Palaeoenvironmental signals in ancient urban settings: the heavy rainfall record in Sumhuram, a pre-Islamic archaeological site of Dhofar (S Oman)

A case study of an archaeological section in the pre-Islamic town of Sumhuram (third century bc-fifth century ad; Dhofar, S Oman) is presented. Sedimentological and palynological data have been integrated with the aim of finding signals of natural processes within an urban context. Two main types of deposits alternate in the section: anthropogenic (AD) and waterlain (WD). The presence of laminated sediments within the WD deposits, suggesting short-term street flooding from heavy rainfall, encouraged the development of a targeted palynological sampling strategy. The results of the pollen analysis in these laminated sediments, e.g. high pollen concentrations (particularly of wet environment plants), clumped pollen grains, long distance pollen grains, and overall good state of preservation, suggest a stronger monsoonal influence than the present and high precipitation in S Oman between 204 bc and ad 130