Oman - Cultural Landscape of Bisya & Salut and its Archaeological Remains

In the vicinity of Bisya, approximately 30 kilometers south of the historic City of Bahla, two major wadis converge – the Wadi Seyfam to the west and Wadi Bahla to the east. In combination with localized deposits of good agricultural soils, both wadis provided the water necessary for irrigation and enabled, therefore, permanent human settlements to develop. Extensive human settlement in this area dates back to the end of the fourth millennium BC and has continued through to the present, made evident by the large concentration of archaeological sites that still remain to be seen. The establishment of large settlements in the Bronze Age (c.3000-1300BC) and following Iron Age (c.1300-300 BC) would have required the development of locally adapted technologies to make the most of the combined hydrological and sedimentary resources. In addition to the availability of water and soil, the area also had an abundance of stone available for building, which was further supplemented by the local vegetation to provide wood for construction as well as fuel.