Abstract
With over 1700 km of coastline, the inhabitants of Oman have had a deep and enduring relationship with the sea for millennia. Located between the Arabian Gulf and the western Indian Ocean, its fishermen have relied on the sea for sustenance. Its mariners were involved in developing long-distance maritime trade from at least the Bronze Age and continued sailing the monsoonal trade routes well into the twentieth century. Periodically, its rulers have established maritime polities extending to Zanzibar and the Makran coast, creating sea-based migrations in the process. With such a rich and enduring seafaring past, it is therefore not surprising that the modern nation-state of Oman has had an active interest in studying and preserving its MUCH.
This chapter explores the historical sources, archaeological finds and experimental activities that have allowed researchers to understand Oman’s maritime past and contribute to its current efforts to conserve and showcase its rich maritime connections.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agius, D. (1999). Medieval Qalhat: Travellers, dhows and stone anchors in south-east Oman. In H. P. Ray (Ed.), Archaeology of seafaring: The Indian Ocean in the ancient period (pp. 173–220). Delhi: Pragati Publications.
Agius, D. A. (2002). In the wake of the dhow: The Arabian Gulf and Oman. Reading: Ithaca Press.
Agius, D. A. (2005). Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman: People of the dhow. London: Kegan Paul.
Agius, D. A. (2008). Classic ships of Islam: From Mesopotamia to the Indian Ocean. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
Al-Ghaylani, H. H. (2006). Al-Ta’rikh al-milahi wa-sina‘at al-sufun fi madinat Sur al-‘Umaniyya. Muscat.
Al-Ghaylani, H. H. (2016). Asyyad al-bihar. Muscat.
Al-Izkawi, S. S. (2013). In M. H. Salih & M. M. al-Salimi (Eds.), Kashf al-ghumma al-jami‘ fi akhbar al-umma. Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Al-Khaduri, J. A. (2012). Al-Bahriyya al-‘Umaniyya ‘abr al-zaman majd talid min ta’rikh ‘Uman. Muscat.
Al-Salimi, N. D. A. (2013). Tuhfat al-a‘yan bi-sirat ahl ‘Uman. Muscat: Maktabat al-Istiqama.
Al-Salimi, A., & Jansen, M. (Eds.). (2016). Portugal in the Sea of Oman: Religion and politics. Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Al-Salimi, A., & Staples, E. (Eds.). (2017a). Oman: A maritime history: Volume 9 in the studies on Ibadism and Oman. Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Al-Salimi, A., & Staples, E. (Eds.). (2017b). The ports of Oman: Volume 10 in the studies on Ibadism and Oman. Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Anonymous. (1995). Oman in history. London: Immel Publishing.
Belfioretti, L., & Vosmer, T. (2010). Al-Balid ship timbers: Preliminary overview and comparisons. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 40, 111–118.
Bhacker, M. R. (1994). Trade and empire in Muscat and Zanzibar: The roots of British domination. London/New York: Routledge.
Bhacker, M. R., & Bhacker, B. (2004). Qalhat in Arabian history: Context and chronicles. Journal of Oman Studies, 12, 11–55.
Blue, L., Al-Jawhari, N., Staples, E., Giorgio, L., Croce, P., Ghidoni, A., Al Busaidi, A. N., & Belfioretti, L. (2014). Maritime footprints: Examining the maritime cultural landscape of Masirah Island, Oman, past and present. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 44, 53–68.
Burningham, N. (2007). Baghla, Ghanja and Kotia: Distinguishing the Baghla from the Suri Ghanja and the Indian Kotia. The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 36(1), 91–111.
Carter, R. (2012). Watercraft. In D. T. Potts (Ed.), A companion to the archaeology of the Ancient Near East (pp. 347–371). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Cleuziou, S., & Tosi, M. (1994). Black boats of Magan: Some thoughts on Bronze Age water transport in Oman and beyond from the impressed bitumen slabs of Ra’s al-Junayz. In A. Parpola & P. Koskikallio (Eds.), South Asian Archaeology 1993: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference of South Asian Archaeologists held in Helsinki University 5–9 July 1993: Volume II (pp. 745–761). Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
Costa, P. (1979). The study of the city of Zafar (Al Baleed). Journal of Oman Studies, 5, 111–150.
Donaldson, W. J. (1979). Fishing and fish marketing in northern Oman: A case study of artisanal fisheries development. PhD diss., University of Durham.
Dziamski, P., & Weismann, N. (2010). Fatah al-Khair: Oman’s last ghanja. Muscat: Al Roya Press.
Flecker, M. (2000). A 9th-century Arab or Indian shipwreck in Indonesian waters. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 29, 199–217.
Flecker, M. (2011). A ninth-century Arab Shipwreck in Indonesia. The first archaeological evidence of direct trade with China. In Shipwrecked (pp. 100–119). Singapore: Smithsonian Institute.
Floor, W. (2006). The Persian Gulf: A political and economic history of five port cities, 1500–1730. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers.
Floor, W. (2014). Dutch-Omani relations, a commercial and political history 1651–1805. Washington DC: Mage Publishers.
Ibn Majid, A. (1993). In H. S. Shihab (Ed.), Al-Nuniyya al-kubra ma‘a sit qasa’id ukhra. Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Ibn Raziq, H. M. (2001). Al-Fath al-mubin fi sirat al-sadat al-Bu Sa‘idiyyin. ‘Abd al-Man’am‘Amir (Ed.). Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Mearns, D.L., Parham, D., & Frohlich, B. (2016). A Portuguese East Indiaman from the 1503 Fleet of Vasco da Gama off Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman: an interim report. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1095-9270.12175.
Nicolini, B. (2004). Makran, Oman and Zanzibar: Three-terminal cultural corridor in the western Indian Ocean (1799–1856). Translated from Italian by P.J. Watson. Leiden & Boston: Brill.
Outram, A. K. (2008). Introduction to experimental archaeology. World Archaeology, 40(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438240801889456.
Reynolds, P. J. (1999). The nature of experiment in archaeology. In A. F. Harding (Ed.), Experiment and design: Archaeological studies in honour of John Coles (pp. 156–162). Oxford: Oxbow.
Risso, P. (1986). Oman and Muscat: An early modern history. London/Sydney: Croom Helm.
Rougeulle, A., Creissen, T., Ihr, A., Joyard, A., Bernard, V., Renel, H., Barge, O., & Regagnon, E. (2010). The Qalhat project, preliminary report on the third season of excavations of the French mission (30/10 – 17/12/2010). Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Rougeulle, A., Creissen, T., & Bernard, V. (2012). The great mosque of Qalhāt rediscovered. Main results of the 2008–2010 excavations at Qalhāt, Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 42, 341–356.
Severin, T. (1983). The Sindbad voyage. Norwalk: the Easton Press.
Sheriff, A. (2010). Dhow cultures of the Indian Ocean: Cosmopolitanism, commerce and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press.
Shihab, H. S. (2000). Min ta’rikh bahriyya ‘Uman al-taqlidiyya. Muscat: Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Staples, E. (2013). An experiment in Arab navigation: The Jewel of Muscat passage. In A. R. Constable & W. Facey (Eds.), The principles of Arab navigation (pp. 47–60). London: Arabian Publishing.
Vosmer, T. (1997). Indigenous fishing craft of Oman. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 26(3), 217–235.
Vosmer, T. (2001). Building the reed-boat prototype: Problems, solutions, and implications for the organization and structure of third-millennium shipbuilding. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 31, 235–240.
Vosmer, T. (2004). Qalhāt, an ancient port of Oman: Results of the first mission. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 34, 389–404.
Vosmer, T. (2007). The development of maritime technology in the Arabian gulf and western Indian Ocean with special reference to Oman. PhD diss., Curtin University of Technology.
Vosmer, T. (2011). The Jewel of Muscat. Reconstructing a ninth-century sewn-plank boat. In Shipwrecked (pp. 121–135). Singapore: The Smithsonian Institute.
Vosmer, T. (2017). Qalhat and Sur. In A. Al Salimi & E. Staples (Eds.), The ports of Oman: Volume 10 in the studies on Ibadism and Oman (pp. 117–140). Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Vosmer, T., Belfioretti, L., Staples, E., & Ghidoni, A. (2011). The Jewel of Muscat project: Reconstructing an early ninth-century CE shipwreck. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 41, 411–424.
Weismann, N. (1998). The cargo-beden Al-Khammam. The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 27(3), 237–257.
Weismann, N., Staples, E., Ghidoni, A., Dziamaski, P., & Haar, L. (2014). The battīl and zārūqah of Musandam, Oman. The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 43(2), 413–425.
Wilkinson, J. C. (2009). The Imamate tradition of Oman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (reprint of original 1987 edition).
Wilkinson, J. C. (2010). Ibāḍism: Origins and early development in Oman. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilkinson, J. C. (2013). Water and tribal settlement in South-east Arabia: study of the aflaj of Oman. Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg Olms Verlag. (reprint of original 1977 edition).
Zarins, J. (2007). Aspects of recent archaeological work at al-Balid, (Zafar), Sultanate of Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 37, 309–324.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Staples, E. (2020). Maritime Heritage in the Sultanate of Oman. In: Parthesius, R., Sharfman, J. (eds) Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Management on the Historic and Arabian Trade Routes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55837-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55837-6_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-55836-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-55837-6
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)