Caught between the poles of remembering and forgetting, glorification and neglect, the abandoned mudbrick settlements (?arat) of Oman are a vital object of conflicting processes of interpretation and negotiation. Adopting a diachronic perspective, the multi-disciplinary book's chapters examine their past, present and future. The book presents approaches and results of archaeological, ethnographic, historical and sociological research on abandoned ?arat. Oman's landscape is dotted with abandoned mudbrick settlements and quarters, known as ?arat, either isolated in the countryside or surrounded by vibrant, modern urban centres. Most of them were abandoned during the economic upturn and opening of the country after Sultan Qaboos bin Said came to power in 1970. People's move from traditional mudbrick to modern concrete houses led to the deterioration and decay of the physical substance of the mudbrick buildings. In the face of these conditions, various Omani and international actors have repeatedly warned against the uncontrolled loss of this valuable cultural heritage. The former inhabitants of the mudbrick houses and their descendants have also repeatedly emphasised their emotional attachment to these abandoned places and their personal significance to them. At the same time, others, especially tourists, have glorified the dilapidated state of the ruins as an aesthetically beautiful backdrop for a romanticised vision of the past. This was the starting point for the interdisciplinary research project The abandoned mudbrick settlements of central Oman: Between romanticisation and neglect , funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation as part of the Lost Cities programme between 2020 and 2022, and conducted by the editors of the present volume. It constitutes the proceedings of the closing conference of the project, in which team members present their results and leading experts give their input on inhabited, abandoned and re(dis)covered mudbrick settlements in the Sultanate of Oman. AUTHOR: Stephanie Döpper is Junior Professor for Digital Humanities for Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Würzburg, Germany. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Tübingen in 2015, and conducted postdoctoral research at the Universities of Leiden and Frankfurt on the reuse of tombs in Eastern Arabia and on settlement systems in central Oman. Her research interests include digital archaeology, landscape archaeology, the archaeology of mobility, pottery studies, and mortuary practices. Since 2010 she has been conducting research in the Sultanate of Oman, excavating Bronze Age and Islamic sites in Bat, Al-Ayn, Al-Khashbah and other sites in Wilayat Al-Mudhaybi. 62 colour, 5 b/w illustrations