery, and an almost complete jar dating back to the era of Jemdet Nasr in Mesopotamia.

Corinne Castel, head of the archaeological team, said the finds are from the Majan civilisation.

During excavations, tombs containing utensils dating back to the Mesopotamian civilisation were also discovered. “A 100sqm workshop was devoted to copper smelting to make copper tools and weapons, validating Oman’s fame for its copper industries then,” Corinne said.

The team is currently excavating a structure believed to be from the 4th millennium BC at the site.