Estudio mineralógico, químico y textural de materiales y elementos arqueológicos en asentamientos de la Edad del Hierro del oasis de Al Madam: Emirato de Sharyah, EE.AA.UU

Using standard mineralogical and petrographical techniques, mudbrick samples, grindstones, door socket stones, green vessel fragments and slags from Iron Age settlements have been studied. Natural samples collected in the neighbour Wadi Yudayyah have also been analysed. The most abundant minerals in mudbricks are carbonates, mainly calcite, which is also predominant in the wadi sediments. Some textural differences in mudbricks from phase I and II of construction have been recognized. The analysis of grindstones and door socket stones point out to igneous rocks (peridotite, gabro) and carbonates, respectively. The source of peridotite and carbonate is in the near Jabel Buhais, whilst, gabbro and olivine gabbro rocks they are prohahly from the Mountains of Oman ophiolitic complexes. This last unit or even a more remote region might he the source of green vessels, their composition, almost pure chlorite, is uncommon in the zone. Thermal transformations experimented hy one of the fragment of vessel and by the slags of the copper melting show the pelformance of temperatures higher than 800oC.