Seminar for Arabian Studies

Abstracts - 2004 Seminar

The 2004 Seminar for Arabian Studies was held from Thursday 22 July - Saturday 24 July, 2004, at the British Museum, London, U.K.

This event was supported by the MBI Foundation. Visit their website at: www.mbifoundation.com and read details about their sponsorship at http://www.mbifoundation.com/projects/seminar.html




All lectures were held in the Stevenson Auditorium in the Clore Centre within the British Museum. Click here to view the timetable for the 2004 Seminar.

All the abstracts below are for papers which were orally presented at the Seminar, except where otherwise stated.

Abstract

THE NABATAEAN WRITTEN PAPYRI FROM NAHAL HEVER: AS A DIRECT RESOURCE OF THE NABATAEAN LEGAL SYSTEM

The Nabataean written papyri are of great importance hence they provided us with real legal documents. They illustrate new types of the Nabataean legal system and tradition different from those reflected by the tomb inscriptions. These Nabataean papyri contain variety of legal documents, where we distinguish the following subjects: Document of redemption of a mortgage; contracts of sale; lease of land; and act of lease between couples.

All of the papyri including those from Wadi Seyal/Nahal Se'lim have been founded in a cave at Nahal Hever in the Dead Sea region. One of these papyri has been published by J. Starcky in 1954, and another Six Papyri by Yardeni en 2000.

Professor Dr. Yusuf Mohammed Abdullah
(President of the General Authority of Antiquities, Museums and Manuscripts, Ministry of Culture, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen)
Short biography
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Abstract

Archaeological expedition of the AFSM to Marib

The 2004 archaeological expedition of the AFSM in Marib, Yemen turned to be very rewarding. Excavations in the site of the Temple 'Awam (Mahram Bilqis) for more than 2 months brought to light the structures, which have been excavated by the AFSM expedition in 1951/52 that were heavily covered since then by sand dunes.

The new excavation Feb-April 2004 was not only a rediscovery of the site, but also the discovery of huge numbers of South Arabian inscribed stones. The site revealed also new unknown structures o the peristyle Hall of the temple plus more than one hundred new South Arabian inscriptions which may constitute together in situ the most significant discovery in the realm of South Arabian epigraphy. The paper will throw light on the importance of this huge number of Sabaean inscriptions discovered, which might be possibly considered as an ancient Sabaic Library.

Dr. Abdulkareem A. Alghamdi
(Department of Archaeology and Museology, College of Arts, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Short Biography
?

Abstract

GERRHA AND THE CLASSICAL SOURCES

This paper intends to re-examine and re-read the classic (Greek and Roman) sources on Arabia geography in order to reach to new data on Gerrha. In addition, cultural aspects of Qaryat al-Fau will be dealt with as empirical evidence in our approach to verify that Qaryat al-Fau was possibly the city of Gerrha.

Professor Dr Saad A. al-Rshid
(Deputy Minister of Antiquities and Museums, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Short Biography
Professor Dr. Saad A.al-Rahshid was born (1945) in Sabya, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his PhD from the University of Leeds in 1977. He is the former Professor of Archaeology, Chairman of the Dept. of Archaeology and Museology and Dean of the Faculty of Library Affairs at King Saudi University. He is the author of several books and has written many papers on the Islamic archaeology of Saudi Arabia. Books on Darb Zubaydha, Rabadha, Islamic inscriptions in Makkha and Madinah areas are famous contributions to the archaeology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN SAUDI ARABIA

The archaeology of Saudi Arabia has changed greatly during the last two decades. As a result of intensive surveys, excavations and investigations conducted by Saudi archaeologists, thousands of sites have been recorded from all over the country. The horizon of knowledge has now filled, new aspects have been explored and tantalising discoveries have changed the image of Saudi Archaeology from yesterday to today.

The paper shall shed light on recent developments of archaeology in Saudi Arabia and shall talk on the outcome of more recent investigations, discoveries and investigations.

Professor Alessandra Avanzini
(Dipartimento del Scienze Storiche di Mondo Antico, Università degli studi di Pisa, Italy)
Short Biography
see projects and website for publications

Professor Dr Alexander V. Sedov
(Institute of Oriental Studies Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia)
Short Biography
Dr Alexander Sedov gained a PhD in Archaeology from the Moscow State University in 1986 and a Doctorate of Science (history) from the Institute of Oriental Studies Russian Academy of Sciences in 1998. He has extensive field work experience and was field director of the Russian Academy of Sciences archaeological mission to Southern Tajikistan (1972-88), director (Russian side) of the Oxus-exhibition in the Rietberg Museum (Zurich) and in the Museum fur Vulkerkunde (Munich) (1989-90); field director, vice-chief and chief (since 1991) of the Russian Archaeological Mission to the Republic of Yemen; chief (Russian side) of the joint German-Russian archaeological project at Sabir (Republic of Yemen) (1983-2002) and is Chief Archaeologist of the Italian Mission (University of Pisa) to Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman (1999-2002). He is currently Head of the Department of the Ancient East Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

Abstract

STRATIGRAPHY OF SUMHURAM: NEW EVIDENCE

The walled ancient city, known from the inscriptions as Sumhuram, is situated about 45 km east of Salalah on the coast of Dhofar. The function of Sumhuram as an outpost of the Kingdom of ºa¥ramawt associated with the control and protection of the ancient frankincense-bearing region as well as with the incense trade is very clear from the contents of the Hadrami inscriptions found in its ruins and evidenced from the Periplus Mare Erythraeum. The site was explored in early 50-ies and 60-ies by the expedition of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, and since 1995 is under study of the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO) headed by Prof. Alessandra Avanzini. The new excavations gave the possibility to determine the stratigraphy of the cultural deposits of the ancient monument. Four constructional phases connected with three different periods of the building activity on the site were determined. The dating of phases is based on the preliminary analyses of the pottery assemblages and on the number of radiocarbon dates of charcoal samples revealed in different strata. The 1st phase could be placed between the late 4th -early 3rd and the mid-2nd cent. BC. In addition to C14 dates a number of rather diagnostic pottery forms, mostly of the Hadrami origin (the so-called "Late Raybun" pottery if we follow the sequence established for Wadi Hadramawt), and the earliest Hadrami coins such as bronze imitations of Athenian tetradrachms are associated with the layers of this phase. The dating of the 2nd phase is between mid 2nd and late 1st cent. BC. The pottery assemblage includes Mediterranean and Indian imports such as Dressel 2-4 amphorae, Indian Black and Red Wares. The dating of the 3rd phase could be placed between mid 1st and 3rd cent. AD. It should be pointed out, that there is some evidence of the existence of a short period of abandonment between phases 2 and 3. The dating of the 4th phase is between 4th and early 5th cent. AD.

Dr. Khaled Mohamed Azab
(Calligraphy Center, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt)
Short Biography
Dr. Khaled Azab is the Deputy Manager of the calligraphy Center at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, he is a specialist in Islamic archaeology, and has been the director of many projects such as 'the development of Elbatnia and El Darb Elahmar I in Cairo' - these two districts have many Islamic monuments. He is a specialist in Islamic calligraphy and is the director of the project for recording Islamic inscriptions in Alexandria. He will lead a team to document the Islamic writings in Fuwa and Rosetta.

Abstract

RULER'S HEADQUARTERS

This study attempts to explain, in details, the development of the rulers' headquarters architectural trends in the Islamic world since the first Hegira century. Headquarters were characterized by simplicity, represented in great mosques and the ruling houses that were usually located next to them. As a result of the increasing complexity of authority, a radical change in the composition and construction followed. This change reached its peak and was represented in the planning of Cairo and Baghdad. Political legislation scholars considered these two cities to be unique models for rulers' headquarters. Despite the political development that took place in the Islamic world, the emergence of new and different designs of forts as rulers' headquarters was an inevitable result. A good example of the centralization of authority in new forms was especially apparent in Egypt and the Northern Region during the Ayyubid and the Mamluk eras.

These changes call for considering detailed events that took place during the Nineteenth century by introducing palaces and citadels instead of forts such as the Abdeen Palace in Egypt. Divans soon spread everywhere throughout the city after having been limited centers with military fences. In monitoring such changes and transformations, this study attempts to understand the nature of the relationship between authority and architecture.

Dr Soumyen Bandyopadhyay
(School of Architecture & Building Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK)

Short Biography
An architect, who has practised, researched (including funded research) and published on Omani traditional architecture. The initial thrust was provided by fieldwork on Bilad Manah, a central Omani settlement. Subsequently, the work has expanded into the study of architecture's relationship with culture and society in central Oman and into its morphological and typological characteristics. He has been involved in advising ministries and consultants on Omani heritage preservation, management and development.

Visit his website for more details.

Abstract

HARAT AL-'AQR (NIZWA): A KEY SETTLEMENT IN CENTRAL OMAN

The intention of the paper is to describe an important settlement in central Oman, based on recent documentation (2003), and to compare its settlement structure with two other major settlements of the region (Bahla and Manah). Harat al-'Aqr - the core settlement of Nizwa, once the capital of Oman - is contiguous to the formidable Nizwa fort built in the seventeenth century at the confluence of the two wadi-s (Abyad and Kalbu) passing through Nizwa. The entirely walled settlement contains all the important components of a central Omani settlement, yet displays a range of unique characteristics. Its extensive fortification consists of a range of defensive features and bridges across to connect with projecting out towers. The settlement contains three mosques, at least one of which - the Masjid al-Shawadhnah, also known as the Masjid al-Qiblahtayn, dates back to the early days of Islam. The sablah-s or male gathering halls, though small, were quite frequently decorated with scenes evoking Omani trade links (with Zanzibar and East Africa) or the deep-rooted connections with the oasis and the date palm gardens. Decorated ceilings and walls were also the feature of many dwellings in Harat al-'Aqr. Harat al-'Aqr in Nizwa displays a development closely integrated with the date palm gardens, quite unlike the core settlements of Bahla (also known as al-'Aqr) and Manah (al-Bilad), where the settlements will have emerged on open land. The settlement structure suggests that the settlement probably emerged within existing date palm plantation - with Masjid al-Shawadhnah as its focus - resulting in captured pockets of plantation as the settlement expanded. The paper will also attempt to compare the dwelling types found in Nizwa with those in Bahla and Manah.

Diane Barker
(Sydney, Australia)
Short Biography
Diane has been associated with Fujairah Museum (in conjunction with the University of Sydney) since 1996 and has worked at various sites including Sharm, Wadi al-Hayl and Bidyah. She is currently studying the ceramic assemblages from Dibba 76 and Dibba Moraba'a. Diane is a full-time solicitor in Sydney although she plans to commence her PhD in the near future.

Salah Ali Hassan
(Fujairah Museum, Department of Antiquities & Heritage, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates)
Short Biography
Salah is originally from the Sudan. He graduated with a degree in Ancient Archaeology from the University of Baghdad, Iraq in 1986. He joined the Department of Heritage and Archaeology in Fujairah in 1990 as Head Archaeologist. He has worked at the sites of Dibba 76, Mereshid and Qidfa 4. He is also responsible for co-ordinating international teams working in Fujairah.

Abstract

ASPECTS OF EAST-COAST HELLENISM AND BEYOND: LATE PRE-ISLAMIC CERAMICS FROM DIBBA 76 AND DIBBA MORABA'A, FUJAIRAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Although excavations in Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) have produced large collections of ceramics dating from the third millennium BC onwards, only a relatively small amount of material dating to the Late Pre-Islamic period has been found. However, significant collections of pottery dating to this era have been recovered from the sites of Dibba 76 and Dibba Moraba'a on the north coast of Fujairah.

Dibba 76 consists of two adjacent second millennium BC tombs situated in the modern town of Dibba. Whilst a majority of the finds from the 1993 excavations date to the Wadi Suq and Iron Age periods, a significant corpus of the ceramic material dates to the Late Pre-Islamic period. Finds include the distinctive "lotus bowl" shape paralleled in Iranian/Achaemenid contexts, dual-handled green-glazed amphorae and small, glazed piriform flasks.

A small corpus of vessels dating to the Late Pre-Islamic period was also accidentally discovered in a Wadi at Moraba'a, a town west of Dibba, in 1998. The collection consists of four complete vessels namely, three small jars and a flaring-rim bowl in the Achaemenid tradition.

Taken together, the material contributes significantly to the existing corpus of Late Pre-Islamic ceramics of Fujairah. In particular, the size of the Late Pre-Islamic assemblage from Dibba 76 - the largest yet discovered on the east coast - is notable. Whilst the study of the Late Pre-Islamic ceramics from each site is still in its formative stages, the significance of the material cannot be understated. The paper will present a general outline of each collection with particular emphasis placed on vessel shape (being, as it is, perhaps the most useful means available for dating material from unstratified contexts). A more holistic analysis will then be conducted with a view to placing the various shapes represented in each assemblage within the existing framework of ceramic forms from other Late Pre-Islamic sites, both in the U.A.E. and further afield.

Dr Mark Beech
(Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
Short Biography
Since October 2002, Mark has been Senior Resident Archaeologist for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS), based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. He completed his PhD at the University of York in 2001. His research examined fishing and marine resource exploitation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from the Neolithic to Islamic period. This thesis has recently been published by BAR in their International Series. Click here for more details. Visit his website for more details.

Richard Cuttler
(Birmingham Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK)
Short Biography
Richard is Senior Project Manager for Birmingham Archaeology, and works in the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity at the University of Birmingham. His job includes Project Management, consultancy, archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation analysis, with particular expertise in measured survey and Computer Aided Design. Richard has previously worked on archaeological excavations in Kuwait and Qatar.

Derek Moscrop
(Birmingham Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK)
Short Biography
Derek is a freelance archaeologist based in Birmingham. He has a Postgraduate Diploma and MA in Landscape Archaeology and Geomatics from the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham.

Dr Heiko Kallweit
(Freiburg, Germany)
Short Biography
Heiko is a freelance archaeologist based in Freiburg, Germany. His PhD concerned Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement in the Wadi Dahr, Yemen. He has worked in Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE and Yemen. His particular interest is the Neolithic period and lithic technology in the Arabian Peninsula.

John Martin
Carlisle, U.K.
Short Biography
John is a freelance archaeologist based in Carlisle in the UK. He is a retired engineer who formerly lived in Dubai in the UAE. John is a veteran excavator who has worked with many archaeological teams in the Emirates including on Marawah and Sir Bani Yas islands (for ADIAS), at Ed-Dur (with the Belgium team), as well as at Kush and Musandam (with the National Museum of Ras Al-Khaimah). He sells secondhand books specialising in books on Cumberland and the Lakes, Northwest England and the Scottish borders. Visit his website for more details.

Abstract

NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT OF MARAWAH ISLAND, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Since 1992 the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS) has been involved in surveying and excavating archaeological sites on the island of Marawah in the western region of Abu Dhabi. Work carried out in 2000 had initially suggested that a group of stone mounds located at the western end of the island, known as site MR11, was perhaps a church, and that this formed part of a Nestorian monastic complex much like that on the island of Sir Bani Yas, located about 75km to the west of Marawah (J. Elders. 2001. The lost churches of the Arabian Gulf: recent discoveries on the islands of Sir Bani Yas and Marawah, Abu Dhabi emirate, United Arab Emirates. PSAS 31: 47-57.) Excavations carried out at site MR11 in March 2003 and 2004 subsequently uncovered a series of at least three major buildings. One of these structures was fully excavated and revealed a well-constructed house with stone walls still surviving to a height of almost a metre in some places. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the settlement was established during the first half of the fifth millennium BC. The quite remarkable structures at site MR11 add to our growing knowledge of Neolithic houses and settlements in SE Arabia. Comparisons will be drawn with similar structures identified in Kuwait (site H3, Sabiyah), Qatar (Ras Abaruq and Shagra) and the UAE (site MR1 on Marawah, as well as the recently discovered Kharimat Khor Al Manahil in the deep deserts of Abu Dhabi, on the edge of the 'Empty Quarter').

Professor François de Blois
Cambridge, UK.
Short Biography
?

Abstract

ISLAM IN ITS ARABIAN CONTEXT

The last two or three decades have seen the emergence of a new 'revisionist' school of Islamic studies which contests the validity of the traditional Muslim accounts of the place and time of the origin of Islam and which locates this in a more northerly place (Babylonia? Syrian desert?) and more a recent time (8th or 9th century?). In opposition to this tendency, in papers that I presented at previous meetings of the Seminar (on the Qur'anic terms sijjil, nasi' etc.) I linked key elements of Islam with the epigraphically attested religious vocabulary of North and South Arabia, arguing thus for the continuity of religious history in an Arabian context.

In the present paper I wish to continue this line of argumentation with regard (in particular) to the ancient calendar at Mecca and the date of the introduction of the Islamic calendar. This investigation leads to a confirmation of the traditional chronology of early Islamic history.

Geraldine Chimirri-Russell
(The Nickle Arts Museum, The University of Calgary, Canada)
Short Biography
Geraldine Chimirri-Russell has been working at The Nickle Arts Museum, University of Calgary since 1996, first as part of her graduate research programme, and later as Curator of Numismatics. She has been working with the de Groot collection of Yemeni coins since it was donated in 2001.

Dr William D. Glanzman
(Department of Archaeology, The University of Calgary, Canada)
Short Biography
Dr. W. D. Glanzman - Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary; Project Director for the Wadi Raghwan Archaeological Project, Marib, Yemen. Completed his PhD in 1994 in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, "Toward a Classification and Chronology of Pottery from HR3 (Hajar ar-Rayhani), Wadi al-Jubah, Republic of Yemen" [UMI Dissertation AAT 9521036], based on participation in the Wadi al-Jubah Archaeological Project. Field Director of the Mahram Bilqis Project, Marib, Yemen, 1996-2001, for the AFSM. Awarded the Nexen Inc Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, in January 2001.

Abstract

THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS: A NEW EXAMINATION OF SOME SOUTH ARABIAN COINAGE

The South Arabian issues from the De Groot collection in the Nickle Arts Museum exhibit several chronological, epigraphic and artistic trends important to numismatic studies for the region. They include mints of several South Arabian kingdoms at different periods, such as the Royal Mints of RYDN and ŠQR, as well as earlier issues. Some coins bear royal names such as 'MDN BYN (with YNF monogram), and the Imitation Athenian New-Style with enigmatic cursive legend (possibly ŠHR HLL). Greek and Roman influence is clearly present in the iconography of several issues. This paper investigates the various elements found on each coin: the inscriptions, the designs, plus the fabric and manufacturing techniques of the coin itself. The combination of these factors provides significant insights into the numismatic development of the region. In contrast to most of the three-dimensional artistic works that are no longer in situ, a coin can be held and viewed in the same way today as it was in antiquity. In this light, significantly different meanings for some coin images are possible, adding to the broader interpretation of South Arabian artistic imagery.

Professor Joaquín María Córdoba
(Director of the Spanish Archaeological Project at Al-Madam, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
Short Biography
See website for more information.

Professor Dr Manuel Pozo Rodríguez
(Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
Short Biography
Manuel Pozo Rodríguez is a doctor in Geological Sciences and a professor of Geology (permanent lecturer) at the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid (Spain). He specialises in Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry of sedimentary rocks, and has published over 75 papers and several books on diverse topics including the geological study of archaeological sites.

Dr Carmen del Cerro
(Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
Short Biography
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Dr Montserrat Mañé
(Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
Short Biography
?

Abstract

THE SO-CALLED FALAJ FROM AM2 AREA - THUQEIBAH (SHARJAH, U.A.E). ARCHAEOLOGY AND QUESTIONS ON AN IRON AGE WATER CONSTRUCTION AFTER THE 2004 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEASON

In the surroundings of Al-Madam, certain lines of small hills, consisting of rocky material from the deep natural soil, have been traditionally remarked as ancient aflaj. In the two last archaeological seasons we have gained access to the internal side of the alley that was dug in the natural rock. Thirty excavated metres of length, four metres of height and three wells, reveal interesting news on the problem of the aflaj, and also determine that an original solution was taken to solve the problem of the search for water in the Iron Age.

Dr. Serguei A. Frantsouzoff
(Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St Petersburg Branch), St Petersburg, Russia)
Short Biography
Dr. Serguei Frantsouzoff gained his PhD on the early mediaeval history of Hadramawt from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Leningrad Branch) in 1990. His research interests are the history, culture and religion of pre-Islamic Yemen basis largely on epigraphic documentation; Arab and Islamic Studies, viz. the history of early Caliphate, mediaeval Yemen and the classical Arab historiography and manuscript tradition; Ethiopian Studies, mainly historico-philological analysis of pre-Axumite and Axumite inscriptions. He has published on his research and is currently a senior researcher in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

A MINAIC INSCRIPTION ON THE PEDESTAL OF AN IBEX STATUE FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Among the unpublished inscriptions of ancient Yemen kept in the collection of the British Museum a short text engraved on the pedestal of an ibex statue, thoroughly cut in limestone, proves to be of considerable value for the study of South Arabian lexicography and religion.

The use of the verb s1brrt as well as the lack of mîmation in 'lb testify that the language of this text is Minaic. However, it contains a reference to the oath of the goddess Athîrat (h;.lf/'TRT) whose name is mentioned very seldom in Minaic inscriptions, but frequently occurs in Qatabanic epigraphic tradition.

From the lexicographical point of view the importance of this text is connected with a new interpretation of s1brr(t) usually attested in asyndetic subordinate clauses after kbd (pl. kbwdt) "tax, duty". Its previous translation "to pay" implied the identification of the subject in those clauses with a worshipper of deity. The context b-kbd/s1brrt demonstrates that in fact this verb means "to accept, approve" and describes an divine action, since its perfect feminine form obviously relates to Athîrat and not to her devotee who is a man ('MYD'/bn/YT'KRB).

Note: the permission for the publication of this inscription was kindly granted to me by Dr. St John Simpson.

Dr. Iris Gerlach
(German Archaeological Institute, Orient Department, Sana'a Branch)
Short Biography
Geboren: 1967 in Hannover. Ab WS 1987, Studium der Vorderasiatischen Archäologie (Hauptfach), Klassischen Archäologie, Assyriologie und Byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte in Göttingen und München. 1993 Magister: Jagddarstellungen in der Glyptik Mesopotamiens. 1995 wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie München. 1996/97 Museumsassistentin am Vorderasiatischen Museum Berlin. 1997 Promotion: Zur provinzialassyrischen Kunst Nordsyriens und Südostanatoliens. Eigenständigkeit und Abhängigkeit künstlerischen Schaffens im neuassyrischen Einflussgebiet. 1997/98 Reisestipendium des DAI. 1998 bis 2000 Referentin der Orient-Abteilung des DAI. Seit November 2000 Leiterin der Außenstelle Sanaa der Orient-Abteilung des DAI. Leitung verschiedener Grabungen im Jemen: Sirwah, Friedhof des Awâm-Tempel, Wadi Gufaina, Friedhof von Sha`ub (Sanaa). Visit this website for more details.

Abstract

NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH INTO THE SABAEAN CITY AND OASIS OF SIRWAH

In 2001 the DAI launched an interdisciplinary project at the Sabaean city and oasis of Sirwah, located 40 km west of Marib. The lecture is intended to present this research together with the newest results of excavations in 2003/2004. The target of the project is to achieve a reconstruction of the ancient culture and environment of Sirwah. For this reason, surveys are being carried out in the oasis and its immediate vicinity in addition to archaeological excavations in the city area.

With an extant intra-mural area of approximately 3 hectares, and only scattered Islamic buildings on top of the ancient architecture, the city's various functional areas and its infrastructure can be clarified with relative ease by well-targeted surveying and excavation. Clearly visible until today is the city wall that, with its projections and recesses, corresponds to the typical South Arabian fortification walls. In addition to areas of presumably secular dwellings, so far eight larger buildings have been recognized, of which at least five can be identified as temples within the city. Outside the city wall remains are visible on the surface that can be interpreted as domestic quarters and workshops. The excavations outside Sirwah's walls carried out so far indicate that a Sabaean cemetery lay south of the city's fortification. Apart from the continuation of the archaeological, architecturally historic and monument preservation work on the Almaqah Temple, excavations have been carried out in a building dating from the 1st century A.D. that can be presumed to have been an administration building.

Dr William D. Glanzman
(Department of Archaeology, The University of Calgary, Canada)
Short Biography
Dr. W. D. Glanzman - Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary; Project Director for the Wadi Raghwan Archaeological Project, Marib, Yemen. Completed his PhD in 1994 in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, "Toward a Classification and Chronology of Pottery from HR3 (Hajar ar-Rayhani), Wadi al-Jubah, Republic of Yemen" [UMI Dissertation AAT 9521036], based on participation in the Wadi al-Jubah Archaeological Project. Field Director of the Mahram Bilqis Project, Marib, Yemen, 1996-2001, for the AFSM. Awarded the Nexen Inc Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, in January 2001.

Abstract

ANCIENT SOUTH ARABIA'S CAMEL CARAVANS: A REASSESSMENT OF THE EVIDENCE, AND THE ROAD AHEAD

South Arabia's involvement with ancient camel caravan trade is invoked to explain several facets of cultural development, such as the alleged transmission of the alphabet from the coastal Levant southward, to the collapse of South Arabian civilisation. These associations have one common element: they are based on literary sources external to the region, forming one of several assumptions that historians and archaeologists use to promote their arguments. Some archaeologists and historians have invoked archaeological data, such as the appearance of camelid bones in the faunal assemblages of archaeological sites, to create explanatory models of contact and exchange between South Arabia and regions beyond. However, no argument previously has been developed to test whether or not such working assumptions are true. Using several cases in point-archaeological and epigraphic data from Dhofar to the Wadi al-Jawf-this paper focuses upon the combination of literary and archaeological evidence that must be used to test for the presence of camelid exploitation, the nature of that exploitation, and for evidence of camel caravans. Only with such information in hand can one begin to assess what role(s) overland camel caravan traffic may have played in the development of South Arabian civilisation.

Dr Hilal Said al-Hajri
(The Department of Arabic Language and Literature, College of Arts, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman)
Short Biography
In January 2004 I received my PhD in comparative literature from the University of Warwick in the UK. Currently, I am teaching comparative literature, Arabic literature, and prosody in the Department of Arabic at Sultan Qaboos University. I have published poetry and critical essays on Omani literature in several Arabic journals.

Abstract

EARLIEST IMAGES OF OMAN IN BRITISH TRAVEL WRITING

Oman has over 1,700kms of coastline on the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, extending from the Strait of Hormuz in the north to Dhufar in the south. After 1650, when the Omanis ousted the Portuguese from Oman, Muscat, Sohar, Sur and Salala were the most thriving cities along this littoral. However, Muscat was distinguished by a pre-eminence in trade and by security. This maritime city, according to its strategic location at the entrance to the Gulf, was always considered by European travellers to be the best seaport in Arabia. Its position, hidden among mountains, made it a perfect harbour for merchants, sailors and adventurers. From the seventeenth century and throughout the nineteenth century, it was frequented by British merchants, explorers, agents and representatives of the East India Company. Among the interesting topics that they covered in their travel accounts are, the tolerance of the people and their kind treatment of slaves, the 'civilised' manners of Sayyid Said bin Sultan, the 'Imaum of Muscat', the picturesqueness of Muscat and its 'stupendous' mountains, excessive heat and narrow streets, the splendour of Hormuz and its declining glory, and the 'luxuriant' soil of Dhufar. In this paper, I will be looking at such themes and other descriptions of the coastal area of Oman written by British travellers and surveyors who went to the area.

Claire Hardy-Guilbert
(Paris, France)
Short Biography
Claire Hardy-Guilbert gained her doctorate in Islamic Art & Archaeology from the University of Sorbonne. She is a member of CNRS. She has fieldwork experience in Morocco, Tunisia, and at Susa in Iran and twenty years in the Gulf. She has also excavated at Murwab and al-Huwailah in Qatar. She was the leader of the French team at Julfar and of the excavations at al-Shihr in Yemen. Her main research interests are the trade networks from Arabia to China and traditional architecture in Arabian countries, in particularly that of the Gulf area. Visit this website for more information about the excavations at Al-Shihr.

Abstract

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT AL-SHIHR, THE ISLAMIC PORT OF HADRAMAWT, YEMEN (1996-2002)

The harbour site of al-Shihr is located in the ancient quarter of al-Qariyah in the modern city on southern coast of Yemen. The excavations which were carried out between 1996 and 2002 there revealed the remains of the continuous occupation of the area for twelve centuries (ca 780-1996 AD). The imported wares from northern Arabic countries (Samarrian assemblage) and from East Africa, India or Indus Valley and Far Eastern recovered here prove the very active role of al-Shihr in the maritime networks of the Indian Ocean.

In another side, the medieval sources, principally, the Rasulids texts, mentioned the local products exported from al-Shihr : incense, amber, dates, fishes, cumin (al-Kamun), alum, fabrics and silver. How is possible to link the archaeological material and some ethnographic data with sources is the aim of this paper.

These informations provide to al-Shihr an important part in the economic life of the medieval Arabian world.

Dr Ingrid Hehmeyer
(Near Eastern and Asian Civilizations Department, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada)
Short Biography
Dr Ingrid Hehmeyer is a Research Associate in the Near Eastern and Asian Civilizations Department at the Royal Ontario Museum, and teaches history of science and technology at Ryerson University, with special reference to the ancient and medieval Near East. Her current fieldwork is in Yemen. Visit this website for more information about her research.

Abstract

TIMING WATER ALLOCATION WITHOUT CLOCKS

The basic operation of the engineered underground water systems at Ghayl B_ Waz_r (.Ha.dramawt) was presented at the 35th Seminar for Arabian Studies (and published in PSAS 32, 2002), based on the findings of the 2001 field season of the Canadian Archaeological Mission of the ROM. A new study season was conducted in 2003, with the specific aim of understanding how allocation of water was timed during the night, using a star chart with 28 marker stars or constellations, and during the day, using the measurement of shadow length.

The paper will present the results of interviews with farmers and a former water allocation supervisor (muqaddim) who still remember operating the traditional system for measuring equal spans of time both during the night and day in a pre-clock era. A 1953 version of the traditional chart, compiled by a local muqaddim, has been used to complement the information.

Those who used the system are beginning to be too old and too poor of sight to be able to identify the marker stars and constellations. This study, then, is the last chance to record a system that represents a successful social contract for 600 years.

Holger Hitgen
(Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, c/o Embassy of the FRG, Orient-Department, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen)
Short Biography
Since 1994 Holger Hitgen is working for the DAI in Yemen. He took part in excavations as a field director at the cemetery of the Awam temple in Marib (1997-1998), on the Jabal al-'Awd (since 1998) and in the Wadi Gufaina (2003). Today his scientific interest is focusing on questions of the archaeology of the historic periods, the history of art and on the contacts of South Arabia to the Mediterranean world.

See a film clip with an interview with Holger Hitgen and Ricardo Eichmann talking about their work at Marib (Die Archäologen Holger Hitgen und Ricardo Eichmann über die Bedeutung von Marib).

Abstract

THE ANCIENT CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE WADI JUFAYNAH IN THE OASIS OF MARIB

Since 2003 the German Archaeological Institute has been carrying out intensive surveys in the Oasis of Marib as a supplement to the major excavation projects on the famous water management buildings, the Bar'an Temple, the cemetery of the Awam Temple and the planned work in the city of Marib. The aim of this work is, amongst other things, to map out all the ancient monuments still preserved in the oasis which is seriously threatened by increasing settlement activity. In the course of this work the settlements, sanctuaries, tombs and irrigation systems of the individual ancient eras are to be set in a functional context in order to clarify the use strategies of this restricted oasis area. Bases for the surveys are various aerial photographs taken over the past 30 years and the latest high-resolution satellite pictures.

The lecture concentrates on the reconstruction of the ancient world in the Wadi Jufaynah that runs direct to the north of the main Wadi on the outermost edge of the Oasis of Marib. In this geographically restricted area there are archaeological traces that were unknown so far, ranging from the Bronze Age to the Islamic period. Worth a particular mention in this connection are several different irrigation systems such as the technically highly developed dam at al-Mabna originating from the Late Antiquity that is closely connected with the Great Dam of Marib. An early Sabaean settlement that lies only 200 m away was archaeologically examined for the first time by the DAI in 2003. Unique up to now in this Sabaean region is the existence of an undisturbed sequence of ceramics dating from 9/8th - 5th century B.C.

Dr Flemming Højlund
(Moesgård Museum, Højbjerg, Denmark)
Short Biography
Published extensively on the archaeology of the Arabian Gulf, especially the Danish excavations at Tell F3 and Tell F6 on Failaka, Kuwait, Qala'at al-Bahrain and the Barbar Temples at Bahrain. Assisted in the preparations of the archaeological exhibitions in the Bahrain National Museum and edited recently a book on traditional music in Bahrain. Future objective: study and preservation of the Bahrain burial mound fields.

Find out more about Flemming's publications via this website.

Abstract

NEW EXCAVATIONS AT THE BARBAR TEMPLE, BAHRAIN

The excavations at the Barbar Temple in Bahrain, 1954-1962, has been recently published by Hellmuth Andersen & Flemming Højlund in The Barbar Temples (Jutland Archaeological Publications vol. 48, 2003). The study of the excavation documentation has led to a series of hypotheses that are being tested during an excavation campaign at the site of the Barbar Temple in February-March 2004. The excavations are being financially supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, the University of Aarhus and the Directorate of Culture & National Heritage in the Bahrain Ministry of Information.

Halfway through the campaign the following report can be given: In the centre of the Northeast Temple evidence has been uncovered for a staircase leading 4 m down to a well chamber with two subterranean channels leading off towards the north and south. This structure is a close parallel to the well chamber of Umm as-Sujur excavated in 1954 by Geoffrey Bibby.

North of the Barbar Temple the first evidence for an oval terrace wall encircling Temple III has been found. Excavations are now being directed toward the outline of a large pit which is thought to reveal the plundered traces of a well chamber related to Temple III.

At the same time the subterranean water channels leading out from the well chamber of the Barbar Temple are being traced in order to decide their course and function. Did these channels carry water away from the so-called well chamber or did they supply the well chamber with water?

Professor Dr Moawiyah M. Ibrahim
(College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman)
Short Biography
Professor Moawiyah M. Ibrahim is the Founding Head of the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University and the Founding Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University, Jordan. He is a graduate of the Free University of Berlin with a Ph.D 1970 in Near Eastern Archaeology and Ancient Languages. He has served as the Assistant Director General of Antiquities of Jordan from 1971-1979; Professor and Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Yarmouk University of Jordan from 1979-1984; Founding Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology from 1984-1994; He has been a visiting Professor to a number of Universities throughout the world and has spent the last 10 years at the Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. Professor Ibrahim is the author of several books and has made over 100 other contributions published in refereed journals and as chapters in specialized books. He has led a number of surveys, excavations and other research projects and exhibitions in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Oman. Currently he is conducting a Corpus of Omani Inscriptions sponsored by Bait Az-Zubair Foundation/Muscat and an archaeological Survey at Wadi Bani Kharous.

Badr Alawi
(College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman)

Abstract

INVESTIGATIONS AT WADI BANI KHAROUS

This project intends to address the occupational history of Wadi Bani Kharous, a side wadi which intersects the western Jabal al-Akhdar, based on historical records, oral history and archaeological data. Preliminary field investigations in this wadi were conducted between December 2002 and February 2003 and resumed in 2004. Special emphasis is upon over seventy tombs inscriptions from two cemeteries and several panels of rock inscriptions and drawings which were recently recorded. The inscriptions can be seen as a continuation of epigraphical work published by the first author (PSAS 2001) from Nizwa and Wadi el-Haymali. They date since the 9th century until the fourteenth century A.H. and reflect the ethnic, tribal and family association of the community in this area. Some inscriptions provide information about the social status of both males and females.

It is worth mentioning that this is one of the best known wadis in Oman. Several rulers (including three of the early Imams), theologians, scholars and poets originate from Wadi Bani Kharous. The investigations will be complemented by oral history of descendants still living in the area.
Preliminary field work shows that the occupational history here goes back as early as the third/second millennium B.C. A major Iron Age fortification system was attested on the rocky hills surrounding Sital village. A reference will be also made to the agricultural and water systems as well as to the settlement patterns along both sides of the wadi.

Timothy Insoll
(School of Art History and Archaeology, University of Manchester, UK)
Short Biography
Timothy Insoll is Reader in Archaeology at the University of Manchester. He has completed archaeological fieldwork in Bahrain, India, Mali, and Eritrea. His publications include 'The Archaeology of Islam' (Blackwells 1999), 'The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa' (CUP, 2003), 'Archaeology and World Religion' (editor, Routledge, 2001), and 'Archaeology, Ritual, Religion' (Routledge, 2004). Visit this website for more information.

Abstract

CONCEPTUALISING ISLAMIC HERESY AND IDENTITY: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL VIEW FROM BAHRAIN

Within archaeology the concept of Islam is often presented as a monolithic one. Such a perspective is essentially flawed, for in contemporary Muslim communities great diversity is obviously found. This paper sets out to briefly examine the notion of Islamic identity against archaeological data recovered from recent excavations completed in the area of Bilad al-Qadim, Bahrain. It will be argued that it is possible to begin to potentially identify different elements of past Muslim communities from the archaeological record, but that the privileged position of having supporting historical texts and ethnographic sources makes this feasible. Rather than presenting an immutable hermeneutic position, emphasis in this paper will be placed upon isolating future research directions with reference to a variety of brief case studies, including those revolving around occupational caste, the Carmathians, and the Abbasids.

Dr Heiko Kallweit
(Freiburg, Germany)
Short Biography
Heiko is a freelance archaeologist based in Freiburg, Germany. His PhD concerned Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement in the Wadi Dahr, Yemen. You can download this from the following website as a pdf file. He has worked in Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE and Yemen. His particular interest is the Neolithic period and lithic technology in the Arabian Peninsula.

Dr Mark Beech
(Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
Short Biography
Since October 2002, Mark has been Senior Resident Archaeologist for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS), based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. He completed his PhD at the University of York in 2001. His research examined fishing and marine resource exploitation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from the Neolithic to Islamic period. This thesis has recently been published by BAR in their International Series.

Dr Walid Yasin Al-Tikriti
(Department of Antiquities and Tourism, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Short Biography
Walid is Archaeology Advisor at the Department of Antiquities and Museums, Al Ain, in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. His PhD completed at the University of Cambridge in 1982 was entitled 'Reconsideration of the late 4th and 3rd millennium BC with special reference to the U.A.E.'. This discussed the Hafit and Umm an-Nar periods and his work around Jebel Hafit and Hili in the Al Ain region. In 2002 he published a book in Arabic entitled 'Aflaj in the United Arab Emirates: Archaeological studies on ancient irrigation Systems'.

Abstract

KHARIMAT KHOR AL-MANAHIL - NEW NEOLITHIC SITES IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN DESERT OF THE UAE

Recent research by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey in co-operation with Al Ain Department of Antiquities and Tourism has revealed new Neolithic sites in the south-eastern desert of Abu Dhabi. This work represents the first detailed and systematic examination of such sites in the United Arab Emirates. The sites comprise of extensive lithic scatters spreading more than 3 kilometres alongside the south-eastern slopes of barchan dunes. Detailed recording of single flints as well as controlled total collection from defined contexts was applied. This was carried out to determine the character of the assemblage composition and to discuss the possible origins of site formation. A number of building structures have been found at two different locations in association with surface lithic scatters, while pottery is completely absent. These new sites allow us to re-examine the nature of settlements in the desert interior of South Eastern Arabia.

Lamya Khalidi
(Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK)
Short Biography
Lamya Khalidi is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University. Her dissertation focuses on prehistoric to transitional South Arabian settlement pattern in Yemen. Lamya Khalidi received a B.F.A with a minor in archaeology from the University of Michigan and an M.Phil in archaeology from Cambridge University. Since 1994 she has assisted in excavations in Beirut, Lebanon and Petra, Jordan and spent two years excavating and surveying in the northern Jezira, Syria on the sites of Tel Chagar Bazar and Tel Hamoukar. In 2001, she joined the Dhamar Survey Project in Yemen and conducted excavations and survey. Since, she has directed two survey projects in Hazm al Udayn and the Tihamah coastal plain, Yemen, as well as a reconnaissance mission in Eritrea.

Abstract

THE PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS ON THE TIHAMAH COASTAL PLAIN (YEMEN): PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF THE TIHAMAH COASTAL SURVEY 2003

The Tihamah Coastal Plain of Yemen remains understudied in the realm of Yemeni archaeology. Several earlier surveys and excavations have revealed that, despite the poor preservation of prehistoric and early historic sites, the Red Sea coast was populated and exploited from the Paleolithic to the present day. Though the Tihamah has thus far produced a unique material culture, the lack of material chronologies and published results for the region has hampered our ability to understand the relationship between the coastal plain and its neighbours in the highlands and across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. In addition, research undertaken has focused primarily on the region's contacts with the outside world rather than illuminating those contacts in relation to local adaptation to and exploitation of the environment. The Tihamah Coastal Survey 2003 attempted to define more clearly the relationship between settlement pattern and landscape through space and time within several well-defined survey blocks. This paper will discuss the preliminary results of unpublished sites and surface collections in the prehistoric and early historic periods of the Tihamah coastal plain.

Professor Dr Manfred Kropp
(Orient Institut der DMG, Beirut, Lebanon)
Short Biography
Professor Dr Manfred Kropp studied at the University of Heidelberg, in the Department of Semitic Languages, Islamic Studies, Medieval and Modern History from 1968-1970 and at the Ecole des Langues Orientales Vivantes, Université Paris III and the Ecole Practique des Hautes Etudes in the Department of Modern Arabic, Arabic Literature, and Semitic Philology from 1970-71. He submitted his dissertation 'Die Geschichte der "reinen Araber" vom Stamme Qahtan. Aus dem Kitab Našwat at-tarab fi ta'ri h gahiliyyat al-'Arab des Ibn-Sa'id al-Magribi', in 1975. In 1977 he was appointed as Wissenschaftlicher Assistent for the Chair of Semitic and Islamic Studies at the University of Heidelberg. He was appointed as Assistant Professor of Semitic Languages at the University of Heidelberg in 1985. Professor Dr Manfred Kropp then became the Chair of Semitic languages at the University of Lund (Sweden) in 1990 and Professor of Islamic and Semitis Studies at the Joahnes Gutenberg University a Mainz (Mayence), Germany in 1991. From 1999 he have been the Director of the Orient-Institut (German Institute for Oriental Studies), Beirut. He has published extensively on Semitic languages and is on the scientific board for the Journal of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Abeba) and the Journal of Semitic Studies (Manchester). He is also Co-Editor for Oriens Christianus (Wiesbaden).

1. Die Geschichte der “reinen Araber” vom Stamme Qahtan. Aus dem Kitab Naswat -tarab fi ta rih gahiliyyat al- Arab des Ibn Sa id al-Magribi. Hrsg. u. übers., eingel. u. komm. Phil. Diss., Heidelberg, 1975.
2. verb. Aufl. Frankfurt a. Main (usw.), 1982. (Heidelberger Orientalistische Studien. 4.)

Visit this website for more information.

Abstract

AN EPIGRAPHIST'S DIGRESSIONS: FREE READINGS INTO THE RASM OF THE QURAN

One of the astonishing facts - at least as secular and positive science is concerned - is the lack of a historico-critical edition of the Quran. The enterprise started in the fìrst half of the 19th century following the example and in parallel to the textcritical studies in the Bible and (Ancient) literature in general. At the beginning of the 20th century Nöldekes "History of the Quran" in its second edition marked the progress achieved and tried to sum up the rather patchwork-like studies in the field. Two major projects to complete the task (Jeffery, Bergsträsser) were never realized. Thus the 20th century left us with the "canonical" Cairo (Azhar)-edition of the Qoran (first published in the twenties of that century) of the text which de facto is used as the basis of scientific work on the Quran. To put it in a slightly exaggerated manner: as if modern Bible studies would take the Vulgata of Hieronymus or the Vetus Latina as the fundamental text.

Epigraphicai findings and their publication in the last two decades of the 20th century put to light textual sources in Arabic dating from the last pre-Islamic to early Islamic time (e.g. Y. Nevo's publications). An epígraphist workíng with this and related material and then, eventually, looking at the earliest codices of the Quranic texts, cannot but change attitude towards these oldest material testimonies of the text. He naturally applies the same method of establishing a coherent, plausible, non-contradictory reading he has learnt for the inscriptions to these Hijazi or Kufic manuscripts. One of the first results is the feeling of a certain unease about the canonical readings and their variants as attested in the qira'at-Líterature and elsewhere. In fact, the discussions reported there do not seem the free rivalry and discussions among different versions of an oral tradition, but pretty much epigraphists' work on a given rasm - perhaps without all the heavy scientific luggage of modern times and more fancy and guessing.

Having come to that point, an representative of secular and positive science may embark on a kind of intellectual experiment and try, starting with problematical passages or words, to find readings as if he were about to decipher and interpret Old Arabic inscriptions. If it comes out that the interpretations found fit into a regular scheme and picture of interpretation he may well formulate a hypothesis about the orthographic rules, grammar and semantics of the Quranic language. And if the whole result would be nothing else than l'art pour l'art he could, ironically and paradoxically, be able to justify his work even on a religious and theological level: If the text is believed to be God's eternal word, than even this new and unforeseen interpretation according to human mind, reason and knowledge must have been intended by Him as legitimate and possible.

Anyway, the epigraphist's digressions are a necessary and integrated step towards collecting the materials from which to build, hopefully in the 21st century, a historico-critícal edition of the Quran, based on the oldest manuscripts and reporting, conveniently classified and commented upon, the historically attested as well as the plausible and reconstructed - be it only as conjectures - readings.

The paper will present two chosen examples of alternative readings, one of them Q II, 1 38.
Manfred Kropp Beirut February 2004

Krista Lewis
(Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, USA)
Short Biography
Krista Lewis is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Current research focuses on the politics, agricultural landscape, and macrobotanical remains of Iron Age and Himyarite Yemen from the central highlands near Dhamar to the Red Sea Coast.
Visit this website for more information.

Abstract

A CHRONOLOGICAL REASSESSMENT OF THE IRON AGE AND HIMYARITE PERIODS IN THE HIGHLANDS OF YEMEN

Iron Age and Himyarite sites in highland Yemen have until recently been identifiable only generally to broad time periods of up to nine hundred years long. This imprecise chronology for early historic period archaeological remains has hindered the development of scholarship addressing the social and political history of southern Arabia, rendering comparison of contemporaneous sites and regions, as well as the integration of archaeological evidence with the epigraphic record, nearly impossible. Long-term archaeological investigations and analysis in the Dhamar region have resulted in an improved assessment of temporal indicators for Iron Age and Himyarite period archaeological remains in the highlands. In this paper, the results of four unpublished excavations are discussed along with extensive data from the surface survey of over one hundred Iron Age and Himyarite sites. Multiple lines of evidence including ceramics, architecture, site plans, land use and radiocarbon dates are utilized to propose a more specific chronological appraisal of highland archaeological sites. Although an initial reassessment rather than a final pronouncement on the topic, this paper presents data and interpretations fundamental to the advancement of our ability to explicate social, political and economic histories of the Yemeni highlands and ancient Arabia more generally.

Professor Dr Sultan A. Ma'ani
(Queen Rania's Institute of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan)
Short biography
Professor Dr Sultan A. Ma'ani has research interests in the History and archaeology of Near East, Semitic Languages and Epigraphy, Islamic Inscriptions, Historical Geography, Place Names etymology, and Surveying. He has been Director of the Nakhel Excavation in 1994, the Epigraphical Survey of Karek Plateau in 1998 and of Wadi Sarhan (Eastern Jafr) in 1999. He has published extensively in many national and international journal and books. He is currently chairman of the Sustainable Tourism Department at the Hashemite University. For more information visit his personal website.

Abstract

RESULTS OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN JAFR EPIGRAPHICAL SURVEY

No attention was paid by the archaeological scholars, who conducted archaeological projects in Jordan, to the North Arabic inscriptions, which were scattered in eastern part of Jafr. Previous archaeological/ epigraphical projects had focused in the area of Bayer, located to the north of Jafr, and in the Hisma area, located to the south of Jafr.

Until now, very little knowledge was known on the pre-Islamic inscriptions and post Islamic era. And due to the lake scientific data, our knowledge on the settlement patterns and strategic value of the area located to the east of the Jafr region is absolutely dull.

This area (the eastern Badiya of al-Jafr) recently (1999) surveyed by the writer (Dr. Sultan al-Ma'ani) and the Late Dr. Jumah Kareem. This archaeological/epigraphical project results in recording ca. 750 Thamudic - Tabuki inscriptions, and ca. 250 Islamic inscriptions. These inscriptions were marked on sandstone slabs in numerous small heaps of stones. The Thamudic inscriptions will shed light on the personal names used in the pre- Islamic era, and the religion of the Bedouin Thamudic tribes. The study aims at corresponding the inscriptions, meanings and structure of the words and the proper nouns contained therein.

Thus, this is an analytical study of some hundred recently encountered Thamudic E (or Hismaic) inscriptions, recorded in the course of the first season of surveying the region of wadi al-Garra east, wadi al-Garra west and wadi el-Khashabiya, ca. 75-100 km. to the east of Jafr. The cairns in which the inscriptions were found were well recorded and fixed on the region map.

The prominence of this meditation springs came out from the first fieldwork to record the Hismatis inscriptions scattered in the area located the east of Jafr. Its estimate, that this study and the other studies concerned the Thamudic inscriptions found to the north of al-Jafr area (Bayer area) and those found to the south (in Hisma area and Wadi Rumm) will clear our idea on the Thamudic (Hismaic) tribe life figure, their history, and their efforts in changing the Byzantine political policy in the area. Moreover, the preliminary study of these inscriptions showed that they are rich in both new names and vocabularies.

The researcher will examine these inscriptions, translate them and illustrate their vocabularies.

Professor Peter Magee
(Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College, USA)
Short Biography
My research interests include the archaeology of imperialism in south and west Asia, human habitation of arid environments and the history of European exploration of the Middle East, particularly Arabia. The substantive data with which the first two issues are addressed is gathered through archaeological fieldwork, re-examination of previously excavated material and archaeometric analysis.
Since 1994, he has directed the on-going excavations of the Iron Age settlement of Muweilah in the United Arab Emirates. These excavations focus on the social and economic organisation of a settlement located in a hyper-arid environment and examine the manner in which external contacts with the then economic and political centres affected economic and social complexity in southeastern Arabia. Click here for a summary of the excavations at Muweilah.
Visit his homepage for more information.

Abstract

INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE LATE PREHISTORIC DESERT SETTLEMENT OF MUWEILAH (SHARJAH, UAE).

The eighth season of excavations at Muweilah has significantly enhanced our understanding of the layout and function of the settlement. It is now evident that the settlement witnessed an intensification of occupation which resulted in new structures being constructed just before it was destroyed by a fire sometime in the late eighth century BC. In this paper, we will present the results of these excavations and detail new analyzed distributional data that indicates a multi-tiered social structure in which elite ceramics, incense burners and rare metals were used as diacritic insignia that furthered social and economic reproduction within the settlement.

Dr Ali Tigani ElMahi
(Department of Archaeology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman)
Short Biography
In the academic year 1971-72, I joined the University of Khartoum to study archaeology, social anthropology at the College of Economics and Social Studies, and animal osteology and comparative osteology at the College of Veterinary Sciences. In 1977, I graduated with a BA Honours, Part II, and was appointed as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Archaeology, University of Khartoum. In 1982, I was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the University of Bergen in Norway. In 1982, I was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Khartoum. In 1995, I have joined Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. Being trained in archaeology, social anthropology, and environment/ecology has been an advantage for me to carry out research focusing on related topics in the Sudan and Oman. I have published several papers in the archaeology of the Sudan and Oman. At present, I am working in the capacity of the chairman of the Archaeology Department, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University.

Nasser Al Jahwari
(Department of Archaeology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman)
Short Biography
In 1993, I joined the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. In 1997, I graduated with a BA degree, and in 1998 I was appointed an Assistant Teacher in the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University. In September 2001, I was awarded my MA degree from the Department of Archaeology and Prehistory at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Since September 2001, I have been working as a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University. I have participated in several surveys and excavations in Oman such as Wadi al-Safafir, Manal, Busher and Wadi Andam. I have published several papers on the archaeology and heritage of Oman. I have joined and participated in several conferences and seminars inside and outside Oman.

Abstract

IRON AGE GRAVES AT MAHELYA IN WADI ANDAM, SULTANATE OF OMAN: A VIEW TO DEATH CULTURE OF THE LATE IRON AGE

The excavations of Iron Age graves near Mahelya village in Wadi Andam in Wilayat Al Mudaybi was carried out by the Department of Archaeology, Sultan Qaboos University and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in January 2004. It was a rescue excavation directed to salvage a number of graves before the construction of a motor way. These graves and others are located on the bank of the wadi and extends along the wadi. An area in width 24 meters and 100 meters in length was the focuss of the rescue operation. In this area seventy-six graves were excavated. The finds and structure of the graves indicate that it belongs to the Late Iron Age period.

This paper presents the results of the excavations and its significance in enhancing our understanding about a crucial period in the antiquity of Oman. The paper focuses on the grave structure, the human skeletal remains and the grave goods. The paper also examines the noticeable presence of child graves and their goods. The graves in general yielded a very interesting material which includes iron rings, spear heads, arrow heads, stone and shell beads, ear rings, jars and few soft stone bowls. Evidence paleo-pathological nature has been attested in teeth cavities. It is believed that the results of this will cast light on the Late Iron Age period in this particular part of ancient Oman.

Dr Joy McCorriston
(Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, USA)
Short Biography
Dr. McCorriston researches agricultural origins and development and paleoenvironmental conditions in the ancient Near East. Dr. McCorriston is also the Director (with Dr. Eric Oches and Dr. Abdalaziz Bin ' Aqil) of the RASA (Roots of Agriculture in Southern Arabia) Research Project.
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Abstract

FORAGING ECONOMIES AND POPULATION IN THE MIDDLE HOLOCENE HIGHLANDS OF SOUTHERN YEMEN

Foraging populations facing a significant decline in rainfall during the Middle Holocene (6000-5000 BP), experienced important changes in the distribution and reliability of resources. Such environmental change must have entailed adjustment on the part of foragers, but the first direct evidence for agriculture and food production in Hadramawt comes from a much later period (ca. 3500 BP). Because sedentism, packing, and population density have been generally implicated as important factors in transitions to agriculture elsewhere, the little-know period between the Middle Holocene climatic shift and the introduction of domesticated plant agriculture in Hadramawt remains an important target for empirical study. This paper presents new results from survey of the Wadi Sana drainage in the southern Jol of Hadramawt Province and examines details of resource distribution and culture change over the crucial Middle Holocene period. Charcoal analysis and hyrax middens document local vegetation, while site distributions and frequencies suggest declines in human population. These new survey data also allow first estimates of population and population densities across the Middle Holocene aridification.

Fathia M el-Menghawi
(Department of Architecture and Building Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK)
Short Biography
Fathia Milud el-Menghawi, BSc. graduate in architecture and urban planning from el-Fateh University 1986. I worked as an architect with the National Consulting Bureau (NBC) Tripoli from 1986- 1991 then as a tutor in the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of El-Fateh University from 1992-1999. Currently I am doing an MPhil degree in Islamic Architecture in the University of Liverpool.

Abstract

THE ORIGIN OF SACREDNESS AND FEMININITY IN THE MOSLEM DWELLING

The main intention of this paper is to explore the connection between Moslem residential space and the central position of sacredness and women in the Islamic scriptures (the Holy Qur'an and the hadiths) through their early manifestation in the two main Moslem sacred edifices - the house of God (the Ka'aba) and the Prophet's house (Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi). The two themes, i.e. sacredness and femininity, have had a major impact on shaping the viewpoint concerning the notion of privacy in the Moslem dwelling, which also has an origin in these two edifices. Although this notion and its manifestation in the Moslem built environment has been under focus in previous research (e.g. Bahamam (2000), Mazumdar et al (1997), al-Kodmany (2000)), its connection with the architectural manifestation of the Ka'aba and Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi is merely mentioned. The paper will further attempt to demonstrate the roots of the themes of sacredness and femininity in these sacred edifices. It is strongly believed that these themes have a major role to play and implications for the Moslem's spatial organisation of dwellings.

The manifestation of sacredness and femininity
In the Moslem dwelling

The house of God The Prophet's house
Sacredness

- The first sacred accommodation - The first mosque erected by
the Prophet
- The centre of Moslem congregation - Nucleus of the first Islamic
State

Femininity

- The way in which the Ka'aba is - The Prophet's wives' role
served, dressed and referred to in Medina
has a feminine connotations - The integration between
private and public spaces

The Moslem's dwelling

- The sacredness is manifested in
The centrality and the (hurma) of the courtyard
- The femininity is manifested in
The protection of the Women's domain (hareem)
The notion of privacy in a Moslem's house

Dr Sophie Méry
(CNRS - UMR7041 ArScan, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, Nanterre, France)
Short Biography
Dr S. Méry is an archaeologist, chargée of research at the CNRS (Centre national de la Recherche scientifique, France. She is since 1998 the Director of the French Archaeological Mission in the United Arab Emirates and she conducts excavations of an Early Bronze Age collective grave at Hili, together with Dr W-.Y. al-Tikriti. Visit this website for more information, as well as the Al Ain museum website.

Kathleen McSweeney
(Edinburgh, Scotland)
Short Biography
Visit this website for more details.

Dr Walid Yasin al-Tikriti
(Department of Antiquities and Tourism, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Short Biography
Visit this website for more details.

Abstract

A sixth season of excavation was held at Hili in the Eastern Province of Abu Dhabi by the French Archaeological Mission in the U.A.E., in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities and Tourism in Al Ain (DAT), from 30th December 2003 until 25th February 2004. Tomb N is a collective burial containing an estimated 600-700 individuals. No selection according to sex but the study of the mortality pattern has shown this year that only some of the infants were probably buried in the tomb. The new excavations the detailed study of the old series of bones previously demonstrate that the tomb probably consisted of primary inhumations. The pattern of mortality is normal for a traditional population. The palaeo-pathological study indicates a rather low number of traumatic lesions, more related to accidents of daily life than inter-personal violence. Traces of anaemia caused by iron deficiency are often associated with children or young adults; anaemia probably played an indirect role in the premature death of these people. Recurrent on Bronze Age archaeological sites of the UAE and Oman, significant loss of teeth ante mortem is generally explained by the development of caries due to the regular consumption of dates, but at Hili it proved to be that this problem was rather more related to dental attrition and to periodontal diseases that affected these individuals from early childhood.

Another important program of the team is the understanding of the technology of the Bronze Age local potters. The experimental work carried out is different from that ordinarily carried out during the study of archaeological pottery. It includes the technological examination of all the vessels and sherds from the pit-grave, and the reconstruction of the techniques used by the potters in the fabrication of a particular recipient, based on the examination of the traces left by the shaping and finishing of the vessels. A model for the technology, taking into account the actions of the ancient potters (from the choice of the raw material to the firing), was proposed. The different techniques identified in the material of tomb N of Hili correspond to those generally discovered in the Middle East during the proto-historical periods: 1) hand-building without use of rotation, 2) coil-building with use of rotation in the finishing, 3) coil-building, with use of rotation during shaping, 4) thrown coils, 5) actual throwing, that implies the centring of a clay ball on the wheel, its hollowing and the raising of the walls. Techniques 3 and 4 are the most frequently encountered at Hili, in the Bronze Age pottery of local and regional fabrication. Field experiments were intended to test the observations made on the archaeological material. The team worked in 2002 with an accomplished Pakistani potter from Masafi (U.A.E.), but in January 2004 with a Canadian potter from the Maison des Arts at Quebec. During these experiments, the team noticed that certain shapes were more suited than others to being worked on the wheel with actual throwing or thrown clay coils, and some not at all. This proves an important point in this study, that the techniques restrict the form, at least when one works at this level of refinement.

Dr Mashary A. Al-Naim
(Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Planning, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia)
Short Biography
Mashary Al-Naim is associate professor of architectural criticism in the faculty of architecture at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. He is also the senior editor of Albenaa magazine (professional architectural magazine). As an architect he designed and refereed several projects in Saudi Arabia, Gulf region and Arab world including Arab city award, Sultan Qabos Award and Kind Abdulla Award. Al-Naim worked as consultant for governmental and private for large scale construction projects. His research and writing spanned cultural impact on architecture, education and professional practice. He has weekly column in Alriyadh Newspaper since 1996 and monthly column in several journals.

Abstract

USING HISTORIC MANUSCRIPTS TO DESCRIBE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE: THE CASE OF AL-HASSA, SAUDI ARABIA

In Saudi Arabia in general and Hofuf (eastern region) in particular, there are few resources that can be used to describe past architecture. The city of Hofuf is one of the lucky cities because it has a huge manuscript archive that describe the traditional city and how people used and lived in its elements. This archive, unfortunately does not exist in one place, but it is owned partially by people, as private collection, and by some of the museums. This paper tries to explain the traditional city of Hofuf (which was founded in the thirteenth century) depending on the available manuscripts. The emphasis will be on the names of city and architectural elements.

Professor Dr Vitaly Naumkin
(Russian Centre for Strategic Research & International Studies, Moscow, Russia)
Short Biography
Read an interview conducted with Prof Naumkin at the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley on 19 February, 2003. You can also watch this using RealPlayer.

Professor Dr Victor Porkhomovsky
(Institute of Linguistics, Moscow, Russia)
Short Biography
Professsor Dr Victor Porkhomovsky was born 04.06.1945. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1968; Ph.D., D.Sc. (Habilitation). He is Leading Research Fellow in the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), and Professor of the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University. His research interests are Hamito-Semitic comparative studies, Socotri language and culture, ethnolinguistics and sociolinguistics.

Visit this website for more information.

Abstract

CONCEPT OF MAN IN TRADITIONAL SOCOTRAN CULTURE

The aim of the present paper is to attempt a reconstruction of the traditional Socotran picture of the world, pertaining to the place of the man in nature and society. Of course, nowadays it is not possible to make a coherent presentation of all or most important elements of this picture of the world, and the situation is deteriorating very quickly due to an intensive process of Arabization and Islamization of Socotra in the course of the last decades.

This analysis is based on the data collected by the present authors and other researchers. All possible materials have been used. Most important in this respect are texts and fragments of texts reflecting traditional preislamic conceptions and attitudes as well as archaeological sources. The following issues will be discussed in this context:

- man and nature (animate and inanimate) - animals, insects, water, stones, clay, trees, symbolic value of colours, etc;
- man and preternatural world - jinns, spirits, cannibals, witches, mythological creatures;
- diseases, traditional medicine, funeral rituals, life in the next world, ancestors, tribal epos,
- self-identification, tribal and kinship structures, lower and upper tribes.

Professor Dr Norbert Nebes
(Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany)
Short Biography
Professor Dr Norbert Nebes gained his Dr. phil. in Semitic Philology in 1982 at the Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München with a dissertation on Funktionsanalyse von kaana yaf'alu. Ein Beitrag zur Verbalsyntax des Althocharabischen (published Hildesheim, 1982). His Habilitation in Semitic Studies on Die Konstruktionen mit fa- im Altsüdarabischen (published Wiesbaden, 1995) was awarded in 1989 by the Philipps-Universität Marburg, where he was Privatdozent until 1993, when he was appointed Full Professor of Semitic and Islamic Studies at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.
For his publications and homepage click here.

Abstract

A NABATAEAN-SABAIC BILINGUAL INSCRIPTION FROM SIRWAH (YEMEN)

During the 2004 season of excavations at the ancient site of Sirwah conducted by the German Archaeological Institute, a bilingual inscription written in Sabaic and Nabataean was found. Although the Sabaic part is broken into several pieces, many of these have been identified as fragments found in earlier seasons. On the other hand, the Nabataean text is well preserved. The inscription contains a dedication of four lines to the deity Dhu Sharaa, and is of particular importance because it is dated to the third year of the reign of the Nabataean king Aretas IV.

Dr Laïla Nehmé
(CNRS, Paris, France)
Short Biography
PhD in archaeology, 1994. Researcher in the CNRS since 1995 in the 'Laboratoire des études sémitiques anciennes', Collège de France. Director of the Saudi-French Medain Salih Archaeological Project, Director of the project 'Inventaire des Inscriptions nabatéennes'.

Abstract

TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE URBAN SPACE OF HEGRA/MADÂ'IN SÂLIH THROUGH EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

In December 2003, the Saudi-French Madâ'in Sâlih Archaeological Project completed its third season of fieldwork. The first two seasons were devoted to the study of the monumental tombs, the religious monuments of the Jabal Ithlib area, and of the residential area in the centre of the site. One of the goals of the third season was to record and map all the monuments and inscriptions which are scattered throughout the site and to enter the data collected on a GIS database. The site has large numbers of inscriptions, written in four different languages and scripts: Nabataean, Thamudic, Lihyanite and Greek. The Project has mapped the exact position of each one and its relationship to monuments or geographical features, and, of course, has identified whether it is a new discovery or a text previously recorded by Jaussen and Savignac in the 1900s, or Winnett and Reed in the 1960s.

The aim of this paper is to show the importance of the inscriptions - even the so-called graffiti - in the analysis of the urban space of ancient Hegra. The criteria which will be used are statistical - numbers of inscriptions, language and type, distribution, date, etc. - but also topographic. The map of the site we have made permits for the first time a thorough analysis of the distribution of the inscriptions and the relationships between them and the monuments and geographical features of the site. It is this particular link which will help us understand how the site was organized in the Nabataean period, and possibly later.

Professor Dr Valeria Piacentini Fiorani
(Department of Political Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy)
Short Biography
Professor Dr Valeria Piacentini Fiorani is professor of the History and Institutions of Muslim Countries in the Department of Political Science at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy. She is Director of the Athenaeum Centre C.Ri.S.S.M.A. (Research Centre on the Southern System and Wider Mediterranean) and has carried out field-work in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman. She has published extensively in Italian and in English. Visit this website for more details.

Abstract

SUHAR AND THE BUHID AND SELJUK OVERSEAS MILITARY EXPEDITIONS

The fortunes of Suhar, under certain circumstances, are tied to those of the Fars and to the reorganisation of the traditional Iranian society under new political and military forces. At the start of the 10th century this process came within a system reaching its peak under the dominion of the Buhids (320-454 AH/932-1062 AD). In this specific context two points have special relevance:

1) the emergence and predominance of a mercantile class
2) the overseas military initiatives (namely those of 'Imad al-Dawlah, 934 AD, 'Adud al-Dawlah, 949 AD, and 'Imad al-Din Abi Kalijar, 1027-1048 AD).

The literary sources of the epoch allow us to perceive the sharp political sense of 'Imad al-Dawlah, which gave him immediate insight into the contingent situation. Under the rule of these shi'i Dailamite Lords, the great Merchant Families of the Fars region were to re-emerge, public affairs and business being de facto and de jure in the hands of the traditional forces who had made the traditional social and cultural milieu of the urban and mercantile life all along the Gulf seaboard, both Iranian and Arabic. Within such a framework, stands Siraf as the main outlet of the Fars - its close links with Suhar are well attested by the historiography of the time. 'Imad al-Dawlah's successors carried out with his political lines with great lucidity. The Buhid military overseas expeditions can be read as dictated by the need to restore order in the waters of the Gulf made insecure for both shipping and trade. Emigration and population movements occurred on a large scale, considerably contributing to increase the activity of Suhar and its harbour (the Buhid "destruction" of Suhar may be re-read through a different lens).

At the end of the 10th century we have two circumstances of a certain relevance: (1) Siraf was heavily damaged by an earthquake (997); (2) new dynastic upheavels occurred on the Iranian plateau defeating and crushing the Buhids' military supremacy. However, the same sources tell us that the mercantile life of the Gulf did not come to an end. Sirafi colonies - with their wealth, riches and most of all with their net of influential connections as yet still intact and active - are to be found in numerous ports and emporia all along the Gulf and even far afield: among these, Suhar - the continental state of anarchy and institutional chaos giving new impetus to this city and to its maritime predominance.

Similarly, we see such a situation repeating itself with the Seljuk dominion and its overseas policy. Although it marks a period of economic stagnation (likely due to civil wars along the Arabian coast and Fatimid competition), Suhar is still recalled in contemporary sources as a port of call and a renown centre of culture - one of the most reputed shara'itic school of the time.

Carl Phillips
(CNRS UMR 7041, France)
Short Biography
?

Abstract

BAMY 2004 SURVEY PROGRAMME

Previous work conducted under the aegis of the BAMY indicated the presence of large early first-millennium BC sites on the Tihamah coastal plain. Two sites located on the Wadi Siham, al-Hamid and Waqir, have produced a wide range of characteristic objects (e.g. pottery, stone tools etc.), South Arabian inscriptions and evidence of temples, houses and tombs all typical of the archaic Sabaean period.

Limited survey by the BAMY has also shown the existence of earlier prehistoric sites on the Tihamahh which complement the results of earlier Italian surveys.

The aim of the proposed survey is to build on these results and to answer some specific problems.

1) It is proposed to survey two sections of the Tihamah coast. These comprise the area between Mocha and al-Khawkha, and the area between al-Luhayyah and Maydi.
A number of authors have written of a coastal "Sabir Culture" which is broadly representative of the second-millennium BC and supposedly extends from Sabir (near Aden) to Sihi (near Jizan). However, it is my opinion that there are not yet any sites in the area between these two "type sites" that can be safely ascribed to this so-called culture. One aim of the survey in these two areas would be therefore to locate sites that show clear parallels with either Sabir or Sihi. In addition there is the problem concerning the location of coastal sites from the later pre-Islamic period. This includes those sites mentioned by Classical authors, such as the author of the Periplus, Ptolemy etc.

2) Further survey along the lower course of the Wadi Siham.
Although two large pre-Islamic sites are known on the Wadi Siham (i.e. al-Hamid and Waqir) There are stretches of the wadi that still need to be surveyed. In particular these include the area between Ubal and al-Hamid. Ubal is located at the junction of the Tihamah and the highlands and appears a likely location for sites. There is also a reported obsidian source nearby which would be of interest to locate and sample.

Further survey is also needed around the important site of Waqir. This site is gradually being destroyed by the extension of major irrigation works.

3) Survey along the lower reaches of Wadi Surdud and Wadi Mawr.
The objective is to visit locations on these two wadis comparable in aspect to al-Hamid and Waqir on the Wadi Siham, in order to see if there is a more widespread pre-Islamic settlement pattern on the northern Tihamah.
The presence of early first millennium BC settlement in the Wadi Mawr is alluded to in one of the inscriptions found at Waqir by the BAMY. And it is also necessary to make a further detailed inquiry in to the origin of the pre-Islamic inscriptions incorporated in the walls of the mosque of Ali Mahmul, near to the village of Mawr.

Professor Dr Mikhail Rodionov
(Asian Department, Peter-the-Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russia)
Short Biography
Professor Mikhail Rodionov, Head of the Asian Department, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia. His research topics are: the Arab culture, religion and poetry. For twenty years he has been engaged in ethnographic fieldwork in Hadramawt, Yemen. An English version of his book on this area is to appear soon.

Abstract

'SATANIC MATTERS': SOCIAL CONFLICT IN MADUDA (HADRAMAWT): 1357 / 1938

The paper intends to cover a case story of a conflict within traditional social strata in Wadi Hadramawt in connection with ritual ibex hunt. Valuable information about the topic is stored in the archives of the Kathiri Sultans (Sayun) which I have been studied during six months in 2003. The shaykhs and muqaddams of Maduda, an important handicraft settlement in Wadi Hadramawt, sent successive letters to the Kathiri Sultan providing him with the details of the conflict and their attitude to it ('It is the time when a humble raises his voice and a tribesman neglects the custom').

" My approach to the topic combines textual research with the fieldwork in situ. Conversations with the descendants of some key figures mentioned in the documents shed more light on the problem. I consider the topic important for examination of written and oral aspects of local tradition at the time of crucial social changes.

Jeffrey Rose
(Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, USA)
Short biography
Visit this website for more details.

Abstract

REPORT ON THE 2004 ARCHAEOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AT QARAT KIBRIT, CENTRAL OMAN

South Arabia is terra incognita for Middle/Late Stone Age archaeology. The Central Oman Pleistocene Research program (COPR) was established to investigate this poorly understood period, focusing on the last interglacial phase (~125,000 to ~25,000 BP). Fieldwork conducted during the winter of 2004 yielded the first in situ site of this time period on the Arabian Peninsula. Three distinct archaeological strata were uncovered in the salt dome of Qarat Kibrit, demonstrating a technology that is reminiscent of the earliest Homo sapiens sapiens population in East Africa. Qarat Kibrit suggests an early human expansion into South Arabia, thereby supporting the Out of Africa model of modern human origins and providing evidence for the first human population in Arabia.

Dr Axelle Rougeulle
(CNRS UMR 8084, France)
Short Biography
Axelle Rougeulle, born 1952, two children. Specialised in Islamic archaeology, especially the history of trade in Eastern Islam and Indian Ocean. Member of the French CNRS. Currently in charge of an archaeological project of comprehensive study of the southern coast of Yemen, surveys and excavations at port sites. See here and this website for information on previous work.

Abstract

THE SHARMA HORIZON: SGRAFFIATO WARES AND OTHER GLAZED CERAMICS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TRADE, CA 980-1150.

Isolated at the head of a cape on the coast of Hadramawt (Yemen), the fortified harbour site of Sharma was one of the main ports of the Indian Ocean trade in the medieval period. A totally unique site, it was probably a transit entrepôt belonging to Iranian merchants, a warehouse at the crossroads of the maritime itineraries of the time were ships used to call to renew their cargoes and take on supplies of local merchandises such as incense. Archaeological data indicate that it was founded ca 980 and abandoned in the middle of the 12th century, and its history is therefore certainly connected with the complete reorganisation of the Gulf international trade which followed the earthquake at Siraf in 977 and the succeeding exodus of its merchants to other coastal centres, Qays and Hormuz (PSAS 33, 2003).

Besides its historical importance, Sharma is also very interesting as it delivers a large amount of local and imported ceramic wares, from China, India, the Gulf area, Eastern Africa and Yemen itself, all dated from the limited time-span 980-1150, which could be named the Sharma horizon. The study of this corpus provides many information on the exchange networks in the Indian Ocean at that time, as on the characteristics and dates of the different pottery types and their evolution throughout the stratigraphical phases at the site. This is the case in particular for the glazed ceramics, which are among the most useful chronological guides for the archaeology of this region and may now be much better documented.

Dr. Abdulrahman al-Salimi
(Biddyah, Sultanate of Oman)
Short Biography
Dr Abdulrahman al-Salimi gained his PhD from the University of Durham in 2001. He is currently Chief editor of al-Tasamoh magazine. He has written various articles in Arabic and English and has edited several work in classic Arabic; theology, fiqh, and tafsir.

Abstract

THE HISTORY OF MAKRAMID

This paper explores the history of Makramids in Oman (395/1004-442/1052); which is a significant period for the development of Oman culture. Despite that, there are few studies looked into this period of Oman Histroy (for example, Stern and Bivar 1958, Bosworth 199). Both of these studies, however, provide little details. Therefore, this makes the investigation of this period in Omani history indistinct. One of the difficult aspect of this history is to distinguish of the events during that period either the involvement between Buyids and Makramid or the Imams of Oman and Makramid.

The period of Buyids and their attempts to spread control over Oman starting from (355/966) is characterized by a strong social and political characters; and hence is reflected in the prominent culture for this period.

In this paper I focus on this period of the Oman History. First I describe the literature related to this study and the process of collecting relevant information. Details study into Makramid period insights us to identify significant unique character of this period. In particular, this study unravel a special relation between Persian and the Gulf. Also I will be specifically look into details of this relation which might have been omitted from previous studies, as they have been considered as sensitive issues.

Juergen Schreiber
(Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin, Germany)
Short Biography
I studied Near Eastern Archaeology at Munich University and graduated with a MA in 1998. From 1995 to 2001 I participated in excavations and surveys at different sites in the Sultanate of Oman. Since 2002 I have been scientific assistant at the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, for the project 'transformation processes at oases in Oman'.

For more background information visit this website:
Oman: Ein archäologisches Internet-Geoinformationssystem der Oase Ibra'

Abstract

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY AT IBRA IN THE SHARQIYAH, SULTANATE OF OMAN

While the 2002 campaigns of the interdisciplinary German-Omani co-operation project about 'Transformation processes in oasis settlements in Oman' were carried out at the coastal site of Tiwi, archaeological investigations in spring and autumn of 2003 concentrated on the large inland oasis of Ibra in the Sharqiyah. As the location between the eastern al-Hajar mountains and the Wahiba sands suggests, this oasis must have played an important role through the ages, but was never objective of systematic investigation.

The ruins of impressive merchant houses in the traditional quarters of Ibra still bear witness of this importance for the later Islamic periods, but the survey revealed also remains of all prehistoric periods, which are presented in this paper. The earliest evidence was found near the village of ath-Thabti at the northern edge of the oasis, where worked flint tools propose a Neolithic date. Followed by remains of the Hafit- and/or Umm an-Nar-period, represented by tombs in this area, settlement shifted to the main oasis during the Umm an-Nar-period. While the following Wadi Suq-period is just represented by scanty remains, the use of the oasis increased during the early and late Iron Age.

Eivind Heldaas Seland
(Research Fellow, Department of History, University of Bergen, Norway)
Short Biography
Eivind Heldaas Seland is a research fellow at the University of Bergen, Norway. His project, Indian Ocean in Antiquity: Trade and the emerging state, sees the polities bordering the Indian Ocean against the common backdrop of increasing maritime trade with the Mediterranean region in the early centuries of our era. Visit his website for more details.

Abstract

SOUTH ARABIA IN ANTIQUITY: TRADE AND STRATEGIES OF STATE CONTROL AS SEEN IN THE PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRAEI

The ancient trade in aromatics has been postulated as an important basis for the emergence and existence of the early states of southern Arabia, but can a connection be confirmed? South Arabian epigraphic material rarely touches upon commercial matters. When it deals with economic issues, irrigation and land control dominate.

Periplus Maris Erythraei, the merchant's handbook to trade on the Indian Ocean in the mid first century, provides an external perspective on aspects of production and international exchange in South Arabia. Close reading seems to reveal that rulers in Saba-Himyar and Hadramawt took active measures to expand and strengthen control with key commodities and trade routes, in order to adept to a new situation that arose from increased direct trade from Egypt to India and modern Somalia. The impression is strengthened by certain results from the last decade's excavations of the coastal sites of Qana and Khor Rori in Yemen and Oman.

The relative role of trade compared to economic and social factors like irrigation and religion remains unclear. Its influence on state policy however testifies that the importance of trade was appreciated by the South Arabian rulers in Antiquity themselves.

The paper presents partial results from my dissertation project, Indian Ocean in Antiquity: Trade and the emerging state, sponsored by the Indian Ocean Program at the University of Bergen and the Norwegian Research Council.

Dr Magda Sibley
(School of Architecture & Building Engineering, The University of Liverpool, UK)
Short Biography
Visit her personal website for more details.

Abstract

THE ISLAMIC BATHS OF DAMASCUS AND THEIR SURVIVAL INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

Bath houses have existed since the Hellenestic period and flourished throughout the time of the Romans and Bysantines. Although the bathing tradition died out in the West, it continued in the Levant after the arrival of Muslim Arabs.

The Islamic public baths form part of the triad of essential urban facilities in the Islamic city - the mosque, the hammam and the suq. They are key facilities which not only facilitate the accomplishment of the great ablutions (hence their location near mosques) but they also play an important social function as they serve as a meeting place for both male and female society.

The period following the rise of Islam witnessed a rapid development in the history of baths and a change from Roman to Islamic bathing habits. The first Islamic baths were built in Syria during the Ummayad period. The best surviving example is to be found in the Ummayad palace"Qusair Amra" in today's Jordanian desert.

In the main urban centres, however, early examples of hammams are difficult to find, because they have either been rebuilt or built over. In principle, the hammam adopted and continued the system of the Roman Thermae. Thus there are three successive rooms which allow for graded transition between cold and hot.

This paper presents the results of a recently conducted survey of the historic public baths of Damascus, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board - UK (AHRB). The survey was conducted to evaluate how many of the historic baths surveyed by Ecochard and Le Coeur in the 1940' s have managed to survive into the twenty first century and to highlight their present state and use.

Ecochard, M. and Le Coeur, C. "Les Bains de Damas I and II" Beirut: Institut Francais de Damas, 1942, 1943.

David, J.C. and Hubert D. "Le Deperissement du Hammam dans la ville: le cas d'Alep" Les Cahiers de la Recherche Architecturale 10/11. Paris. April 1982, pp 62-91.

Dr Peter Stein
(Institut fuer Sprachen und Kulturen des Vorderen Orients, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena, Jena, Germany)
Short Biography
Born on 20th June 1970 in Dresden (GDR), 1987-1990 apprenticeship and work as a toolmaker,
1992 Abitur, 1992-1998 Student of Assyriology, Semitistics and Theology in Jena, 1998 M.A. in Assyriology, 2002 PhD Thesis on Phonology and Morphology of Sabaic (just published), since 2002 research work on the Sabaic minuscule inscriptions on wood in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. For more information see this website.

Abstract

ONCE AGAIN: THE DIVISION OF THE MONTH IN ANCIENT SOUTH ARABIA

In the calendar of ancient South Arabia, the month was divided into three decades. Days were counted from 'one' to 'ten' and attributed to one of these decades, named d\_-fr´, d\_-fqh\.y, and d\_-`gby respectively. Especially the procedure of counting the last decade of each month, however, has recently been debated. Among the Sabaic minuscule inscriptions on wood we now have got evidence which sheds new light upon the counting in general and the problem of the last decade in particular.

Professor Yosef Tobi
(Hebrew & Comparative Literature, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel)
Short Biography
Professor Yosef Tobi teaches in the Hebrew and Comparative Department at the University of Haifa. Has written on medieval Hebrew poetry, Yemenite Jewry, the history of the Jews in Muslim countries, and medieval and moderm Judeo-Arabic literature. Editor of TEMA - Journal for the history and culture of Yemenite Jewry, and BEN 'EVER LA-'ARAV - Journal for the contacts between Arabic literature and Jewish literature.

Abstract

AN UNKNOWN STUDY BY YOSEF HALEVY ON HIS TRAVEL TO YEMEN

Prof. Joseph Halevy visited Yemen in 1869/70 to where he was sent by the French Academy. On his return he published his important and rich findings in long reports and studies in French journals: Rapport sur une mission archeologique dans le Yemen, Journal Asiatique 19 (1872); 1 (1873); 2 (1873); 4 (1874); Voyage au Nedjran, Bulletin de la Societ? de Geographie de Paris 6 (1873); 13 (1877). The contribution of these voluminous publications was one of most important to the knowledge about Himyari history and culture, as well as about Muslims and Jews in Modern Yemen. But it seems that Halevy still had some more studies that for some reason he did not bring to print. Some years ago I found in the Library of Alliance Israelite Universelle in Paris an unknown study in his own handwriting. This study holds 12 pages written in very small characters and carries the title: Villes et chateaux anciens dans le Yemen. To my best knowledge this study was not published, as is determined as well by Christian Robin. The paper will depict the new information we have in this new study of Halevy compared with his other known studies.

Dr Donatella Usai (Joint Hadd Project, Italy)

Short Biography
Dr Usai has a PhD in African archaeology and is a specialist in lithic analysis. She is currently researching the question of the mesolithic/neolithic transition and is directing an archaeological project in Sudan, as well as being involved in the excavation of a neolithic site in the Wadi Shab in Oman.

Abstract

CHISELS, WEDGES? THE LITHIC INDUSTRY OF RAS AL-HAMRA 5 (MUSCAT, OMAN) - POSTER PRESENTATION

Ras al-Hamra 5 was excavated at the beginning of the 1980s by the Italian Archaeological Mission. The site is located on the western reef of the Ra's al-Hamra promontory, in front of the Batina. Seven settlement phases were recognised at RH5 which produced an interesting sample of lithic industry, hitherto only partially studied. A comprehensive analysis of this material produced a picture of a very specialised production mostly orientated to perforating tools. Debitage, cores and tools left in the occupational debris at the site do not show a great deal of variability, apart for slight differences in the sample recovered from the first phase of occupation.

Dr Paul Yule
(Seminar for the Language and Culture of the Near East, University of Heidelberg, Germany)
Short biography
Paul Yule teaches at the University of Heidelberg. He has conducted fieldwork in the Sultanate of Oman as well as in the Yemen at Zafar. Specialities include metalwork, Iron Age, Bronze Age architecture, as well as cultural resource management. His Gazetteer of Archaeological Sites is being developed for the entire Arabian Gulf. For more information visit the websites of the:
German Archaeological Expedition to the Sultanate of Oman
German Oman Archaeological Expedition
or the personal website of Paul Yule.

Abstract

THE SAMAD CULTURE - ECHOES

Named after the oasis in the eastern central Sultanate where initially sighted, in 1982 the Samad Culture came to the fore in a paper published in PSAS. Whereas its discoverers expected or hoped for a dating just following the Early Iron Age in the later first millennium BCE, instead 25 carbon determinations from the skeletons of the interred spread over the mid to late first millennium CE. To arrive at a chronology, first one must come to grips with the other main late Pre-Islamic culture in the UAE. In Oman, these are Samail/al-Baruni and al-Zahirah/Amlah. Unfortunately, potential dating connections with Oman/Dhofar are insignificant. Rare artefactual similarities between the Samad Culture and that to the north-west are clearly secondary to radiocarbon from the graves in precision, especially in light of the large number of assays. Unfortunately, since the presentation of the entire dating evidence for the Samad Culture in 2001, its chronology has hardly been discussed. Recently, however, without naming details, an expert from the joint ed-Dur team dated the Samad Culture prior to the second to fourth centuries CE. The late Pre-Islamic sites mostly in the UAE and the Samad Culture share only balsamaria and a few other forms. Despite certain contradictions, the evidence for the relative and the absolute chronology of the Samad Culture harmonize.

© Seminar for Arabian Studies 2006.

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