Pre-Islamic recent period

The Recent Pre-Islamic Period (période préislamique récente, abbreviated PIR) is an archaeological assemblage which is manifest in the few centuries around the year 0 in the lower Persian Gulf.

Aside from so-called balsamaria few pottery finds are held in common with the Late Iron Age known at Samad al-Shan in central Oman.

At the end of 2015 a monumental tomb in Area F at Mlayha yielded a lime-plaster funerary stele with an Aramaic and Hasaitic bilingual inscription.

It states that the tomb was built by the deceased’s son, mentioning a date and his name, family lineage and function in the service of the "king of ʿmn", Oman.

The rulers also minted coins in billon and silver with legends such as Abiʾl son of Bgln which boldly proclaim their political independence in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the age.