2024 Season of the University of Naples L'Orientale at Wādī Banī Khālid. From Excavation to Conservation and Valorisation

Abstract

Since 2019, the University of Naples L’Orientale project at Wādī Banī Khālid has been conducting archaeological research under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT). The main research topics focus on mapping archaeological evidence dating from the prehistory to the Late Iron Age and examining its relationship with the coastal environment, particularly the coastal strip between Bamah and Tīwī. Furthermore, archaeological excavations are focused on the main Iron Age settlement (WBK1) and the newly discovered secondary fort (WBK49). Finally, a conservation and valorisation project, within the framework of the MHT’s efforts to foster a local economy based on sustainable tourism, was launched in 2022, beginning with initial conservation measures and progressing toward the digital valorisation of the archaeological sites.