The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Masirah Island, Oman-2013

This paper presents the results of a collaborative project that aims to characterise the maritime cultural landscape of the Island of Masirah (Fig. 1), south-eastern Oman through a variety of approaches. Maritime cultural landscapes are a relatively new concept within landscapes studies particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. This interdisciplinary paper explores the potential of this approach within the context of a recent preliminary study of the Island of Masirah, southeastern Oman. Masirah Island is known for its extended occupation and rich archaeological record and in particular its intensive use of marine resources from the Neolithic period until the modern day. Masirah was known as an island of fish-eaters, mollusc gatherers and turtle hunters and it had a role in trade on a local and international scale for millennia (Shanfari 1987,
Charpentier 2013).