Raʾs al-Jinz ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْجِنْز) or ''Raʾs al-Junayz'' ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْجُنَيْز), located in Ash-Sharqiyyah South Governorate,

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, is the easternmost point of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a nesting site for

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s, as also is the beach at the local village of

Ras al Hadd Raʾs al-Ḥadd ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْحَدّ) is a village in Ash Sharqiyah district in Oman. It is on a point at the entrance to the Gulf of Oman. The region is served by Ras al Hadd Airport. Geography Al Hajar Mountains are located to th ...

. It is home to a well-known turtle reserve. Important archaeological discoveries have also been made at this site, demonstrating connections to the

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kash ...

in ancient times.

Bronze Age harbour

At Ras al-Jinz, since 1985, a Bronze Age (approximately 2200 to 1900 BC) harbour site has been excavated by a Franco-Italian team. There was a large mudbrick building with seven rooms. These rooms opened onto a corridor. The building seems to have served as a manufacturing workshop. There is evidence of processing of shellfish, turtle shell, flint, and the cosmetics, which was extracted from magnesium ore. Among the finds, about 20% of the ceramics came from the Indus Valley culture. There were also ceramic fragments inscribed with the

Indus script The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not they constituted ...

symbols. Among the Indus wares, large ceramic jars were found in Oman. Their presence at Ras Al Jinz is seen as a clear indication of overseas trade. Thus, during the 3d millennium BCE, Oman must have been part of a great trading systems linked with the Indian Ocean. These jars as interpreted as cargo-shipment containers for dry goods being transported over water.

Remains of boats

The discovery of impressed

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

fragments and slabs at the site provides information on procedures for reed and wooden boat construction. These objects are dated to the mid-3d millennium BCE. The bitumen pieces carry traces of ropes, reed mats, reed bundles and other details of boat construction. Many of them are also encrusted with sea

barnacle A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive ...

s. Based on these finds, a mid-3rd millennium 12-m long boat replica was built and tested. These are the indications that this was a Bronze Age port serving the ships from the Indus Valley. Ras al-Jinz still remains an important landmark for merchant ships coming from Pakistan and India.

Metallurgy

Copper smelting and metal working workshops dating to 3000-1200 BCE have also been discovered.

Gallery

Image:green_trurtle_at_ras_al_jinz_oman.JPG, Beach File:green_trurtle_at_ras_al_jinz_oman_detail.JPG, Females laying eggs Image:green_trurtle_at_ras_al_jinz_oman_hatchling.JPG, Freshly hatched young Image:Baby Chelonia mydas 20060319.jpg, hatched

Green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range ...

References

External links

lonelyplanet.com
{{coord, 22.4238, 59.8385, type:landmark_region:OM, display=title Populated places in Oman Archaeological sites in Oman