Bronze Age Cymbals Found in Oman Reveal How Music United Ancient Gulf Cultures!

A remarkable discovery in northern Oman is giving us a fresh perspective on how people connected across the ancient world—and it turns out music may have played a bigger role than we previously thought. A pair of copper-alloy cymbals, dating back to the Bronze Age, is shedding light on cultural exchanges between civilisations like Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

Unearthed in 2018 at Dahwa, an archaeological site linked to the Umm an-Nar culture from the third millennium BCE, these cymbals are the first of their kind to be found in Oman with such clear archaeological context. The discovery has just been featured in the journal Antiquity, with researchers from Sultan Qaboos University leading the study.

Photo Credit: KA, Douglas et al., Antiquity (2025)

At first glance, the instruments look similar to those used in the Indus Valley, but after a close visual inspection and copper isotope analysis, scientists confirmed they were made locally using Omani copper. This not only proves Oman’s metallurgical capabilities at the time, but also adds another layer to our understanding of ancient trade and cultural exchange.

But these weren’t just instruments for entertainment. The cymbals were discovered carefully placed within a significant building—structure S1—at the Dahwa site, suggesting they held ritual importance. This aligns with practices seen in Mesopotamian and Levantine cultures, where music often played a central role in ceremonies and communal gatherings. Some archaeologists even believe the sound of these cymbals might have echoed across the landscape during such events, creating a shared sonic experience that brought people together.

Photo Credit: KA, Douglas et al., Antiquity (2025)

While much of the research on the Bronze Age Persian Gulf has traditionally focused on trade—thanks to the widespread similarities in pottery, beads, tools, and weights—the presence of musical instruments like these cymbals points to deeper cultural connections. Finds at Dahwa and other sites such as Salut and Bat—including Indus-style cookware, etched carnelian beads, terracotta toys, and square ivory weights—support the idea that Indus communities not only traded with but also lived alongside local populations between 2600 and 2000 BCE.

There’s also evidence that these communities were involved in the region’s copper industry, as lead isotope analysis has linked Omani ores to artefacts found in the Indus Valley. But beyond economics, the cymbals offer a more human angle—showing how music, ritual, and perhaps even dance contributed to the formation of early multicultural societies.

As the researchers put it, “The discovery of the Dahwa cymbals encourages the view that, already during the late third millennium BCE, music, chanting, and communal dancing set the tone for mediating contact between various communities in this region for the millennia to follow.”

It’s a beautiful reminder that while trade built connections, it might have been rhythm and ritual that truly brought people together.