WARSAW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that a 4,000-year-old game board has been discovered in the remains of a large building in northern Oman’s Qumayrah Valley by a team of researchers led by Piotr Bieliński of the University of Warsaw's Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. The site, which is located near the village of Ayn Bani Saidah, was situated near the sea and along a trade route. “The board is not a luxury item,” Bieliński said. Its playing fields and cup holes had been “slightly clumsily” hewn into the stone, he explained. Evidence of copper processing, as recorded in cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia, was also found at the site. To read about 2,900-year-old bronze weapons uncovered in Oman, go to "Fit for a War God."
4,000-Year-Old Game Board Discovered in Oman
News January 13, 2022
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2018
Spotting the Sun
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2016
Is it Esmeralda?
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2016
Fit for a War God
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
-
Features November/December 2021
Italian Master Builders
A 3,500-year-old ritual pool reflects a little-known culture’s agrarian prowess
(Ministero della Cultura) -
Features November/December 2021
Ghost Tracks of White Sands
Scientists are uncovering fossilized footprints in the New Mexico desert that show how humans and Ice Age animals shared the landscape
(Jerry Redfern) -
Features November/December 2021
Piecing Together Maya Creation Stories
Thousands of mural fragments from the city of San Bartolo illustrate how the Maya envisioned their place in the universe
(Digital image by Heather Hurst) -
Features November/December 2021
Gaul's University Town
New excavations have revealed the wealth and prestige of an ancient center of learning
(Digital image by Heather Hurst)