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Neolithic stone tool and shell bead production from Maṣīrah and Al‐Ḥallāniyah islands (Oman) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2024-02-27 Rémy Thomas, Rémy Crassard, Jérémie Vosges, Vincent Charpentier
In Oman, many coastal sites dated to the Neolithic have yielded material culture related to ornament manufacture. These sites are the remnants of fishermen occupations, developing an economy mainly based on maritime and mangrove resources. The Omani islands of Maṣīrah and Al‐Ḥallāniyah are both situated in the Arabian Sea. Today, Maṣīrah is located about 20 km from the continent, while Al‐Ḥallāniyah
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Ancient and modern inscriptions in the basalt desert: News from the 2023 season of the Badia Epigraphic Survey in north-east Jordan Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2024-01-23 Ali Al-Manaser, Michael C. A. Macdonald
The Badia Epigraphic Survey (BES) Project was launched in 2015 by Ali Al-Manaser and Michael C. A. Macdonald and, with two gaps, has been conducting annual surveys in the ḥarra of north-eastern Jordan ever since. The 2023 survey, like that of 2018, set out to rediscover the cairns at the border between the ḥarra and the ḥamād at which, in the late 1950s, Professor Fred V. Winnett and Gerald Lankester
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Latin inscriptions from Bāyir (Jordan) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2024-01-17 Pierre-Louis Gatier, Hani Hayajneh
For centuries, the remote site of Bāyir, far to the east in southeast Jordan, in an arid environment, was frequented by nomads watering their herds, thanks to its huge wells. Four Latin graffiti from Bāyir area are published or revised and republished here. They provide new evidence of the visits paid to the place by troops from the Roman army.
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The Jabal al-Yamh and Ḥattā Valley survey (Emirate of Dubai, UAE): GIS tools applied to archaeological survey and research Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Tatiana Valente, Adrián Fernández-Sánchez, Fernando Contreras, Bader Al Ali, Mansour Karim, Hassan Zein
The survey of extensive and topographically irregular landscapes is not easy. Survey teams often must be creative to cover the largest area possible, in a short time, with limited budgets, without losing quality and effectiveness in their work. The use of techniques employing geographic information system (GIS) tools has tremendously improved the efficiency and quality of the surveys. Such techniques
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A Sabaic inscription from Wādī al-Jawf during the Era of Yadaʿʾil Bayyin, son of Yaṯaʿʾamar, King of Sabaʾ Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Mohammed Ali Al-Hajj
This is an analytical study of a new Sabaic inscription probably coming from the town of Naššān in Wādī al-Jawf in northern Yemen. The text of this inscription, which is of a construction/dedicatory and a legal nature at the same time, bans the violation of the properties of Yaqdumʾil son of Ṯawrān, by the people of Ḫawlān and their vassals who had attacked that man's properties by cutting his trees
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The chronology of Julianos Church, Umm el-Jimal, Jordan: AMS radiocarbon dates of its synthronon Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-09-25 Khaled Al-Bashaireh, Susanne Lindauer
An ongoing long debate on the chronology of Julianos Church, Umm el-Jimal, northeast Jordan, started in the early 20th century. It was claimed to be the earliest dated church (ad 344) by an inscription not found in situ. After five decades, it was proven that the inscription was mistakenly associated to the church, and ‘after the start of the fifth century ad’ was suggested as a new date. It is still
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New Byzantine inscriptions from the Land of Moab Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-09-06 Musallam R. Al-Rawahneh, Alexandra de Varax
This study describes seven new Byzantine inscriptions discovered in Moab (Governorate of al-Karak, southern Jordan), which was part of Provincia Arabia and Palaestina Tertia during the Roman Empire. The Byzantine tombstone inscriptions in Moab date from the fifth to the mid-seventh century ad. The inscriptions follow the typical formula of Byzantine Christian epitaphs, including the name of the deceased
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Twelve years of the ‘Arabian Seashores’ project: How the extensive investigation of coastal Oman changed the paradigm of the Arabian Neolithic Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-08-21 Vincent Charpentier, Maria Pia Maiorano, Gregor Marchand, Jérémie Vosges, Federico Borgi
For over a decade, the French mission ‘Archaeology of the Arabian Seashores’ has been exploring the evolution of the Omani coastline, from hunter–gatherers to the rise of complex societies during the crucial passages from the culmination of the Pleistocene to the Early Bronze Age, passing through the Neolithic. The team extensively surveyed the land spreading from the eastern head of Arabia, Ra's al-Hadd
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Mapping spatial patterning of Bronze Age towers in Oman according to water flow accumulation Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-08-15 Smiti Nathan, Michael J. Harrower
Water played an undeniably significant role in the origins of complex societies across the Near East, but political complexity in regions like Southeast Arabia diverges dramatically from the more well-known histories of Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia. Through quantitative analysis, this paper investigates spatial associations between water availability and Umm an-Nar towers in Adh Dhahirah Governorate
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A Palaeo-Arabic inscription from the Ḥismā Desert (Tabūk region) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-07-28 Abdullah Saad Alhatlani, Ajab Mohammad Al-Otibi
The current study discusses a Palaeo-Arabic inscription found in the Ḥismā desert and engraved by a man named ʿAbd Šams, son of al-Muġīrah, who likely belonged to the Qurayš tribe. This inscription is particularly important as it is an addition to the Palaeo-Arabic corpus, as well as the first one in which an attested Palaeo-Arabic opening invocation with the deity's name Allāhumma is mentioned. It
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What can Nabataean Aramaic tell us about Pre-Islamic Arabic? Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-06-13 Benjamin D. Suchard
Nabataean Aramaic contains a large number of loanwords from Arabic. Together with other evidence, this has been taken as an indication that the Nabataeans used Aramaic as a written language only, while a Pre-Islamic variety of Arabic was their spoken language. Based on a comprehensive review of the evidence, however, this article concludes that both Arabic and Aramaic were in spoken use in the Nabataean
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A third century ad rhymed hymn from Yemen: The origins of Arabic poetry and literature? Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-06-06 Werner Daum, Yūsuf b. Muḥammad ‘Abdullāh, Muṭahhar b. ‘Alī al-Iryānī
This article is a tribute to Muṭahhar al-Iryānī and Yūsuf ‘Abdullāh—two of the most outstanding Yemeni savants of all times. Sadly, both are no longer with us. Muṭahhar passed away in 2016, and Yūsuf in 2021. In what follows, I present—through my renderings—their last scholarly achievements. They concern a well-known Sabaean inscription found in 1951 in Mārib. The text is written consecutively and
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Heirloom cylinder seals at Mleiha (Sharjah Emirate, UAE) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-06-06 Bruno Overlaet, Sabah Jasim, Eisa Yousif
Very few cylinder seals are reported from South-East Arabia. This paper reports on two cylinder seals that were found as heirlooms at Mleiha, UAE. The first is a Neo-Assyrian seal with a ritual scene: kneeling worshippers around a tree of life. The second is a seal of local manufacture. The positioning of its image, a human figure holding an Arabian horned viper, is turned 90°, questioning whether
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Lithic and stone industries of Bahra 1, an Ubaid-related site in northern Kuwait Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-05-27 Stefan Karol Kozłowski, Marcin Białowarczuk
Bahra 1 is a large site in the north of the Arabian Peninsula that provided an assemblage of nearly 100,000 lithic artefacts. The whole lithic industry of Bahra 1 represents a set of well-thought-out flint, quartz and stone tools for the mass production of shell jewellery, with only a small share of typical household tools. They mostly relate to the Ubaid tradition with Arabian Neolithic influences
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Documenting Jordan's epigraphic heritage: Preliminary remarks on newly discovered Safaitic inscriptions Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-05-11 Ali Al-Manaser
This paper presents some of the new Safaitic inscriptions that were found in 2022 in one of the branches of Wādī al-Khuḍarī, which is in al-Ḥarrah approximately 35 km to the northwest of al-Ruwayshed (H4). Two of these inscriptions bear an attestation for the verb ṣlb, meaning ‘to crucify’. This is the fourth appearance of that verb in Safaitic inscriptions. The verb is thoroughly discussed in this
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Copper-alloy figurines from Tell Abraq (Umm al-Quwain, UAE) and the circulation of Hellenistic motifs in late pre-Islamic Arabia (300 bc–300 ad) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-05-05 Alexia Pavan, Michele Degli Esposti
Four copper-base figurines recently discovered at the site of Tell Abraq (Umm al-Quwain, UAE) illustrate the circulation of allochthonous artistic motifs across the Arabian Peninsula during the late pre-Islamic period (broadly, 300 bc–300 ad). It is argued that these motifs were adopted by the local communities even in the absence of a full understanding of their genuine meaning and consequently, possibly
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A Bronze to Iron Age fishing economy at Kalbāʾ 4 (Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-04-23 Kevin Lidour, Mark J. Beech, Daniel Eddisford, Carl S. Phillips, Christoph Schwall, Sabah A. Jasim
This paper represents a study of archaeological fish remains retrieved from the excavations conducted by C. S. Phillips between 1993 and 2001 at Kalbāʾ 4 (Emirate of Sharjah, UAE). Kalbāʾ 4 is a major coastal site that was continuously occupied from the Umm an-Nar period to the Iron Age (c. 2700–600 BCE). The site is of particular interest regarding monumental architecture, pottery studies and exchange
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Minaeans in the Mediterranean. Reevaluating two Old South Arabian inscriptions from Delos Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Søren Lund Sørensen, Klaus Geus
Two well-known texts on altars from Delos (RES 3952; M 349) dating to the period after 167 BC attest to contacts between the Aegean and Ancient Yemen. Reexamining these two important inscriptions, this article argues that both were set up by Minaeans. As for the altar bearing inscription M 349, we interpret the Greek inscriptions as later additions, the purpose of which was to inform readers who were
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Patterns of pre-Islamic settlement in the Qumayrah microregion, northern Oman: First results of an archaeological and geological survey Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2023-01-30 Piotr Bieliński, Agnieszka Pieńkowska, Marcin Białowarczuk, Hubert Kiersnowski, Krzysztof Bukowski, Szymon Lenarczyk
The Qumayrah microregion lies in the mountains of northern Oman, roughly halfway between two large oasis settlements—Bat and Hili. It is situated at the crossing of routes leading from the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman into the interior. Results of a previous archaeological excavation and survey confirmed the presence of sites from prehistoric times to the Islamic period in the area. In light of
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Re(dis)covering the recent: Surveying settlements and society in central Oman from the 17th to the 20th centuries Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-12-14 Irini Biezeveld
Mudbrick settlements are a common sight in central Oman and are often attributed to the Yaʿariba and al-Busaydī periods. They have been the subject of study of different projects in the past, providing a good basis for understanding the settlements. This paper will review how the mudbrick settlements have been studied since the beginning of this century and discuss approaches for future research. A
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Survey methods and biases in the Al-Mudhaybi Regional Survey, Sultanate of Oman Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-12-01 Stephanie Döpper
The Al-Mudhaybi Regional Survey uses different methods to reconstruct the diachronic development of the archaeological landscape within a 930 km2 area. This article evaluates the different outcomes of remote sensing, ground-truthing and systematic field-walking of transects regarding the type and chronological range of structures found. Additionally, it considers the impact of the geological background
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An ʿAqaba/Ayla-type amphora in the sultanate of Oman Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-11-29 Paul A. Yule
Antique trade amphorae illuminate a little understood but important find category for Arabia, still in the twilight of publication. Most of the find data lie buried in unpublished work regarding recent excavations at ʿAqaba/Ayla. Recent research has verified mineralogically the origin of these documents and their dating. An example fortuitously found forms the basis of this find note.
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Tribal ties around the cooking fire in South Arabia: Some ethnographic lexical notes Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-11-21 Mohammed A. Atbuosh
This paper reflects on some Arabic terms, previously noted by scholars, of small-scale monument types, which have a symbolic and semantic conflation of ‘cooking fire’ and ‘permanent occupation’, such as raḍfa, jamara, ʾaṯfiya and rabaʿa. The paper discusses more terms that confirm this conflation and widen it to include the concept of tribal protection, as a parallel with the pre-Islamic practice of
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From Dilmun to Wādī al-Fāw: A forgotten desert corridor, c. 2000 BC Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-11-03 Steffen Terp Laursen, Faleh al-Otaibi
There is a lacuna of knowledge on the inland trade routes across Bronze Age central Arabia, which this article seeks to fill based on new evidence from Wādī al-Fāw, Saudi Arabia. Contrary to a common belief that interior Southeast Arabia after the Holocene Humid Phase and until the domestication of the dromedary had turned desolate Badlands, this study offers documentation that during the early Bronze
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Archaeological surveys of a canyon and floodplain in the Tanūf District, North-Central Oman: Optimised methodology and applications Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-10-25 Taichi Kuronuma, Takehiro Miki, Yasuhisa Kondo
The highly-elevated and rugged topography of the Al-Ḥajar Mountains in Northern Oman requires a topographically-optimised survey methodology. To reconstruct the archaeological landscapes in the southern piedmont area of the Tanūf District, we applied a combined ground survey and satellite imagery analysis. In the narrow canyon, we travelled towards visible caves on the cliffs and cairns on the ridges
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Beyond dots with dates: A landscape approach to the Sohar hinterlands Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Bleda S. Düring
Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological
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The nature of third-millennium settlement: The example of al-Tikha (Rustaq) an Umm an-Nar site on the Batinah coast of Oman Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-09-27 William M. Deadman, Derek Kennet, Michel de Vreeze, Nasser S. al-Jahwari
al-Tikha is a mid to large Umm an-Nar (c. 2700–2000 BC) settlement situated near Rustaq at the back of the Southern Batinah coastal plain in the Sultanate of Oman that was discovered (or rediscovered) in 2014. The site is unique because its layout and spatial organisation are very largely (possibly completely) visible on the surface. This includes two separate areas of stone-built housing, a large
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The Harrah's epigraphic heritage: Arabic graffito from the Black Desert in north-eastern Jordan referring to the Umayyad caliph Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-08-24 Abdullah Saad Alhatlani, Ali Al-Manaser
The aim of this article is to republish, reread and interpret an Arabic inscription from the Black Desert, north-eastern Jordan, to shed light on the practice of the dating system used before the Umayyad era, in which the dating of the inscription is linked to a specific event. The inscription was re-discovered by the present authors during the 2019 Badia Epigraphic Survey. It dates to the death of
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The softstone vessels assemblage from the Long Collective Grave 1 (LCG-1) at Dibbā al-Bayah (Sultanate of Oman): A preliminary assessment Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-08-10 Francesco Genchi, Giampiero Tursi
The present contribution aims to provide an overview of the large collection of soft stone vessels and lids coming from the collective tomb Long Collective Grave 1 in the Dibbā al-Bayah funerary complex, along with a brief description and evaluation of the tomb itself. The corpus of material here discussed has been recovered during the 2012 season, and it mainly encompasses the chronological span between
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Kites of AlUla County and the Ḥarrat ʿUwayriḍ, Saudi Arabia Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-08-10 Rebecca Repper, Melissa Kennedy, Jane McMahon, David Boyer, Matthew Dalton, Hugh Thomas, David Kennedy
A comprehensive remote sensing survey of AlUla County in north-west Saudi Arabia has revealed 32 examples of the ancient, stone-built animal traps known as ‘kites’. Noting that most (27) are located on the Ḥarrat ʿUwayriḍ, a satellite survey of parts of that lavafield outside of AlUla County was undertaken, identifying a further 175 kites. These show commonalities with ‘V-shaped’ kites previously identified
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About two seal-impressed jars from Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al-Quwain). New evidence for intercultural networks in the lower Arabian Gulf in the late 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-07-31 Dominika Majchrzak, Michele Degli Esposti
Ongoing excavations at Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al-Quwain, U.A.E.) are revealing new aspects of this multiperiod site, which was occupied from c. 2500 BC to 300 AD. Together with substantial architecture dated to the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, relevant assemblages of archaeological materials are being collected and dated to different phases of the site’s life. Among this material, exceptional is the
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Two new Byzantine inscriptions from El-ʿAynūn (Kerak Governorate; Southern Jordan) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-05-31 Musallam R. Al-Rawahneh, Gonzalo Fontana Elboj
The aim of this paper is to bring to light and edit two Byzantine funerary inscriptions from El-ʿAynūn (Kerak Governorate; Southern Jordan). The first one is perhaps dated in the year 485–486 AD [year 380 EPA]; the second one, although not dated, probably belongs to the same period, ranging between the fifth and the sixth century AD.
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Cave occupations in Southeastern Arabia in the second millennium BCE: Excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf, North-Central Oman Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-05-31 Takehiro Miki, Taichi Kuronuma, Hiroyuki Kitagawa, Yasuhisa Kondo
This paper reports the results of excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf (WTN01) in Wādī Tanūf, North-central Oman. It also provides information on the nonmortuary and nonsedentary activities in central Oman during the Wādī Sūq period (2000–1600 BCE), as the subsistence and social arrangements of this period are the subject of much debate. Previous surveys had discovered a substantial amount of Wādī Sūq pottery
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Exchange networks of the Early Bronze Age Gulf: The imported ceramics from Kalba 4 (United Arab Emirates) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-05-31 Daniel Eddisford
Imported ceramics from Early Bronze Age contexts in southeast Arabia illustrate a complex multidirectional network of material and social interactions at this time. Significant socioeconomic changes that occurred in the Hafit (3200–2800 B.C.) and Umm an-Nar (2800–2000 B.C.) periods have been linked to external demand for copper, which is argued to have stimulated a change in subsistence patterns. Similarly
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Stray cats: Pets or pests? Cats and kittens everywhere in the medieval harbour site of Qalhāt (Oman) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-05-05 Hervé Monchot
The discovery of numerous cat remains, including many kittens, in various buildings (i.e., domestic house, cistern, mosque) of the ancient harbour of Qalhāt in Oman is unique among faunal assemblages in the medieval Arabian Peninsula. In this study, a zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis (ageing, skeletal element distribution, pathologies) is conducted to understand the origin of the cats and
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Characteristics of dried fish stores: Evidence based on an intact pit from Late Islamic Qatar Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-04-30 Lisa Yeomans
Archaeological evidence for the preparation of preserved fish is common. Preserving fish allowed stockpiling of temporary abundance of food created by good catches and seasonal plenty. In traditional societies, the majority of fish caught are preserved for later use rather than consumed fresh. Ethnographic information from southeast Arabia, and the wider region, for the storage of fish provides interesting
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New Nabataean inscriptions from Shkārat el-Faras, north of Petra Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-04-30 Zeyad al-Salameen, Mahmood al-Faqeer
This paper presents two new Nabataean inscriptions found by the authors in Shkārat el-Faras, north of Petra. The paper includes a commentary on the vocabulary and the proper names attested in these two undated inscriptions and sheds light on the different interpretations of the disputed word ptwrʾ, a professional title possibly meaning ‘diviner, augur’, which is attested in both texts.
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The ẓll of ancient Dadān: Ritual and documentary practice Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2022-04-12 Fokelien Kootstra
In and around the site of ancient Dadān (modern-day al-ʿUlā), located in the Northwest of the Arabian Peninsula, many inscriptions are found in the local North Arabian script variety called Dadanitic (6th–1st centuries BC). Many of the Dadanitic inscriptions mention the ẓll ceremony for the main local deity Ḏūġābat, both unique to Dadān. While the ẓll inscriptions are the most common type of monumental
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Sabaeans on the Somali coast Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-11-18 Alessia Prioletta, Christian Julien Robin, Jérémie Schiettecatte, Iwona Gajda, Khaldūn Hazzāʿ Nuʿmān
In 2019, the illegal excavation of an ancient sanctuary on the Somali coast yielded monumental Sabaic inscriptions from approximately the eighth–seventh centuries BCE. The inscriptions, similar in content and script, have shed light on their authors’ origin (Sabaeans presumably from Maʾrib in Yemen), on the location’s cultic nature, and more broadly on Sabaean endeavours to establish an ambitious trade
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A Paleo-Arabic inscription on a route north of Ṭāʾif Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-10-20 Ahmad Al-Jallad, Hythem Sidky
This paper will produce a new edition of the Rīʿ al-Zallālah inscription, discussing in detail its paleographic features and content, and the ramifications it has on our understanding of the linguistic and religious milieu of the sixth–early seventh century Ḥigāz.
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Umm an-Nar settlement pottery from Dahwa 7 (DH7), northern al-Batinah, Oman Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-08-23 Khaled A. Douglas, Nasser S. Al-Jahwari, Sophie Méry, Mohamad Hesein, Kimberly D. Williams
This research focuses on studying the pottery sherds collected in the period 2018–19 from settlement DH7 in the northern al-Batinah region in north-eastern Oman. The material mainly comes from stratified contexts from the largest building at the settlement, building S42, whose function is interpreted as a warehouse. Three main classes of pottery are recognised: The Indus red micaceous ware, the Umm
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Dating the pendant burials of north-west Arabia: First radiometric results from the Khaybar Oasis, Saudi Arabia Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-08-08 Melissa A. Kennedy, Jane McMahon, Hugh Thomas, David D. Boyer, Rebecca Repper, Matthew Dalton, Khalid AlKhaldi
The monumental stone structures of the Arabian Peninsula have been notoriously difficult to date. Due to their visibility in the landscape, they have suffered from extensive robbing and later reuse, which has compromised dating methodologies. In particular, our understanding of when the elaborate “pendants” (also known as “tailed cairns” or “tailed tower tombs”) of north-west Arabia were first constructed
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Ancient South arabian inscription BynM 5: A new interpretation and semitic parallels Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-07-21 Giovanni Mazzini
The subject of this article is the Sabaic inscription BynM 5 and a new interpretation is proposed considering Ancient South Arabian and other Semitic sources. The document is a funerary stela concluding with a curse. It is suggested that this curse reflects a magical belief which can be closely compared to Qur 113, 4. This contributes to shed light on the ancient Arabian magical practices.
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Recent Excavation Results at Sa’ida Village, Failaka Island Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-07-18 Hamed Almutairi
One of the least known, yet extremely important, archaeological sites in Failaka Island, off Kuwait, is Sa’ida village. A joint Gulf mission started excavation in Sa’ida in 2001. The excavations on Hill 1 then exposed the first Friday mosque discovered on Failaka and in the State of Kuwait. The material data revealed that the village dates to the late Islamic period, specifically to the end of the
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Investigating ancient technology and ceramic composition at Al-Khidr site (Failaka Island, Kuwait): Geochemical analyses of Bronze Age pottery by pXRF and thin-section petrographic analyses Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Hasan J. Ashkanani, Branislav Kovár
Pottery assemblages from the site of Al-Khidr on Failaka Island, Kuwait, were analysed in order to reconstruct the chemical composition of Bronze Age wares and to build a mineralogical database of Bronze Age pottery dated from Failaka Periods 1–3B (2000–1650 BCE). A total of 145 ceramic sherds from Al-Khidr, as well as reference groups, were analysed by non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)
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Egyptian Scarabs Discovered on Kuwait’s Failaka Island and Similar Finds from the Gulf Region Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-07-02 El-Sayed Mahfouz, Sultan Al-Duweish, Ahmed Saied
Over the course of the last three decades, Ancient Egyptian scarabs have been discovered on Failaka Island off Kuwait, as well as at other sites in the Arabian Gulf. A scarab is the most expressive amulet of the cultural identity of ancient Egypt, revealing its influence and its cultural diffusion in the ancient world. Therefore, this paper discusses the reasons for the presence of such exotic products
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Set apart from within: Articulated women in commingled tombs from Early Bronze Age Arabia Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-07-01 Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime Ullinger, Alecia Schrenk
The vast majority of individuals who died during the Umm an-Nar period (2700–2000 BCE) of the Early Bronze Age (3200–2000 BCE) in south-eastern Arabia were interred within large communal tombs, and following decomposition, their skeletons became commingled with others. Here, two women are discussed whose skeletons remained articulated – one from Unar 2 at Shimal, and one from Tell Abraq. The Unar 2
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Two inscribed wine amphoras from Thāj, Saudi Arabia Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-06-04 Flemming Højlund, Nicolas Garnier, Peter Stein
Two amphoras found at burials outside the ancient city of Thāj, Saudi Arabia, bear inscriptions mentioning wine. The chemical analysis of the content of one of them confirms the presence of wine and more precisely as red wine. Contextual information from one of the graves suggests that wine was consumed as part of burial rituals. One inscription is in Aramaic and the other is in South Arabian cursive
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Guest editors’ foreword Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-05-30 Julie Bonnéric, Rémy Crassard, Sultan Al-Duwaish
This special issue of Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy is the result of the conference ‘Archaeological Failaka, Recent and Ongoing Investigations’ organised at the National Library of Kuwait by the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL) of the State of Kuwait and the French Research Center of the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA, formerly known as CEFAS) between 26 and 28 November 2019
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In memoriam: Marta Mierzejewska (1984–2020) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-05-24 Rémy Crassard, Julie Bonnéric
During the making of this special issue of Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, we were deeply sorry to learn that one of our dear colleagues working on Failaka passed away on 15 May 2020. Marta Mierzejewska (Fig. 1) participated to the conference in Kuwait City in 2019, and her energy and personality will be remembered by all archaeologists working at Failaka. Her contribution to this issue enlightens
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Al-Khidr site on Failaka Island in the Bronze Age: Pottery perspective Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-05-24 Branislav Kovár, Klaudia Daňová, Karol Pieta
The objective of this article is to evaluate the results of the excavation at the site of Al-Khidr on Failaka Island that was probably a port or a fishermen’s settlement in the past. A very large number of stone architectural remains and artifacts have been discovered there. Al-Khidr is a typical Dilmun culture site and the settlement was probably contemporary with the known sites F3 and F6 located
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Evidence for local, regional and interregional exchange networks on Failaka: Some remarks on late Islamic pottery from Kharaib al-Dasht Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-05-18 Marta Mierzejewska
The site of Kharaib al-Dasht, located on the northern coast of Failaka, is a late Islamic settlement with an extensive fishing infrastructure. It has been excavated since 2013 by the Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission. The ceramic assemblage collected so far exceeds 18,000 fragments. The sherds underwent technological and typological analyses, which demonstrated a wide diversity of local common
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Iconographic and archaeometric studies on the rock art at Musayqira, Al-Quwaiyah Governorate, central Saudi Arabia Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-04-26 Meinrat O. Andreae, Abdullah Al-Amri, Faisal Hamad Al-Jibrin, Abdullah M. Alsharekh
We investigated the rock art (petroglyphs) in the Al-Quwaiyah Governorate (Saudi Arabia) with focus on the Musayqira site. Iconographic analysis showed a broad variety of human depictions, game animals (ibex, ass, ostrich, lion, etc.), domestic animals (cattle, camel, horse, dog, etc.), inscriptions and abstract symbols. Archaeometric measurements by pXRF provided the areal densities of Mn on petroglyphs
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A consideration on the interest of a pottery typology adapted to the late Sasanian and early Islamic monastery at al-Qusur (Kuwait) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-04-13 Rémi Perrogon, Julie Bonnéric
Since 2011, the French–Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka has aimed at defining the function and the chronology of al-Qusur, located in the middle of Failaka Island (Kuwait). The central part of the site appeared to be a monastery, mainly occupied in early Islamic times. The creation of a site-specific pottery typology adapted to this settlement was one of the main objectives of the team. This
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Failaka Island in the Late Islamic Period. Investigations at the fishing village of Kharaib al-Dasht Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-30 Agnieszka Pieńkowska, Marek Truszkowski
The aim of the paper is to present the architectural remains and spatial organisation of the site of Kharaib al-Dasht, a Late Islamic fishing village dating from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In the course of six seasons of excavation, which started in 2013, there was uncovered a part of this extensive site, revealing remnants of a fish processing area, residential architecture and
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The site of Al-Qurainiyah: Topography and phases of an early Islamic coastal settlement on Failaka Island Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-29 Andrea Di Miceli
This paper presents the latest finds from the early Islamic site of Al-Qurainiyah on Failaka Island, Kuwait. Trenches opened to the west of the main late Islamic village led to the identification of residential buildings and a workshop located along the shoreline, while the pottery assemblage suggests a permanent occupation from at least the seventh century CE to the early ninth century CE. The last
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The Middle and Late Bronze Age in Central Oman: New Insights from Tawi Said, Al-Mudhairib and the Wilayat al-Mudhaybi Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-29 Stephanie Döpper
Significant changes in the material culture, subsistence and mode of life are associated with the Middle (c. 2000–1600 BCE) and Late Bronze Ages (c. 1600–1300 BCE) in Eastern Arabia. Since first excavations in the 1970s, research has focused on the United Arab Emirates, where all major sites of this period known to date are situated. This birthed the idea of two different lines of development in the
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From ‘ovoid jars’ to ‘torpedo jars’: Investigations into bitumen-lined transport containers in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean in antiquity (second century BCE–third century CE) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-26 Caroline Durand
Research into bitumen-lined ‘torpedo jars’, widely distributed throughout the Gulf and the Indian Ocean between the third and ninth centuries CE, has developed considerably in recent years, shedding new light on maritime trade connections during the Sasanian and early Islamic periods. Based on pottery finds from Failaka (Kuwait) and Thaj (Saudi Arabia), recently studied by the author, this article
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Late Islamic water collection systems on Failaka Island: Preliminary results of the Kuwait–Georgian Archaeological Mission in 2018–2019 Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-26 Jimsher Chkhvimiani, Vazha Mamiashvili, Nodar Bakhtadze, Eliso Kvavadze
Archaeological investigations on Failaka Island, conducted by the Kuwait–Georgian Archeological Mission, have recorded a variety of sites dating from different time periods, from the Bronze Age to the late Islamic/modern period. The largest proportion of recorded sites consist of late Islamic seasonal settlement structures found in the north-eastern part of the island. It is possible that they were
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Contribution to the geology of Failaka Island, Kuwait: Evidence from sedimentological and petrographic data from the NE part of the island Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Pub Date : 2021-03-22 Rusudan Chagelishvili, George Jaoshvili, Jimsher Chkhvimiani, Hamed Al Mutairi
Kuwait–Georgian archaeological work at Failaka Island showed the need for geological study. Analysis of sediments related to drinking water-collecting cisterns was performed on a Late Islamic settlement (NE part of the island) in 2018. Field sedimentological, grain size and XRD analysis of the sediment profiles showed that the shallow (about 1 m deep) cone-shaped wells are dug in the loose, porous