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Grave 5

The stone cover of the sealed burial chamber of Grave 5 (IMTO archive).

Finds F1, F2, F3 in situ (IMTO archive).

Grave 5 at the end of the excavation (IMTO archive).

JS4_Grave 5

Grave 5 is a Wadi Suq grave found on the slope of Jabal Salut, immediately north of G4. At the time of the discoveries the tomb was still sealed, an extraordinary occurrence.
Only the uppermost stones of its small, false dome cover were surfacing above ground, which saved it from robbing. Following the removing of the cover, a small sub-circular burial came to light.

Below an upper fill of in-filled sand, two typical Wadi Suq beakers were discovered (F1, F4), laying above a lower sandy deposit. One of them bears a post-firing graffiti in the form of a cross. Two horizontal lines enclosing a single wavy line, drawn in black painting, decorated both of them just below the rim.

A Vasticardium shell containing a green copper-base powder (F3) was recovered. In this case the use of a compound containing atacamite can be suggested, on the basis of rather abundant comparisons; the shells also appear to be of the same kind as that from Grave 7.

The presence of a fig shell (Ficus variagata, F2) strengthened the hypothesis that this kind of grave was meant to host an infant burial, hypothesis suggested by its small size. Indeed, the fig shell is also known as ‘feeding shell’ due to the fact that it is traditionally used by mothers in this area to supply liquids to baby.

discovering the heart of Oman

Salut Museum

EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL - UNIVERSITA' DI PISA

Grave 5

Photogallery

Salut Museum