Copper Ingots from the Early Bronze Age Unearthed in Oman

German archaeologists unearthed 4,300-year-old copper ingots in the city of Ibra in the North Sharaqiyah Governate of Oman. 

Irini Biezeveld and her doctoral research colleague Jonas Kluge have been staying in the country for six weeks under the supervision Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

Their aim was to date the several settlements found in Ibra, instead, they came upon three copper ingots in the shape of a round cone.

However, researchers accidentally left the ingots behind after they abandoned their work at the settlement. 

Nonetheless, Biezeveld and Kluge dated the settlements in Ibra to the Early Bronze Age (about 2600-2000 BC). During this time period, the territory of present-day Oman was a significant producer of copper for ancient Mesopotamia.

Through this discovery, researchers can learn about Oman's role in interregional trade relations during the Early Bronze Age.

 Many pottery sherds of 'black-slipped jars', large storage vessels of Indus culture,  were also found in the settlements in Ibra, which imply that the settlement was in close contact with the Indian subcontinent during the Early Bronze Age.