Hayl (pl. huyul), a specific landscape form in the Al-Hajar Mts (SE Arabia)
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | The paper serves as an introduction to a promising, yet understudied landscape type of the southeastern Arabian Peninsula: the many small-sized sediment-filled karst depressions (locally called huyul, sg. hayl) found in various parts of the Al-Hajar Mts (Oman; United Arab Emirates). With their “coat” of fine sediment, these features can hold back humidity on the surface of fissured limestone/dolomite formations. Plugged with alluvially deposited aeolian silt, huyul seem to be a specific of the (immature) karst of arid countries like Oman, and a great asset. (Conversely, in areas with copious rainfall and mature karst, analogous deposits would be washed from the rock surface, as is observable in some areas of the Balkans). The episodically moisturized sediment flats must have been vital footholds for lifeforms in the erosional landscape of the Al-Hajar Mts, and no less so for the prehistoric visitors (lithic finds at the intermountain site Hayl Ajah at ca. 1000 m a.s.l. in the area of Jebel Kawr). Although open-air features, huyul of northern Oman offer unique opportunities for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic research, as has been proven by the case of a karst depression in Eastern Al-Hajar Mts (Maqta). Additionally, the preliminary archaeological research at the Hayl Ajah site HA-1 showns that good archaeological evidence may also be found inside the fill of a hayl. The paper will refer mainly sedimentological and geoarchaeological information. |
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