The cultural significance of the architecture of the Umm an-Nar culture tombs (2700–2000 BCE) in the Omani Peninsul

Abstract

Umm al-Nar tombs considered one of the most significant architectural landmarks of that period. Despite the diversity and variation in the plan and size of the tombs, they are considered homogeneous in their architectural style and components spread across the Omani Peninsula. These tombs distinguished by a special architectural system that differed from the rest of the other buildings mainly by their external appearance. The builder of these tombs made a great effort to highlight the external appearance of the tomb, which was represented by the using limestone in its construction, which was used exclusively in the construction of the external wall and was never used in other buildings. The external wall of the tomb was also decorated with carving reliefs on the limestone, represented human, animal, plant and symbolic shapes. It is believed that the insistence of the builders of these tombs to display them differently from the rest of the buildings was not only to distinguish them from other buildings, but rather their focus on the aesthetic factor is an important element in the display. After studying and analyzing the cultural connotations of the different architectural elements of the tomb, it becomes clear that the architecture of the tombs represents in general an icon of the architecture of the Umm al-Nar culture and its crown.

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