Salut, ST1, main ditch (US55)
Muscat, Office of the Adviser to HM the Sultan for Cultural Affairs
Soft stone (chlorite); H 2.5, W 2.5, Th 0.5
Bronze Age: 2300-2000 BC
 
This stone square stamp seal is probably the best example of an Indus-inspired seal found so far in Oman. Seals with its characteristics became common in the Indus Valley during the last centuries of the 3rd millennium, a date that perfectly fits ST1 chronology. Although the scene is typically Harappan, and the script as well, a few details, currently under study, could suggest that it was made in Oman, possibly by an Indus craftsman or by a trained local carver. Moreover, the seal was carved in local chlorite, the same material of the widely diffused southeast Arabia stone vessels. (MdE)