Seminar for Arabian Studies

Abstracts - 2011 Seminar

The 2011 Seminar for Arabian Studies will be held at the British Museum in London from Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th July 2011.

All lectures will be held in the BP Lecture Theatre and the Stevenson Lecture Theatre in the Clore Centre within the British Museum.

This will be supported by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation. Visit their website at: www.mbifoundation.com.



See gallery of photographs taken during the Seminar for Arabian Studies Reception, held at the British Museum on Friday 29th July 2011.

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

ABSTRACTS

THURSDAY JULY 28th 2011
(BP Lecture Theatre)

09:00-09:45 - Initial Registration (registration will continue for the duration of the Seminar)

09:45 - Welcome

BRONZE AGE TRANSFORMATIONS
Chair: Mark Beech (ADACH, UAE)

09:55 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

OLIJDAM, Eric
Independent Researcher, Nederland
http://independent.academia.edu/EricOlijdam

Eric Olijdam is an independent researcher whose studies the Bronze Age 'World System', primarily from the perspective of the Gulf. His focus is on Dilmun during the second millennium BC, i.e. the Early and Middle Dilmun periods. He has excavated and surveyed in the Netherlands (various sites), Syria (Tall Hammam al-Turkuman) and Bahrain (Qal'at al-Bahrayn). He is involved in the study and publication of City 'IIF' and IIIa ceramics from Qal'at al-Bahrayn (Danish excavations, 1960), Middle Dilmun sealings from Qal'at al-Bahrayn (French excavations, 1995-2004) and the subterranean Early Dilmun cemetery at Karranah 2 (French excavations, 1986-1987).

City 'IIF' pottery from Excavation 420 at Qal'at al-Bahrayn and Dilmun during the post-IIc period

In recent years much progress has been made on the chronology of the Early and Middle Dilmun period, primarily due to the final publications of the excavations by the Danish Archaeological Expedition to Bahrain. However, our understanding of the late Early Dilmun period (post-IIc) still draws heavily on the preliminary observations made by Flemming Højlund in 1983 on the basis of a selection of sherds from layer 15 of Excavation 420, the West Wall at Qal'at al-Bahrayn. I was given permission to study the ceramics from Excavation 420 (1960 campaign) stored at the Forhistorisk Museum in Moesgaard. This is the first presentation of the results of that examination. City 'IIF' material is found in two superimposed deposits (layers 15 and 16), resulting in a collection of c.350 diagnostic sherds. The City 'IIF' ceramic assemblage will be presented as a whole and for the separate layers; compared with and placed chronologically in relation to post-IIc assemblages from domestic contexts on Bahrain. Then compared with and placed chronologically in relation to post-IIc assemblages from funerary contexts on Bahrain; compared and placed chronologically in relation to Old Babylonian domestic and funerary assemblages from Mesopotamia. Finally, the chronological consequences will be briefly discussed in light of contemporary written documents from Mesopotamia.

Keywords: Bahrain, Qal'at al-Bahrayn (Qal'at al-Bahrain/Qala'at al-Bahrain), Dilmun, Early Dilmun period, second millennium BC chronology.

10:20 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

HAUSLEITER, Arnulf
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Orient-Abteilung, Podbielskiallee 69-71, 14195 Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Arnulf Hausleiter is a researcher at the Orient Department of the German Archaeological Institute and field director of the excavations at the oasis of Tayma, Saudi Arabia (German component). He has excavated in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Italy. He is author of Neuassyrische Keramik im Kerngebiet Assyriens: Chronologie und Formen (2010) and co-editor of Rituale in der Vorgeschiche, Antike und Gegenwart (2003), Material Culture and Mental Spheres (2002), and Iron Age pottery in northern Mesopotamia, north Syria and south-eastern Anatolia (1999).

The oasis of Tayma in the 2nd millennium BC

Stratified contexts from the late second to early first millennia BC at the site of Tayma indicate a significant occupation of this oasis, long before the well-known first millennium BC kingdoms of the time of the Babylonian and Lihyanite control. Parts of the city wall as well as several other locations within the walled area may belong to this period, in which the oasis was also well-connected to neighbouring regions. In the light of recent results from excavations at Tayma, spatial and functional aspects of the settlement development are discussed in the framework of regional archaeological and historical data.

Keywords: Tayma, 2nd millennium BC, pottery, stratigraphy, cultural contacts

References:
Hausleiter A. 2010a. L'oasis de Tayma. Pages 218-239 in A.I. al-Ghabban et al. (eds), Routes d'Arabie. Archéologie et Histoire du Royaume Arabie-Saoudite, Paris: Somogy.
Hausleiter A. 2010b. La céramique du début de l'âge dur Fer. Page 240 in A.I. al-Ghabban et al. (eds), Routes d'Arabie. Archéologie et Histoire du Royaume Arabie-Saoudite. Paris: Somogy.

10:45 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

EICHMANN, Ricardo
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Orient-Abteilung, Podbielskiallee 69-71, 14195 Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Ricardo Eichmann initiated field projects in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen, focusing on settlements in arid regions. Since 2004, he is directing field work in the oasis of Tayma, north-west Saudi Arabia, together with Dr. Arnulf Hausleiter and in close cooperation with Saudi Arabian institutions.

SPERVESLAGE, Gunnar
Altägyptisches Wörterbuch, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Jägerstraße 22/23, 10117 Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Currently, Gunnar is a researcher at Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Altägyptisches Wörterbuch. His doctoral dissertation will focus on the cultural relations between Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. He is a specialist in the phonology and morphology of the ancient Egyptian language and Egyptian archaeology. He participated in the Tayma project for several years.

Egyptian cultural impact on north-west Arabia in the 2nd and 1st millennium BC

Recent epigraphic evidence attesting the presence of the administration of Rameses III in north-west Arabia confirmed Egypt's political and economic interest in that region. Cultural contacts between Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula in general are indicated by artefacts found in graves and settlement layers at different sites of the peninsula. This evidence will be discussed with reference to recent archaeological excavations in the region. According to architectural evidence from Tayma, it will be argued that communities from Egypt or the egyptianized Levant moved by the end of the Late Bronze Age to north-west Arabia where they established fortified enclaves. The purpose of their presence is likely to be economically motivated.

Keywords: Early Iron Age, north-west Arabia, Egypt, interregional contacts, Tayma

References:
Sperveslage G. Forthcoming. Ägyptischen Funde aus Tayma. In R. Eichmann & A.Hausleiter (eds), Tayma 1. Reports on palaeoenvironment, history and archaeology. Orient-Archäologie. Rahden/Westf.
Sperveslage G. Forthcoming. Ägypten und Arabien. In R. Eichmann & A.Hausleiter (eds), Tayma 1. Reports on palaeoenvironment, history and archaeology. Orient-Archäologie. Rahden/Westf.
Vittmann G. 2003 Ägypten und die Fremden im ersten vorchristlichen Jahrtausend. Mainz-am-Rhein: P. von Zabern.

11:10-11:40 TEA COFFEE

11:40 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MAGEE, Peter
Department of Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 North Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010, USA

Peter Magee is an Associate Professor of archaeology at Bryn Mawr College (Pennsylvania, USA) where he teaches Near Eastern archaeology and co-ordinates the programme in geo-archaeology. He is interested in the archaeology of human settlement in arid environments and, in addition to excavating in Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Pakistan has, since 1993, directed the excavations at the Iron Age settlement of Muweilah in the United Arab Emirates.

UERPMANN, Hans-Peter
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

Hans-Peter Uerpmann has been working in south-east Arabia from the 1980s, mainly in regard to the Neolithic period, but also extending to the Palaeolithic and Metal Ages with regard to environmental history and Archaeozoology. Fieldwork has concentrated on the Emirate of Sharjah during the last decade in close cooperation with the local Directorate of Antiquities.

UERPMANN, Margarethe
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

HÄNDEL, Marc
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

HAMMER, Emily

Renewed Excavations at Tell Abraq (Sharjah, UAE)

In the winter of 2010-2011, excavations recommenced at site of Tell Abraq (Tall Abraq) in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE). This large mound has been of critical importance to our understanding of the archaeology of south-east Arabia since it was intensively excavated by D.T. Potts in the 1990s. The current excavations focus on clarifying the chronology of the second and first millennia BC so that major ecological changes, such as dromedary domestication, can be more fully understood. In this paper, we will present the results of this excavation which revealed, amongst other important finds, a massive Bronze Age fortification wall that surrounded the main area of the settlement as well as considerable 'off-tell' occupation dating to these important millennia.

LATE PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA
Chair: Robert Hoyland (Oxford University, UK)

12:05 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MOUTON, Michel
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 7041 Maison de l'Archéologie et Ethnologie, 21 Allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre cedex, République Française.

Michel Moutin is a Researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Director of the French Archaeological Expedition in Sharjah between 1992 and 1997; Director of the French Archaeological Expedition in al-Jawf, Hadramawt between 1996 and 2006; Head of the excavations at Mleiha in the UAE and of the 'Early Petra' programme in Jordan.

TENGBERG, Margareta
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne/UMR 7209 Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, République Française

After studies in Near Eastern archaeology at the Universities of Copenhagen and the Sorbonne in Paris, Margareta Tengberg was awarded her PhD in Biology at the University of Montpellier. Since 2003 she has been a lecturer at the University of Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne). As a specialist in the archaeobotany of the Middle East, she has worked with teams in eastern Arabia (Bahrain, UAE and Oman), as well as in Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia. Of particular interest to her research activities are the origin and early history of date palm cultivation, the evolution of the vegetation cover in arid regions in relationship to human activities and the early spread of agriculture in the Neolithic Middle East.

LE MAGUER, Sterenn
UFR 03, Histoire de l'art et Archéologie, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, République Française

Sterenn le Maguer is a PhD student in Islamic Archaeology at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, under the direction of Prof. A.E. Northedge (Université Paris 1) and Dr Cl. Hardy-Guilbert (CNRS, UMR 8167). His PhD thesis relates to the incense trade: from the collapse of the South Arabian kingdoms to the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean (4th-15th centuries AD). He also excavated at Mleiha (Mulayhah) during the two campaigns of 2010 and 2011.

SOULIÉ, Delphine

Delphone Soulié is an archaeobotanist who studies at Paris 1 University (France) with field experience in the United Arab Emirates: Mleiha (Sharjah), Tomb N at Hili (Abu Dhabi), and Muweilah (Muwaylih) (Sharjah).

BERNARD, Vincent
Freelance archaeologist

Vincent Bernard is a field archaeologist currently working in various locations including the Emirates, Thailand and Oman. A specialist of Middle Eastern archaeology, he has been conducting excavations in Syria, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. He excavates in Vietnam and Indonesia with the École Française d'Extrême Orient.

LE GRAND, M.

Building H at Mleiha: new evidences on the late pre-Islamic period D phase in the Oman peninsula (second century to mid-third century AD)

Excavations carried out at Mleiha, Sharjah, UAE, from 1986 to 2000 have provided a chronological and cultural frame for the study of the late pre-Islamic period (PIR) in the United Arab Emirates. A new field project of the French Expedition started in 2010 focuses on the process of abandonment of the site in the 3rd century AD. The results of two seasons of work on a fortified residence in area H reveal the violence of the events causing the sudden abandonment of Mleiha. The archaeological documentation found in the destruction layers of the building brings some chronological accuracy. Luxury goods evidence the richness of its inhabitants and their integration into long-distance trade networks: exchanges with southern Mesopotamia and the Levant are confirmed from the beginning of the occupation of the site in the late third century BC. The relationships with the Indo-Pakistani area is particularly relevant. A large quantity of wooden construction elements and objects, seeds, fruits, fibres and textiles have been preserved by carbonization due to a fire that destroyed the residence. These constitute one of the richest archaeological plant collections discovered in the Oman peninsula so far and allow us to reconstruct various aspects of the plant economy at late pre-Islamic Mleiha.

Keywords: United Arab Emirates, late pre-Islamic, Mleiha, plant remains, ceramics

References:
Cuny J. & Mouton M. 2009. La transition vers la période sassanide dans la péninsule d'Oman : chronologie et modes de peuplement. Pages 91-133 in J. Schiettecatte & Ch. Robin (eds), L'Arabie à la veille de l'Islam. Bilan Clinique. (Orient et Méditerranée, 3.) Paris: De Boccard.
Mouton M. (éd.) 1999. Mleiha. i: environnement, stratégies de subsistance et artisanats. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient, 29.) Lyon: Maison de l'Orient.
???. 2008 La Péninsule d'Oman de la fin de l'Age du fer au début de la période sassanide. (Society for Arabian Studies Monographs, 6; BAR International Series, 1776.) Oxford: Archaeopress.

12:30 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

LORETO, Romolo
Dipartimento di Studi Asiatici, Università degli Studi di Napoli 'L'Orientale', Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 12, 80134, Napoli, Repubblica Italiana

Dr Romolo Loreto began his professional life in the University of Naples 'L'Orientale' in 2009, as contract professor in the Archaeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East. Since 2002 he has been a member of the Italian Archaeological Mission to Yemen headed by Professor de Maigret, at the sites of Baraqish and Tamna. He studied the domestic architecture of South Arabia in his doctoral thesis, 'South Arabian (pre-Islamic) Domestic Architecture'. With Professor de Maigret he created the Italian Archaeological Mission in Saudi Arabia in 2009, at Dumat al-Jandal, ancient Adummatu.

A first relative chronological sequence for Dumat al-Jandal (ancient Adummatu). Architectural elements and pottery items

A second archaeological campaign has been carried out at Dumat al-Jandal between October and November 2010 by the new Italian-French-Saudi Archaeological Mission in Saudi Arabia. The work developed to allow us to define the first relative chronological sequence for Dumat al-Jandal (ancient Adummatu according to Assyrian texts) based on stratigraphic relationships between the architectonic structures, architectonic masonry of the excavated buildings and, moreover, the ceramic items in situ so far discovered. We were able to define different phases of the Islamic occupation of the site and a late pre-Islamic phase related to a massive structure (building A) which we can identify as a pre-Islamic building (Late Nabataean/Roman-Byzantine) due to the construction techniques and the pottery items found therein. A sounding carried out inside building A allowed us to reach the foundation layers of the building, made of more ancient materials (fine Nabataean pottery including egg-shell sherds and sigillata orientale sherds) dating back to between the second century BC and the first century AD which enabled us to recognize an initial Nabataean occupation for Dumat al-Jandal. The pottery remains in situ give us an opportunity to study the trade contacts between al-Jawf oasis and the surrounding regions (north-west Arabia and the Gulf region) during the late first millennium BC and the first centuries AD.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Dumat al-Jandal, Nabataean

References:
Eph'al I. 1982. The Ancient Arabs. Jerusalem: Magnet Press, The Hebrew University.
al-Muaikel Kh. 1988. A critical study of the archaeology of the Jawf region of Saudi Arabia with additional material on its history and early Islamic epigraphy, 2 volumes) PhD thesis, University of Durham. [Unpublished.].
Schmid S.G. 2007. La Distribution de la céramique nabatéenne et l'organisation du commerce nabatéen de longue distance. Pages 61-91 in M. Sartre (ed.), Productions et échanges dans la Syrie grecque et romaine, Topoï Suppl. 8. (Actes du colloque de Tours, juin 2003).

12:55-14:00 LUNCH

14:00 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

CHARLOUX, Guillaume
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 8167, Orient et Méditerranée, 27 rue Paul Bert, 94204 Ivry-sur-Seine cedex, République Française

Dr Guillaume Charloux has been working as an archaeologist in the Near East (Egypt, southern Levant, Yemen and Saudi Arabia) from 1998. He is now leading the Italian-French-Saudi archaeological Mission of Dumat al-Jandal (Saudi Arabia), in collaboration with Romolo Loreto (University of Naples, L'Orientale).

Dumat al-Jandal: A synthesis of historical, environmental and archaeological data of a pre-Islamic oasis in Saudi Arabia

First mentioned in Assyrian annals, then in Nabataean and Roman inscriptions, Dumat al-Jandal (ancient Adummatu) is one of the main pre-Islamic sites of north-west Saudi Arabia, along with Tayma and Hegra. A preliminary survey of this wide oasis by the new Italian-French-Saudi Mission in 2010 revealed numerous archaeological features and offered an initial understanding of its layout and environmental characteristics. This paper provides an opportunity to describe this almost unknown archaeological site and to present the results of excavations in the western area of the oasis where a 2.5 km long pre-Islamic surrounding wall was studied and partly excavated.

Keywords: Adummatu, pre-Islamic period, oasis, surrounding wall, archaeology

References:
al-Dayel K.A. 1998. Excavations at Dûmat al-Jandal Second Season 1406/1986. Atlal 11: 37-46.
al-Muaikel K.I. 1994. Study of the Archaeology of the Jawf Region, Riyadh: King Fahd National Library, 1994.
Veccia Vaglieri L. 2010. Dûmat al-Jandal. Page 3 in P. Bearman et al., (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: Brill, 2010, online.

EARLY ISLAMIC-MEDIEVAL ARABIA
Chair: St John Simpson (British Museum, UK)

14:25 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

ULRICH, Brian
History-Philosophy Department, 116 Dauphin Humanities Center, Shippensburg University Shippensburg PA 17257, USA

Brian Ulrich is an Assistant Professor of History at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in the United States. He participated in Kadhima Project excavations in Kuwait in January 2010. His interests include early Islamic history, comparative empires, and the history of the Persian Gulf region.

Kazimah in the sixth and seventh centuries AD: resources and society as reflected in the literary sources

This paper will consider evidence from primarily Arabic literary sources for Kazimah ('Khadima' in Kennet, above) near Kuwait Bay in the sixth and seventh centuries. After a brief discussion of the existing historiography, the paper will highlight important aspects of Kazimah and the surrounding area. This will go well beyond the discussion of toponyms and roads from the 2010 poster summary on the site (Kennet et al. in press) to focus on a broader geographic area that includes sites like Safwan and Sayyidan, as well as the admittedly limited information on human communities, their relationships, and expressions of power in the area. It will apply to the primary sources a traditional critical method that takes account of their role in the historical memory of later time periods and the possible implications for understanding the Arabian past. Conclusions will involve the role of natural resources in conflict and cooperation between the Tamim of the interior and Bakr b. Wa'il along the coast, the difficulty in ascertaining whether the Lakhmids were significant in the area, and what type of place Kazimah may have been. The focus on this period complements ongoing archaeological work which reveals remains from the 8th century, while such a granular approach to a specific site may serve as a model for future histories of the Gulf more generally.

Keywords: Kazimah, Shayban, Tamim, Lakhmid, Kuwait

References:
al-Duwish, Sultan M. 2005. Kazimat al-buhur: dirasah tarikhiyyah wa-athariyyah li-mawqi Kazimah - Muhafazat al-Jahra. Kuwait: Idarat al-buhuth wa-'l-dirasat.
al-Ghunaym,Y.Y. 1958. Kazimah fi al-adab wa'al-tarikh. Kuwait.
al-Ghunaym,Y.Y. 1997. Al-sayyiddan: qabs min madi al-kuwayt. Kuwait.
Kennet K., Blair A. & Ulrich B. In press. The Kadhima Project: investigating an Early Islamic settlement and landscape in Kuwait Bay. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41.
al-Shaykh Khaz'al, H.Kh. 1962. Tarikh al-kuwayt al-siyas?. Bayrut: Dar al-kitab.

14:50 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

KENNET, Derek
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, UK

Derek Kennet is a lecturer in archaeology at the Department of Archaeology, Durham University working on Arabia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean. He has been working in eastern Arabia since 1989 and has conducted fieldwork in the UAE, Kuwait and Oman.

BLAIR, Andrew
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, UK

Andrew Blair holds an MA in Archaeology from Durham University. His interests are focused on Indian Ocean trade in the first millennium BC to the first millennium AD, and he is currently involved in Kuwaiti-British research at Kadhima, Kuwait, as well as excavations at Pattanam, India.

Investigating an Early Islamic landscape in Kuwait Bay: the archaeology of historical 'Kadhima'

This paper reports on the first two seasons of research in the 'Kadhima' (Kazimah) region of Kuwait Bay, an historical toponym dated to the pre-Islamic and Early Islamic periods. In dealing with several dispersed settlements and a general scatter of material culture along 50 km of coastline, the Kadhima Project has established an innovative methodology involving excavation and field survey conducted at multiple scales of analysis. Already an entire landscape of occupation is coming to light, offering important new perspectives on society and economy relevant across southern Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula. In this paper the authors will document the broad picture from the landscape survey, presenting the sites and offering a chronology of occupation, while also introducing the results from excavation of a series of buildings dated to the 8th century AD. Preliminary interpretations suggest that a settlement peak in the 8th century was rooted in the pre-Islamic period, and sustained through an integrated network of sedentary and nomadic occupation and maritime trade. These discoveries add considerably to our understanding of the development of settlement in eastern Arabia at this time and the paper will conclude with an analysis of their broader context and significance.

15:15 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

KEALL, Edward
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada

Educated in Classics (BA, Sheffield 1962) Keall opted to pursue research into Iranian Late Antique archaeology. A programme in Islamic Art at Ann Arbor, USA (PhD 1970) broadened Keall's horizons. The 1979 disruptions in Iran prompted Keall to explore Islamic cities from his Canadian base in the Royal Ontario Museum. From 1982, the heritage town of Zabid (Yemen) became the focus of a still-ongoing study. Excavations of various trenches have probed the city's past and traces of its 9th century origins have been found. A major effort has been invested in a site museum, a visitor centre and a botanical garden inside the Zabid citadel.

Getting to the bottom of Zabid

Reports in the Proceedings by Keall in the 1980s documented investigations by the Canadian Archaeological Mission, in pursuit of its objective of unearthing facts about the history of medieval Zabid. Ironically, Zabid's striking vernacular architecture, which earned it UNESCO World Heritage status, was also to blame for destruction of much of Zabid's archaeological remains, due to the recycling of bricks mined from the city's past, with disastrous consequences for the archaeological record. In addition, Zabid's earliest traces lie at depths of eleven or more metres below ground. Confined excavations spaces and fugitive remains have tended to mean that illumination has come very slowly. However, by now a number of different probes have reached down to the hypothetical 9th century beginnings of the city, resulting in the unearthing of features that sometimes contradict traditional academic lore about the city. The excavations allow us to develop a picture of the dimensions and character of the city after its 9th century foundation, its remarkable growth after around AD 1000, its dramatic attrition beginning with the 16th century Ottoman occupation of Yemen and the subsequent marginalization of Zabid under the Zayd? imams.

15:40-16:10 TEA COFFEE

16:10 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MUNT, Harry
Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, Pusey Lane, Oxford, UK

Harry Munt has recently submitted his DPhil. thesis in Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford. His research is on the history and historiography of early Islamic Madinah, and more specifically on the emergence and development of Madinah as a sacred space (haram) and as a holy city over the first three Islamic centuries.

The construction of Madinah's first wall

Al-Ta'if was apparently the only town in al-Hijaz in Muhammad's time to have a wall. Creswell used this to suggest the lack of an architectural tradition in the pre-Islamic Hijaz, but G.R.D. King has since pointed out that it is more likely that other towns had no need for a wall at this time. Why then and when did Madinah (al-Madinah al-Munawwarah) come to require one? In this paper I will analyze reports from historians and geographers, especially those preserved in al-Samhudi's (d. 911/1506) history of the town, to answer these questions. The first wall about which we possess significant information was built by the Buyids in the AD 970s. (Reports about an earlier wall built in 63/683-684 should probably be taken lightly.) I will show how this wall fitted into the topography of the town at that time. I will also discuss why the Buyids decided that Medina needed a wall and, in particular, I will link this decision to their rivalry with the Fatimids who had recently taken control of Egypt. The Hijaz's significance in this competition between these late fourth-/tenth-century rulers of Iraq and Egypt has not been fully considered to date, and this paper will bring the region more fully into the discussion.

Keywords: Medina, topography, wall, Buyids, Fatimids

References:
King G.R.D. 1994. Settlement in western and central Arabia and the Gulf in the sixth-eighth centuries AD. Pages 187-192 in A. Cameron & G.R.D. King (eds), The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East, ii: Land Use and Settlement Patterns. Princeton, N.J: Darwin Press.
al-Muqaddasi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad/ed. M.J. de Goeje. 1906. Pages 80-82 in Kitab ahsan al-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim, 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill.
Samhudi, 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah/ed. Q. al-Samarra'i. 2001. Wafa al-wafa bi-akhbar Dar al-Mustafa. (5 volumes.). (Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation Publication, 66.) London: Mu'assasat al-Furqan lil-Turath al-Islami, Far' Mawsu'at Makkah al-Mukarramah wa-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. iii: 104-111.

16:35 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

ROUGEULLE, Axelle
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée, 27 rue Paul Bert, 94200 Ivry sur Seine, République Française

Dr A. Rougeulle (Cnrs - Umr 8167 Orient & Méditerranée) is an archaeologist of the Islamic period, specialised in the exchange networks in the Eastern Islamic world and the Indian Ocean during the mediaeval period, the cities and harbours, land and maritime routes, trade and merchandises, especially the ceramics. Her main fields are Iraq, the Gulf, Yemen and now Oman where she started in 2008 a new research project at the harbour site of Qalhat.

CREISSEN, Thomas
Eveha, Université de Tours - Umr 6173 Citeres, République Française

Thomas Creissen is an archaeologist working for Eveha, a rescue archaelogy company that is involved in the Qalhat French Project. He has worked on many archaeological sites, including other Islamic sites, some of which were also linked with the maritime international trade (Yemen). He is also a Lecturer/Researcher at the University of Tours (France) where he teaches Medieval History of Art.

BERNARD, Vincent
Freelance archaeologist who is currently working in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Oman.
He is specialist of maping, topography, architecture in near east archaeology, where he has been conducting works in Syria, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Bahrain, Koweit, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan. He also works with the École Française d'extrême-orient (EFEO) in Vietnam and Indonesia

The Great Mosque of Qalhat rediscovered. Main results of the 2009-2010 excavations at Qalhat, Oman

Qalhat is a ruined site 35 ha wide: all that is left of a medieval harbour city which was founded around AD 1100, became twin with the city of Hurmuz in the 13th-15th centuries, was sacked by the Portuguese in 1508 and then definitely abandoned in the second half of the 16th century.
This paper describes the results of the excavations held at the Great Mosque, the most famous edifice of the town which has been long sought and was eventually discovered in 2008 during the first season of the Qalhat Project. A very impressive building, it was erected on top of a base 5 m high, with an underfloor cistern and probable ablution areas. It had a rectangular minaret and was highly decorated, especially with lustre Kashan tiles that can be dated to around 1300. This is Ibn Battutah's notion that Qalhat mosque was built by Bibi Maryam, wife of the governor Ayaz (c.1285-1320). It was later damaged, probably by an earthquake, and then renewed before being destroyed by fire by the Portuguese. The dating of the mosque's stratigraphy and the peculiar characteristics of its construction, with mixed Omani, Iranian and Indian features, provide unique information about medieval Islamic architecture as well as about the history and social organization of the harbour city.

Keywords: Qalhat, Oman, medieval, architecture, mosque

References:
Bhacker M.R. & Bhacker B. 2004. Qalhat in Arabian history: context and chronicles. Journal of Oman Studies 13: 11-55.
Costa P. 2002. The Great Mosque of Qalhat. Journal of Oman Studies 12: 55-70.
Rougeulle A. 2009. The Qalhat Project. New researches at the mediaeval harbour site of Qalhat, Oman (2008). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 39: 315-332.

17:00 - Thursday 28 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MAHONEY, Daniel
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civlizations, University of Chicago, 1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.

Daniel Mahoney is a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago focusing on the socio-political organization of the central highlands of Yemen during the Islamic period. In addition to research with the Dhamar Survey Project in Yemen, he has worked on various archaeological projects in Jordan, Syria, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.

Fortified Islamic sites of the Dhamar basin in the central highlands of Yemen

At an elevation of 2,400 m above sea level, the Dhamar basin is an intermontane plain located roughly 100 km south of Sanaa in the central highlands of Yemen. Never politically unified or home to an indigenous dynasty, the inhabitants of this region were repeatedly conquered by military forces coming from the north and south, and integrated into their territorial holdings. Despite this perpetual role in the historical narrative of Yemen, the archaeological landscape of this region has not been the main focus of a systematic study. Based on fieldwork begun in 1994, two archaeological surveys have located over 200 Islamic sites in the Dhamar basin. This paper will explore the diverse array of fortified settlements across the region such as clustered tower houses, walled villages and empty citadels. Additionally, it will demonstrate how these structures reveal the local population to be a more active agent in interactions with outside groups than previously thought.

Keywords: Yemen, Dhamar basin, Islamic period, fortified architecture, political landscape

References:
Barbanes E. 2000. Domestic and defensive architecture on the Yemen plateau: eighth century BCE-sixth century CE. Arabian Archeology and Epigraphy 11: 207-222.
Paluck B. & Saggar R. 2002. The al-Hasan bin al-Qasim mosque complex. An architectural and historical overview of a seventeenth-century mosque in Duran, Yemen. Ardmore, PA: American Institute for Yemeni Studies.
Varanda F. 1982. The Art of Building in Yemen. Cambridge: MIT Press.

MBI Al Jaber Foundation Public Lecture

'From the capital of Petra to the provincial city of Hegra: new insights on the Nabataeans'
presented by
Laïla Nehmé (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Orient et Méditerranée, République Française)

18:30 - Thursday 28 July 2011
(BP Lecture Theatre)

Based on her experience as an archaeologist who worked in Petra in the 1990s and in Hegra (Mada'in Salih) from 2002, the lecturer will present an overview of both sites, exposing their common features and their differences, in terms of landscape and urban space, before focusing on the Nabataean presence in the north-western part of Saudi Arabia. The results of the joined Saudi-French excavation project, which is being undertaken there, will also be summarized but the presentation will extend to other sites where a Nabataean presence is evident.

This is a FREE but TICKET ONLY event. We strongly advise anyone who wishes to attend pre-books either online (https://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/mevl1petra/), by telephone from the British Museum Booking Office (+44 (0)20 7323 8181) or in person via the ticket desk in Great Court at the British Museum (Open 10.00 to 16.45 daily).

FRIDAY JULY 29th 2011
Parallel Sessions
(BP Lecture Theatre)

PALAEOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC ARABIA
Chair: Remy Crassard (CNRS, France)

09:30 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

SCERRI, Eleanor
Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins, Archaeology, School of Humanities, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, UK

Graduating from the University of Malta, my dissertation looked at the symbolic capacity of Levantine Middle Palaeolithic hominins. In my dissertation for MA in Human Origins at the University of Southampton, I applied theories of island archaeology to disparate populations of contemporary Neanderthals in Lazio, Italy in order to understand Neanderthal cultural transmission and networks. My current research is attempting to understand the Aterian technocomplex for its relevance to out-of-Africa in terms of its variability and relationships with contemporary archaeological cultures in the Saharo-Arabian belt.

The Aterian in Arabia? A re-examination of the evidence from the perspective of the Saharo-Arabian corridor

The importance of the Saharo-Arabian corridor is emerging from relative obscurity as a major research focus for modern human dispersals in the Palaeolithic (Armitage et al. 2011). The debate is fuelled by the observations of various cognates with different regions outside Arabia. Amongst these different threads of evidence is the purported presence of the North African Aterian culture in Arabia (McClure 1994). This tentative observation has been a mainstay in all literature concerning the Arabian Palaeolithic (Petraglia & Alsharekh 2004) although relevant assemblages have never been subjected to a thorough archaeological analysis. This paper will cover the first such analysis by examining the degrees of familiarity between the purported Aterian assemblage from al-Rub' al-Khali and Aterian assemblages from north-east Africa. Initial results suggest significant similarities between African Aterian cultures and Saudi Arabian assemblages. This demands that the evidence be examined for its goodness-of-fit against alternative scenarios for human dispersals: Was there a single exit from Africa from a single point? When did it happen? What routes and cultures played a role? These data are revealing new leads in the 'out-of-Africa' debate and underlining the increasing complexity of modern human dispersals.

Keywords: Aterian, northern route, Arabian Middle Palaeolithic

References:
Armitage S.J., Jasim S.A., Marks A.E., Parker A.G., Usik V.I. & Uerpmann H.-P. 2011, The southern route 'out of Africa': evidence for an early expansion of modern humans into Arabia. Science 331: 453-456.
McClure H.A. 1994, A new Arabian stone tool assemblage and notes on the Aterian industry of North Africa. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 5/1: 1-6.
Petraglia M. & Alsharekh A. 2004. The Middle Palaeolithic of Arabia: implications for modern human origins, behaviour and dispersals. Antiquity 77/298: 671-684.

09:55 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

HILBERT, Yamandú Hieronymus
Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Yamandú H. Hilbert studied archaeology and anthropology at the University of Marburg before moving to the University of Tübingen where he completed his BA Hons. While studying in Germany he become interested in the Palaeolithic archaeology of desert environments. After working in Tunisia and Sharjah Y. Hilbert started working for Dr J. Rose and the Dhofar Archaeological Project in 2009. His research for his postgraduate dissertation aims to discover whether Dhofar, in southern Oman, was a refugium for human populations living in South Arabia during a period of climatic deteriorations that took place at MIS 4 and MIS 2.

Technological variability in the Late Palaeolithic of the Najd plateau, Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman

Extensive survey of more than two hundred surface sites, as well as excavation of in situ sediments in the Dhofar (Zufar) Governorate of Oman have revealed artefacts belonging to what is called the Late Paleolithic of southern Arabia (Rose & Usik 2009). This study further describes these lithic industries, termed 'Nejd Leptolithic', based on a technological examination of the reduction methods applied by populations inhabiting the southern and central Najd plateau in Dhofar. Two different reduction sequences are described based on both morphological analysis and refits. The Nejd Leptolithic is generally characterized by the reduction of blade-proportioned débitage from parallel, single platform cores with flat flaking surfaces; however, during what we call Late Nejd Leptolithic, a specific South Arabian variant, the Wa'shah (Crassard 2008) reduction method, was applied to produce morphologically predetermined blanks. The presence of blade debitage has been widely attested throughout southern Arabia (Jagher & Pümpi 2010), and the archaeological evidence presented here assists in identifying variability within this category.

Keywords: Najd plateau, Late Paleolithic, blade technology, lithic analyses, Nejd Leptolithic

References:
Crassard R. 2008. The 'Wa'shah Methode': an original laminar debitage from Hadramawt. Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 38: 3-14.
Jagher R. & Pümpi C. 2010. A new approach to central Omani prehistory'. Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 40: 145-160.
Rose J. & Usik V. 2009. 'The 'Upper Paleolithic' of South Arabia. Pages 169-185 in M. Petraglia & J. Rose (eds), Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia: paleoenvironments, prehistory and genetics. Netherlands, CT: Springer Academic Publishers.

10:20 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

UERPMANN, Margarethe
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

DE BEAUCLAIR, Roland
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

HÄNDEL, Marc
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

KUTTERER, Adelina
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

NOACK, Elisabeth
Instititut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Schloss Hohentübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany

News from FAY-NE15: a stratified Neolithic site in the interior of Sharjah Emirate

Two extensive excavation campaigns (2006, 2010) at FAY-NE15, a Neolithic site in the interior of Sharjah Emirate, yielded evidence on its function and use. It can be dated to the middle part of the fifth millennium, with 14C dates of between 4800 and 4200 BC. Horizontal distributions reveal different activity areas: a graveyard and a domestic area. The results compare well to al-Buhais 18 and other fifth millennium sites in the region. Domestic structures, flint artefacts, adornments, plant and animal remains allow for tentative generalizations with regard to this period.

10:45 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

PRICE, Kathryn M.
QHNER, Birmingham University, Edgbaston, Birmingham, U.K.

Kathryn M. Price is a Research Technician and lithic specialist for the Qatar National Historic Environment Record (QHNER). Her research interests include the Pleistocene and Holocene of Arabia and south-west Asia. She has worked on research projects in Qatar, Oman, India and South Africa.

AL-NAIMI, Faisal Abdullah
Head of Antiquities & Co-Director of QNHER, Antiquities Department, Qatar Museums Authority, Doha, Qatar

Faisal Abdulla al-Naimi is head of the Antiquities Department at the Qatar Museums Authority. His research interests include the management of the archaeological resource of Qatar, prehistoric lithics technology and archaeological field survey.

CUTTLER, Richard
QNHER, VISTA, Birmingham University, Birmingham, U.K.

Richard Cuttler is Senior Project Manager at Birmingham University and is Director of the QHNER project. His research interests include the Paleolithic and Holocene of Arabia and the application of Geographical Information Systems (G.I.S.) and geophysics in archaeology. He has worked extensively throughout the Arabian Peninsula over the last ten years.

Ra's 'Ushayriq; an important Ubaid multi-occupational site in northern Qatar

A re-assessment of the nature and chronology of the surface site of Ra's 'Ushayriq (QNHER 141) resulted from survey and test pit excavations of the site during the 2010 season following its initial discovery the previous year. These preliminary observations include the high density of Ubaid pottery, diagnostic stone tools of Arabian Bifacial Tradition (ABT) and, most significantly, the presence of obsidian. Subsequently, the site is now considered to be a multi-occupational Neolithic-Chalcolithic site. Work in 2011 included open excavations that are shedding light on the seemingly transitory nature of the site as well as furthering our understanding of the chronology of the site.
The site is important as it is the first Neolithic-Chalolithic site discovered in northern Qatar to date and unlike the Ubaid sites in the south of Qatar, it exhibits a transitory and multi-occupational nature. The presence of obsidian alongside the high density of typical 'Ubaid pottery also suggests important population migratory factors and addresses questions of potential trade links. This paper presents the preliminary results and conclusions from three seasons of survey and excavation at this most important newly discovered Neolithic-Chalcolithic site.

Keywords: Qatar, Ubaid (al-'Ubayd), Arabian Bifacial Tradition, Neolithic, Chalcolithic

References:
Al-Naimi F., Cuttler R., Arrock H. & Roberts H. 2010. A possible Upper Palaeolithic and Early Holocene flint scatter at Ra's 'Ushayriq, western Qatar (Poster Presentation). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 40: 209-214.
Al-Naimi F., Price K.M., Cuttler R. & Arrock H. In press. Re-assessing Ras 'Ushayiq: an important early Holocene Neolithic multi-occupational site in Western Qatar Poster Presentation). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41.
Carter R. 2006. Boat remains and maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth millennia BC. Antiquity 80: 52-63.

11:10-11:40 TEA COFFEE

Chair: Heiko Kallweit (Germany)

11:40 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

KHALIDI, Lamya
Institucion Mila Y Fontanals (IMF), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), c/ EGIPCIACAS, 15 08001, Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain.

Lamya Khalidi received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2006. She has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville and a postdoctoral researcher at the CNRS - University of Nice and at the University of Chicago. Before joining the Institucion Mila Y Fontanals (IMF) - CSIC in Barcelona, she was the Whittlesey Visiting Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut. She currently directs fieldwork projects in Yemen, is a long-time field member at the sites of Tell Hamoukar and Tell Brak in Syria, and continues to carry out research and fieldwork on sites in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Niger.

New perspectives on regional and interregional obsidian circulation in prehistoric and early historic Arabia

Until recently, the western Arabian Peninsula has had an enigmatic role in the large-scale prehistoric trade networks of the greater ancient Near East. New geological and archaeological fieldwork and data recovered from obsidian-rich zones and sites in south-west Arabia and beyond have begun to elucidate the region's unprecedented position as a regional and interregional supplier and consumer of obsidian as early as the sixth millennium BC. This paper will review recent data on obsidian sourcing as well as new source matches to archaeological sites across the region and will discuss the results within the context of previous obsidian research. These data have offered new perspectives that will allow us to broaden our understanding of the development of ancient Near Eastern societies through time, to include south-west Arabia as well as its African neighbours across the Red Sea. Furthermore, these new data provide us with a preliminary diachronic view of the intensification and fluctuations in trade in obsidian and their effects on the major societal transformations that occurred between the Neolithic and Iron Age periods in the region.

Keywords: south-west Arabia, prehistory, early history, obsidian circulation, trade networks

12:05 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

BORGI, Federico
Dipartimento of Archeologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2, 40124 Bologna, Ravenna, Repubblica Italiana

Federico Borgi holds an MA in archaeology from the University of Bologna. He has collaborated on different projects and activities of the Department of Archaeology, University of Bologna and participates in the 'Joint Hadd Project' responsible for the excavation of the site Ra's al-Hadd HD-5, in the Sultanate of Oman.

MAINI, Elena
ArcheoLaBio - Centro di Ricerche di Bioarcheologia, Dipartimento of Archeologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via San Vitale 28/30 48121, Ravenna, Repubblica Italiana

Elena Maini is PhD candidate at the Department of Archaeology, University of Bologna and a zooarchaeologist working at the 'ArcheoLaBio' Research Centre for Bioarchaeology. Her main topic of research is the zooarcheology of Bronze Age northern Italy, but she also studies faunal remains from Epipaleolithic sites in North Africa and from the prehistoric sites in the Ra?s al-Hadd area, Sultanate of Oman.

CATTANI, Maurizio
Dipartimento of Archeologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2, 40124 Bologna, Ravenna, Repubblica Italiana

Maurizio Cattani is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Bologna and field-director of the 'Joint Hadd Project' in the Sultanate of Oman, where he has been excavating the site of Ra's al-Hadd HD-6 on the seasons from 1996. He was also director of the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Kazakhstan from 2001 to 2006 and is now heading archaeological projects about the Bronze Age in Italy: in the Po Plain and on Pantelleria island.

TOSI, Maurizio
Dipartimento of Archeologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2, 40124 Bologna, Ravenna, Repubblica Italiana

Maurizio Tosi is Professor of Palaeoethnology at the University of Bologna. Frommthe 1970s his main research activities have been in the Arabia Peninsula. He is co-director of the Italian-French 'Joint Hadd Project' sponsored by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman. The project aims to understand the prehistoric foundations of Arabian greatness and diversity, along with the beginnings of navigation and trade across the Indian Ocean. In order to expand and complete this line of research, Tosi has recently established a research programme at the Harappan site of Lothal in India.

The early settlement of HD-5 at Ra's al-Hadd, Sultanate of Oman (late fifth to third millennium BCE)

The site of HD-5 is a well preserved archaeological mound located on a rocky outcrop facing the ocean waters of the Arabian Sea at Ra's al-Hadd in in the easternmost corner of the Sultanate of Oman, just 3 km south of the actual headland. First recorded by the Joint Hadd Project in 1987, the site was mapped and numbered by the British Museum Expedition a year later and briefly explored in 1998 with limited tests. This paper presents the result of more systematic excavations carried out by the Joint Hadd Project between December 2010 and January 2011. The latest occupation, dating to the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE with a significant amount of Harappan wares, is formed by a thick dark ashy layer with several fireplaces. The early phase is instead characterized by the presence of several series of post-holes that indicate sub-oval huts or shelters. The earlier deposit might cover the entire 4th millennium BCE, but the hundreds of artefacts made of stone and shell, might indicate also a possible occupation beginning already in the late 5th millennium BC.

Keywords: Middle Holocene, Umm an-Nar, Hafit, Coastal Oman, Magan

References:
Charpentier V. 2001, Les industries lithiques de Ra's al-Hadd, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 31: 31-45.
Cleuziou S. & Tosi M. 2007, In the Shadow of the Ancestors, the Prehistoric Foundations of the Early Arabian Civilization in Oman. Muscat: Ministry of Heritage & Culture.
Cleuziou S., Tosi M. & Reade J. 1990. Pages 33-43 in The Joint Hadd Project, summary report on the third season (October 1987-February 1988). New Delhi: Joint Hadd Project.

BERGER, Jean-François
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 5600, Environnement ville société et IRG, Campus Porte des Alpes, 5 Avenue Pierre Mendès, Bâtiment L, 69676 Bron cedex, République Française
weblinks: http://umr5600.univ-lyon3.fr/

Dr Jean-François Berger is a Research Fellow at French Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Lyon, France (CNRS-UMR 5600). He is specialized in the landscapes studies of the Holocene, through geomorphology and sedimentology. He has been working in many countries in the world and, in particular, in Yemen and Oman for the last last ten years:

CRASSARD, Rémy
MOM Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 5133 - Archéorient, Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, 7 rue Raulin, 69007 Lyon, République Française
weblinks: //www.archeorient.mom.fr/FICHES/fiches_actuelles/CRASSARD.html

Dr Rémy Crassard is a Research Fellow at French Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Lyon, France. His research interests are the cultural evolution and development of lithic industries in the Arabian Peninsula during the Upper Pleistocene and the Early/mid-Holocene, focusing on the Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods.

Prehistory and Protohistory of the coastal fringes of the Wahiba Sands and Barr al-Hikman (Sultanat of Oman)

The goal of the new French archaeological mission in Oman is to study the overall cultural development of the shores of the Arabian Sea, from hunter-gatherer societies to the emergence of the first complex societies, that is, from the end of the Pleistocene to the Bronze Age, between 10,000 and 2000 BC. The area to be explored is situated between the eastern end of Arabia (Sur) and the shores of Dhofar.
In November-December 2010, the coastal fringes of the Wahiba Sands (Ramlat al-Wahibah) and Barr al-Hikmah were surveyed. Prehistoric and protohistoric sites were discovered and tested (8th to 1st millennia BC). Many are shell-middens, sometimes deflated, but others have deep stratigraphy, especially in Khuwaymah where a Neolithic necropolis and settlements were tested.

12:55-14:00 LUNCH

THE EARLY BRONZE AGE
Chair: Lloyd Weeks (Nottingham University, UK)

14:00 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

AL-JAHWARI, Nasser Said
Department of Archaeology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 42, P.C. 123 al-Khoud, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Dr Nasser al-Jahwari is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University. His main interest is landscape archaeology of the Arabian Gulf, and has since 1993 participated in and conducted field surveys and excavations in Oman.

The Early Bronze Age funerary archaeological landscape of the western part of Ja'alan region: results of two seasons of investigation

This paper presents the results of two seasons of investigation in the western part of Ja'alan in al-Sharqiyyah region, Oman. It will discuss the settlement pattern and funerary practices through the passage of time, and it will mainly focus on the funerary archaeological landscape of the Early Bronze Age (EBA) in this part of the Oman peninsula. A number of archaeological sites from different periods were recorded including rock art, settlements and tombs. Among the recorded features are a huge number of EBA (Hafit period) tombs that are spread over large tomb-fields but without any associated settlement remains of the same period. This evidence does not permit us to understand the settlement pattern in this area. Therefore this evidence poses some questions that have been presented and discussed in this paper.

Keywords: Oman peninsula, Ja'alan, Early Bronze Age, funerary landscape, burial cairns

References:
Edens C. 1990. Brief Survey Around Bilad Bani Bu Hassan. Pages 44-55 in S. Cleuziou, J. Reade & M. Tosi (eds, The Joint Hadd Project summary report on the third season: October 1987-February 1988. [Unpublished Report.] .
Giraud J. 2009. The evolution of settlement patterns in the Eastern Oman from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (6000-2000 BC). Comptes Rendus Geoscience 30: 1-22.
Giraud J. & Cleuziou S. 2009. Funerary Landscape as part of the social landscape and its perceptions: 3000 Early Bronze Age Burials in the Eastern Ja?al?n (Sultanate of Oman). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 39: 163-180 .

14:25 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

BORTOLINI, Eugenio
The Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, WC1H 0PY, UK

Eugenio Bortolini is a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. His doctoral project concerns the dynamics of construction and spatial variation in the Bronze Age monumental burials of eastern Arabia, analysed from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory and palaeoenvironmental change.

The funerary archaeology of Wadi Halfayn (al-Dakhiliyyah, Sultanate of Oman)

The proposed work analyses spatial and structural variability in hundreds of monumental prehistoric burials recently uncovered in the upper-central drainage basin of Wadi Halfayn (al-Dakhiliyyah, Sultanate of Oman). These funerary structures testify to a seamless continuity in the use of the area from the Early Bronze Age (3100 BC) to the late second millennium BC. The empirical evidence collected over the past two years draws our attention on this previously unexplored corridor, and allows for generating hypotheses concerning micro and meso-scale use of space in constructing the funerary landscape of eastern Arabia. The present study has been conducted within a frame of wider interest for the definition of diagnostic structural traits in monumental burials and the subsequent analysis of their spatiotemporal patterning. Main objectives are the definition of transitional phases between Hafit-type (3100-2700 BC) and Umm an-Nar-type tombs (2700-2000 BC) and the correlation between trait adoption/diffusion and different degrees of environmental and cultural pressure. Wadi Halfayn will effectively contribute to our understanding of the main patterns of change in prehistoric tombs of Oman. Its evidence offers a new comparison for other, already known areas of impressive burial concentration and it will considerably help the structuring of a general debate on the topic.

Keywords: structural variability, spatial pattern, prehistoric monumental burials, Wadi Halfayn, Oman

References:
Boyd R. & Richerson P.J. 1985. Culture and the Evolutionary Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Cleuziou S. 2002. The Early Bronze Age of the Oman Peninsula from Chronology to the Dialectics of Tribe and State Formation.Pages 191-236 in S. Cleuziou, M. Tosi & J. Zarins (eds), Essays of the Late Prehistory of the Arabian Peninsula (Serie Orientale Roma, 93). Rome: IsIAO.
Frifelt K. 1975. A possible link between the Jemdet Nasr and the Umm an-Nar graves of Oman. Journal of Oman Studies 1: 57-80

14:50 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MÉRY, Sophie
CNRS, UMR 7041-Arcsan, Maison de l'archéologie et de l'ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre cedex, République Française

A ceramologist and specialist of the protohistory of Arabia, Dr Sophie Méry conducts general research and directs excavations in the United Arab Emirates. Her research interests include the protohistoric ceramics of the Middle East, exchange in the Persian Gulf and the northern Indian Ocean together with the question of the growing complexity of the societies between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in the Oman peninsula. The archaeometrical analyses she has been conducting for 25 years include thin section and neutron activation analyses as well as the study of the chaîne opératoire.

BLACKMAN, M. Jim
Archaeometry Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 20015, USA

M.J. Blackman holds a BA in Chemistry, MS Geology, from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and a PhD in Geochemistry, from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. He is Senior Research Chemist, Archaeometry Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. He is also Manager of the NMNH Archaeometry Program's Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, Gaithersburg, MD and Curator for South-East Asian and Oceanic archaeological collections.

The origin of the 3rd millennium fine grey wares found in eastern Arabia: new evidence from archaeometry

From 2600 BC to about 2100-2000 BC, during the Umm an-Nar period, the pottery assemblages of eastern Arabia present numerous and varied affinities with those of the Kech Makran and the assemblages of the regions of Kerman (Kirman) and Iranian Sistan. The results of neutron activation and thin section analyses of samples of pottery show that the composition of the productions from the Dasht in Kech Makran is similar to that of most of the pottery of Emir style that we previously tested from Umm an-Nar sites. This applies mainly to the fine grey painted or incised wares. It is true that these vessels were imitated in the Oman peninsula, but this proportion appears very limited in comparison with imported pottery.

14:50 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

ESPOSTI, Michele Degli
Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico, Università di Pisa, Via Galvani 1, 56126, Pisa, Repubblica Italiana.

Michele Degli Esposti is a PhD candidate in Oriental Studies at the University of Pisa, with a focus on south-eastern Arabia during the Iron Age. From 2007 he has been a member of the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO), taking part in excavations on the sites of Sumhuram and Salut.

PHILLIPS, Carl
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 7041, Paris, République Française

Carl Phillips is an associate researcher with CNRS UMR 7041 and has been responsible for a number of archaeological projects in the UAE, Oman and Yemen.

The impact of Iron Age occupation on a Bronze Age archaeological landscape: results from the IMTO excavations at Salut, Sultanate of Oman

The excavation of an Early Bronze Age/third millennium tower near the Iron Age site of Salut (near Wadi Bahlah), revealed a significant re-occupation with extensive building activity dating from the first millennium BC, focused upon the tower's central well. The evidence from the excavation of the tower can be combined with data from the site of Salut itself, where two dismantled Bronze Age tombs were covered by Iron Age buildings. A survey of the area around Salut has revealed more Iron Age sites in close proximity to Early Bronze Age sites as well as the re-use of Bronze Age tombs. Following the presentation of the data, the paper will explore to what extent they indicate a significant change in settlement pattern and land use. The apparent gap in occupation which is apparent for much of the second millennium BC will also be highlighted and possible explanations considered. The paper will, therefore, provide a detailed account of the Bronze to Iron Age settlement history, from a specific part of Oman, for future comparison with other parts of south-east Arabia.

Keywords: Bronze Age, Iron Age, central Oman, Salut, settlement patterns, land use

References:
Avanzini A. & Phillips C. 2010, An outline of recent discoveries at Salut in the Sultanate of Oman. Pages 93-108 in A. Avanzini (ed.), Eastern Arabia in the first millennium BC. (Arabia Antica, 6). Rome: Erma di Bretschneider.
Orchards J. & Stanger G. 1994, Third millennium oasis towns and environmental constraints in al-Hajar Region. Iraq 56: 63-100.
Phillips C., Condoluci C. & Degli Esposti M, 2010, Archaeological survey in Wadi Bahla (Sultanate of Oman): an Iron Age site on Jebel al-Agma, near Bisyah. Egitto e Vicino Oriente 33: 151-168.

15:40-16:10 TEA COFFEE

ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY
Chair: Robert Carter (Oxford Brooks University, UK)

15:15 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MEARAJ, Mohamed Ridha
Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Bahrain

Mohamed Mearaj has been an archaeologist at the Bahrain National Museum with the Department of Archaeology and Heritage since 1970. He has many years of experience as a field researcher, participating in most of the major excavations in Bahrain including Qal'at al-Bahrayn, al-Diraz Temple, Sar, Umm Jidr and many others. He has also excavated in Libya and Kuwait. He holds a Masters degree in classical archaeology from Yarmouk University in Jordan and is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate in Archaeology at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia on a topic concerning the Tylos (Hellenistic) period in Bahrain. He has seven academic publications in English and Arabic, to date.

Excavations at the 'Tree of Life' site in Bahrain

The 'Tree of Life' is an iconic location in south-central Bahrain, about 40 km south of the capital Manamah and about 2 km inland from the east coast near the settlement of Jaww. The mesquite tree grows on top of an archaeological tell, about 10 m above sea level. This paper covers excavations at the site conducted between April and July 2010 by a Bahraini team from the Ministry of Culture, Bahrain. Before it was excavated, it was recognized that the site contained a significant settlement as was indicated by the dressed stones and remnants of limestone walls evident in the tell. Surface finds of pottery indicated a Late Islamic period site. Excavation revealed a range of finds, including complete pots, placed upside down and supported vertically by small stones placed between them. Light-coloured gypsum was used in the walls and for plaster floors. One series of pots contained evidence suggesting the production of wood tar or creosote at the site. This is unique in Bahrain. The excavations at the 'Tree of Life' have produced significant evidence of a range of activities in a late medieval Islamic settlement in Bahrain.

15:15 - Friday 29 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

RICHTER, Tobias (Copenhagen University, Denmark)
Department for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 17-19 Snorresgade, 2300 Copenhagen-S, Kingdom of Denmark.
Tobias Richter is Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen. He received his PhD from UCL in 2009 with a thesis on the Epipalaeolithic of the Azraq Basin and is currently Deputy Director of the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project.

MACKIE, David

MACUMBER, Philip

Al NA'IMI, FAISAL
Department of Antiquities, Qatar National Museum

ROSENDAHL, Sandra

WORDSWORTH, Paul
Department for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 17-19 Snorresgade, 2300 Copenhagen-S, Kingdom of Denmark.

EDDISFORD, Daniel

Archaeological Characterisation of 18th-19th Century Rural Settlement in Northern Qatar

WALMSLEY, Alan
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Københavns Universitet, Københavns, Kongeriget Danmark

Alan Walmsley is Professor of Islamic Archaeology and Art at the University of Copenhagen. Currently he has two major field projects, one in north Qatar and the second at Jarash in Jordan. His research analyses material culture in order to document social and economic change in formative periods in the history of Islam, focusing on Syria-Palestine between the sixth and eleventh centuries CE and the central Arabian Gulf in the second millennium.

RICHTER, Tobias
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Københavns Universitet, Københavns, Kongeriget Danmark

Tobias Richter is Deputy Director of the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project, a joint project between the Qatar Museums Authority and the University of Copenhagen. He received his PhD in prehistoric archaeology from University College London in 2009, and holds an MPhil and BA from the University of Wales Lampeter. His PhD research focused on the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic occupation of the 'Azraq Basin in eastern Jordan.

BYSTROM, Agnieszka
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Københavns Universitet, Københavns, Kongeriget Danmark

Agnieszka Bystron is currently working on pottery from Late Islamic sites of Murayr, Furayhah and al-Zubarah in north-western Qatar for the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project. Agnieszka worked for five years for the Museum of London Archaeology as a site supervisor, and was closely involved with projects in Turkey and Romania. She recieved her MA in Classical Archaeology from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Archaeological investigations at the settlement of Freiha (Furayhah), north-west Qatar

The settlement of Freiha (Furayhah), on the north-west coast of Qatar, was one of the largest and most prosperous settlements in this region for a period of around one hundred years from the mid-17th century to 1760s. It may have seen an influx of population in the 1620s and appears to have been a well developed fishing town when the Maadhid (Ma'adid) tribe migrated there in c.1750. Carsten Niebuhr's map of the Persian Gulf shows Freiha as one of the few settlements on Qatar's north-west coast. Its prominence declined following the foundation of al-Zubarah in the 1760s. By the 1780s the settlement was in decline with the Maadhids moving east to al-Fuwayrit. Further upheaval came with the rising influence of the Wahhabi movement in the area in 1795, after which the settlement appears to have only been occupied sporadically.
Freiha has been under investigation by the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project since 2010, with the aim to characterize occupation in the settlement along with the economy that sustained it. Amongst the features excavated are a large mosque, courtyard houses and middens. Within the primary mosque several phases of rebuilding and renovation were identified, interspersed with abandonment and collapse of some of the major masonry. The morphology of the settlement reflects several phases of occupation, with each subsequent phase reducing in area. The domestic architecture of these phases reflects an organic development, with rooms added or abandoned as necessary when the needs of the occupants changed. The history of Freiha therefore appears to have been one of varied fortunes with people adapting to the changing economic realities, social and political.

References:
Rahman H. 2005. The Emergence of Qatar. The Turbulent Years 1627-1916. London: Thames & Hudson.
Rees G., Richter T. & Walmsley A. In press. Investigations in al-Zub?rah hinterland at Murayr and Furayhah, north-west Qatar, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41.
Guerin A. & Faisal A. Al-Na?imi. 2009. Territory and settlement patterns during the Abbasid period (ninth century AD): the village of Murwab (Qatar). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 39: 181-196.

Seminar for Arabian Studies Conference
RECEPTION
18:30 - Clore Centre East

FRIDAY JULY 29th 2011
Parallel Sessions
(Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

Introduction - Lucy Wadeson (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, UK)

Chair: Laïla Nehmé (CNRS, République Française)

09:30 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

RENEL, François
INRAP, CNRS/UMR 7041 Maison de l'Archéologie et Ethnologie - ArScAn - APHOR, 21 Allée de l'Université, Maison Ginouves, 92023 Nanterre cedex, République Française.

François Renel is an archaeological Researcher with the Maison de l'Archéologie et Ethnologie, INRAP in Nanterre. A former grant fellow at the French Institute of Middle East (Ifpo) and a PhD fellow of the University Paris I-Sorbonne. Field Director of the French excavtions at Qasr al-Bint, Petra.

MOUTON, Michel
CNRS/UMR 7041 Maison de l'Archéologie et Ethnologie, 21 Allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre cedex, République Française.

Michel Mouton is a Researcher at the CNRS, Director of the French Archaeological Expedition in Sharjah between 1992 and 1997, Director of the French Archaeological Expedition in al-Jawf, Hadramawt between 1996 and 2006; Head of the excavations at Mleiha in the UAE and of the 'Early Petra' project in Jordan.

HATTÉ, Christine
LSCE, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, avenue de la terrasse, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, République Française.

Christine Hatté is a senior scientist at Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Gif-sur-Yvette, France. An expert in 14C geochronology and isotopic organic geochemistry, she is particularly involved in paleoclimatology, archeology and modern carbon cycle in soils studies.

ZAZZO, Antoine
CNRS/UMR 7209, Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques et environnements. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Dép. EGB, CP56, 55 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, République Française.

Antoine Zazzo is a Researcher CNRS, Département Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 5197 specialising in archeozoology, the history of human societies and animal populations.

SALIÈGE, Jean-François
CNRS/UMR 7209, Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques et environnements. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Dép. EGB, CP56, 55 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, République Française

Jean-François Saliège is an Attaché honoraire at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris and a specialist in geochemistry, 14C dating and in isotopic paleoclimatology - mainly in the Arabian peninsula.

GAUTHIER, Caroline
LSCE, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, avenue de la terrasse, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, République Française.

Caroline Gautier is an engineering assistant at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Gif-sur-Yvette, France. She is in charge of the analytic platform dedicated to isotopic organic geochemistry, that includes both 13C and 14C analyses on organic samples.

An early architectural phase under the temenos of the Qasr al-Bint at Petra

The excavations carried out by the French Archaeological Expedition at the Qasr al-Bint (Petra) revealed a dwelling area that predates the cultic complex. The earliest phase is attested by small terrace walls, few installations and sparse material. However the surface explored by making a few soundings is narrow and did not enable the team to make a comprehensive study of the occupation.
Of more consequence are the levels of the later architectural phase covering these terraces is that all construction elements have the same orientation. The well-lined walls are made of stones and are finely plastered and the floors are, in some cases, covered with slabs. The material associated with these levels, the pottery and the numismatic finds, as well as the 14C dates, point to an occupation of around the third to first century BC.
These architectural remains, as a whole, provide new insights into the earliest phase of occupation revealed by the archaeology at Petra, showing an established permanent and densely urbanized settlement in the left bank of the Wadi Musa.

References:
Augé C., Renel F., Borel L. & March C. 2002. New excavations in the Qasr al-Bint area at Petra. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 46: 309-313.
Mouton M. 2010. The monolithic djin blocks at Petra: a funerary practice of pre-Islamic Arabia. Pages 275-287 in L. Weeks (ed.) Death and burial in Arabia and beyond: multidisciplinary perspectives. (Society for Arabian Studies Monographs, 10; BAR International Series, 2107.) Oxford: Archaeopress.
Mouton M., Renel F. & Kropp A. 2008. The Hellenistic levels under the Temenos of the Qasr al-Bint at Petra. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 52: 51-71.

09:55 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

WENNING, Robert
Institut für Altorientalische Philologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Rosenstr. 9, D-48143 Münster, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.

Professor Dr Wenning is a Biblical and Classical Archaeologist. He retired on the 1st of April 2011 but remains as a researcher at the Humboldt University at Berlin. He has worked in the following universities: Beer Sheva (Israel), Muenster, Tuebingen, Osnabrueck, Princeton (IAS, USA), Bonn, Eichstaett, Jerusalem (Dormitio), Stellenbosch (SA), Fribourg (Switzerland) and Berlin. His field of research includes: Greek imports in pre-Hellenistic Palestine; Roman sculptures in Israel (CSIR); Tombs and burial customs in the Iron Age in Judah (Habilitation) and the archaeology, religion and history of the Nabataeans (Survey of Nabataean votive niches at Petra; Director of the International Aslah Project with Laurent Gorgerat). He has published 165 articles and monographs.

The International Aslah Project and Dalman's 'Sanctuaries': new research in Petra

In a survey over 800 Nabataean votive niches at Petra were documented by Robert Wenning. Many of them belong to 'sanctuaries' as
defined by G. Dalman (1908). In addition, L. Gorgerat and R. Wenning were privileged to excavate one of the sanctuaries, known as 'The Aslah Triclinium'. This is the oldest dated rock-cut monument at Petra (c.96/95 BC). The first season of the excavation was in the spring of 2010. The second season of The International Aslah Project will be carried out in April 2011, in which tomb Br. 24 will be excavated. We attempt to explain how the different structures of the site are related to one another. It is important to excavate small unities like this to develop our understanding of the Nabataean culture and religion. The Aslah-Triclinium-Complex will be discussed in the context of other 'sanctuaries' as the focus of the paper. It contributes to most of the aspects highlighted in the description of the special Nabataean session (above). The research provides information on how a particular area of Petra functioned, how the area is related to other areas, how the natural environment influenced the shaping of the site, and how burial practices and religious rituals explicitly defined a social and cultural identity.

References:
Dalman G. 1908. Petra und seine felsheiligtümer. (Palästinische forschungen zur archäologie und topographie, 1.) Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs.
Gorgerat L. & Wenning R. In press. The International Aslah Project (IAP) 2010: preliminary report on the first season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 54.
Gorgerat L. & Wenning R. In press. The research of the Aslah-Triclinium complex at Petra. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 11.
Wenning R. In press. A survey of Nabataean religious identity by temple-sanctuaries. In R. Raja (ed.), Contextualising the sacred in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. Conference Aarhus September 2008. Leiden: Brill.

10:20 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

SCHMID, Stephan G.
Winckelmann-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 100 99 Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Professor Dr Schmid carried out his PhD study on Nabataean fine ware pottery at Basel University. He spent six years as the deputy director of the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (Athens and Eretria), six years as tenured full professor of classical archaeology at Montpellier University (France) and from 2008 has been a tenured full professor at Humboldt University in Berlin (Germany). He has carried out excavations in Switzerland, Greece and Jordan.

BIENKOWSKI, Piotr
University of Manchester, School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

Piotr Bienkowski was awarded his PhD by the University of Liverpool on the topic of 'The Late Bronze Age at Jericho'. He worked in the National Museums, Liverpool, from 1983 until 2003 and was Head of Antiquities from 1992 to 2003. From 2003 until 2009 he was at the Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester as Head of Collections and Academic Development (2003-2005), Acting Director (2005-2006), Deputy Director (2006-2009) and Professor of Archaeology and Museology, School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, University of Manchester (personal chair) (2006-2009). He is now a freelance consultant for Piotr Bienkowski Culture Heritage Museums (www.piotrbienkowski.co.uk). He has excavated for many years in Jordan and was Editor of Levant, the journal of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History from 1985 to 1992.

FIEMA, Zbigniew T.
Department of World Cultures/Institutum Classicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Republic of Finland

The speaker was educated in Poland and the United States. In 1992-1997, he directed the Petra Church Project and the Roman Street Project for the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. In 2000-2010, he taught at the University of Helsinki and was a Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland. Altogether, the speaker has the experience of 30 years of archaeological research and fieldwork in Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Switzerland. Currently, the speaker is preparing the final publication of the Finnish Jabal Haroun Project which he directed in field between 1997 and 2007.

KOLB, Bernhard
Archäologisches Seminar, Universität Basel, Petersgraben 51, 4051 Basel, Swiss Confederation

The topic of Dr Kolb's PhD thesis at Basel University was 'Late antique dwellings on az-Zantur in Petra and the typology of the residential buildings in Southern Palestine from the 4th-6th centuries'. He was a Scientific Fellow at Basle University from 1992 to 2008. From 2008 to 2009 he was a Scientific Fellow of the cluster of excellence TOPOI - The formation and transformation of space and knowledge in antiquity, Berlin, Germany. Since 1996 he has been Director of the Swiss Excavation on al-Zantur, Petra. From 2005 Dr Kolb has been responsible for the publication of the final results of the Swiss-Liechtenstein Excavations on al-Zantur, Petra: four volumes have been published so far.

Newly discovered Nabataean royal residences in Petra

According to ancient sources, the Nabataean kings had royal quarters in the city of Petra in southern Jordan. No further details are available. Can the sources can be trusted? And, if so, what exactly did these royal quarters look like?
Recent fieldwork at Petra proposed two distinctive spots as being the most probable candidates for royal residences. The first is on Umm al-Biy?rah, best known for its Iron Age village. A survey in recent years has shown that during the first century BCE the Nabataeans constructed spectacular buildings on that prominent spot, overlooking the entire area. While these buildings can be considered a royal residence due to various factors, they most probably should not be identified with the main palace of the Nabataean kings, since that structure is likely to be located within the city of Petra. There is another location where all the prerequisites for such a structure are fulfilled. A new survey corroborates the hypothesis of the Nabataean kings' main palace being located there and, consequently, not in any of the other locations proposed to date.

References:
Bienkowski P. In press. The Eagles Nest: excavations at Umm al-Biyara, Jordan, by Crystal-M. Bennett, 1960-1965. (Levant Supplementary Series.) London: Maney.
Schmid S.G. 2009. Nabataean royal propaganda: a response to Herod and Augustus? Pages 325-359, 489-498 in D.M. Jacobson & N. Kokkinos (eds), Herod and Augustus. Papers presented at the IJS Conference, 21st-23rd June 2005. Leiden & Boston: Brill.
Schmid S.G. and Bienkowski P. 2011. The International Umm al-Biyara Project (IUBP). preliminary report on the 2010 season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55, 2011 (on-line at:
http://www.bi-amman.org.uk/pdf/Bienkowski_IUBP%20prelim%20report.pdf).

10:45 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

TUTTLE, Christopher
American Centre of Oriental Research, PO Box 2470, 11181 Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The speaker completed his Ph.D. at Brown University in 2009, with a doctoral thesis about the Nabataean coroplastic arts. He has been employed on the directorial staff of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan since 2006. He is currently involved in three research projects at Petra: co-directing the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project with Susan E. Alcock, conducting the independent Petra Quarry Marks Survey Project, and directing the Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Resource Management Initiative, which is a joint project executed by ACOR and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities.

Glimpsing the working man's worldview: thoughts on results from the Petra Quarry Marks Survey Project

Petra's buildings are largely constructed of sandstone blocks taken from the surrounding mountains. Many of the quarries that yielded the building materials are extant. Despite their importance to the history of Petra, no comprehensive study of these quarries has been undertaken. Although studies have examined technical aspects of the processes of quarrying and masonry, at present, we do not understand such critical data as the number and extent of the quarries, or their geographical distribution and how this might relate to industrial practicalities (e.g. provisioning, transport, etc.). In 2005, the author began a survey for GIS documentation of quarry locations. Intentional marks made by quarrymen were found on finished surfaces in many quarries; these marks are intriguing as they appear to have no relationship to the quarrying processes. With this discovery, the focus of the author's research changed, becoming the Petra Quarry Marks Survey Project.
This presentation will show exemplars of the 'quarry marks' discovered to date, and explore some of the possibilities for interpreting their function(s) and meaning(s). Other than inscriptions, these 'quarry marks' may be a significant dataset available for delving into the cognitive realm of the ordinary working men who helped build the ancient city of Petra.

References:
Bessac J.-C. 2007. Le Travail de la pierre à Pétra. Technique et économie de la taille rupestre. (Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations.) Paris: Culture France.
Rababeh S. 2005. How Petra was built: an analysis of the construction techniques of the Nabataean freestanding buildings and rock-cut monuments in Petra, Jordan. (BAR International Series, 257.) Oxford: Archaeopress.
Tuttle C.A. Forthcoming. Nabataean Quarry Marks. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 11.

11:10-11:40 TEA COFFEE

Chair: John Healey (School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures University of Manchester, UK)

11:40 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

WADESON, Lucy
Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Lucy Wadeson recently completed her PhD thesis on the façade tombs at Petra, in which she made the first detailed study of the tomb interiors. As the G.A. Wainwright Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford, she is working on publishing her thesis as a monograph. This also incorporates the results from the two projects she directs at Petra: the Funerary Topography of Petra Project and the International el-Khubtha Tombs Project. The author's expertise is in Nabataean burial customs and rock-cut architecture, but her research interests lie in the general field of the archaeology of the Greco-Roman Near East. Her most recent publications have dealt with the chronology of Nabataean façade tombs and tomb complexes at Petra.

The Funerary Landscape of Petra: results from a new study

The landscape of Petra is characterized by a variety of rock-cut tombs, including façade tombs, block tombs, shaft tombs and pit graves, all of which have aspects that are unique to Nabataean architecture. Tombs from each of these types have been the focus of recent excavations. These include excavations of the Soldier Tomb Complex (S. Schmid), Tomb 303 (I. Sachet), and al-Khubtha Tombs (L. Wadeson) which have aimed to shed light on their dating and Nabataean burial practices. The current author also made the first in-depth study of the interiors of the façade tombs, revealing new insights into their chronology and associated funerary practices. The next stage of research has been to examine the area outside the tombs, their topographical setting and the development of the cemeteries in the Funerary Topography of Petra Project. One aspect of this project involves determining to what extent Petra's natural environment has had an effect on the form and location of the various tombs, and the architectural and chronological relationship between them. This paper will address these issues and argue that the different types of tombs are the result of both a specific ideology and adaptation to Petra's rocky terrain. Understanding this relationship will enhance our knowledge of the nature of the funerary landscape of Petra and the Nabataean architectural identity.

References:
Schmid S.G., Amour A., Barmasse A., Duchesne S., Huguenot C. & Wadeson L. 2008. New insights into Nabataean funerary practices. Pages 135-160 in J.M. Córdoba et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ediciones.
Wadeson L. 2010. The chronology of the Façade Tombs at Petra: a structural and metrical analysis. Levant 421: 48-69.
Wadeson L. In press. Nabataean Façade Tombs: a new chronology. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 11.

12:05 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

JOHNSON, David J.
Department of Anthropology, Brigham Young University, Utah, USA

Dr. David Johnson is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Brigham Young University with a PhD from the University of Utah. He has worked at Petra since 1977 originally with Dr Philip Hammond on the Temple of the Winged Lions and in Wadi al-Matahah from 1998. Other projects include work at Tell el Shukafiyyah (Tall al-Shuqafiyyah) in Egypt, at the Awwam Bilqis in Yemen, and currently in the Dhofar region of Oman. His major interests are Nabataean trade, language and also cultic practices in the area during the Greco-Roman Period.

Votive offerings from Nabataean open air shrines and burials in Wadi al-Matahah, Petra, Jordan

In 1998, the Department of Anthropology at Brigham Young University began excavation of a group of first century AD. Nabataean middle-class rock-cut tombs and open-air ritual shrines in W?d? al-Matahah in the northern suburbs of Petra, Jordan, in order to answer a number of questions concerning Nabataean ideology and burial practices.
Between 1998 and 2010, six small Nabataean rock-cut shaft tombs and four larger Nabataean rock-cut chamber tombs with carved façades, as well as six open-air shrines of various types were excavated. One of the results of the excavations was the discovery that common natural and man-made items were extensively deposited in the tombs as votive offerings including hematite, sandstone, quartz, limestone fossils, pottery shards, lithics, beads of carnelian and amethyst, glass, copper bells, animal bones, seashells and plaster fragments. This use of common materials as votive offerings had previously been recorded for temples in the same time period throughout the Graeco-Roman world including Britain but never in a mortuary context (Merrifield 1987:16).
One additional previously unrecognized finding from these votive offerings was the fact that some had been modified either by painting, chipping, carving, etching or moulding, often in miniature, to produce the image or face of the protective deities associated with the Nabataean Pantheon (Dushares, Allat, al-'Uzza, Manat, al-Khutba) or the deities identified and syncretized with them from Egyptian (Harpocrates, Thoth, Bes, Isis) or Greco-Roman (Hermes, Apollo, Artemis) mythology.

References:
Johnson D.J. 2010. Petra: Wadi Mataha in Archaeology in Jordan. American Journal of Archaeology 114: 538-540.
Johnson D.J., Macdonald J. & Harris D. 2007. Five rock cut shaft tombs from Wadi al-Mataha. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 51: 339-345.
Johnson D.J., Janetski J., Chazan M., Witcher S. & Meadow R. 1999. Preliminary report on Brigham Young University's first season of excavation and survey at Wadi Mataha, Petra, Jordan. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 43: 249-260.
Merrifield R. 1987. The archaeology of ritual and magic. London: Batsford.

12:30 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

PETROVSZKY, Karin
Lehrbereich Klassische Archäologie, Institut für Archäologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

I am doctoral student at the Humboldt-Universität of Berlin. My PhD project, currently conducted at the Berlin-based Cluster of Excellence Topoi - 'The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilisations' - deals with the cultural background for the formation of the Nabataean tomb complexes known from Petra. In this context I participated at last year's excavation campaigns of the Early Petra Project at the Aslah-Triclinium and of the IWFP at the Soldier Tomb complex. I studied Classical Archaeology and Art History at the Humboldt-Universität of Berlin and graduated in Classical Archaeology with a master thesis on bronze table-ware from about 500 BC to 300 BC. Beside the participation at archaeological projects in Germany, France and Romania, my studies concentrated mainly on research projects in the Troas and in the Ulubey Canyon region conducted by the Archaeological Institute and the Theological Institute of the University of Heidelberg.

The Tomb complexes in Petra and in the wider Mediterranean area during the Roman Imperial period

The archaeological results of the last decade in the necropolis of Petra have vitally advanced the re-evaluation of its monumental rock-cut tombs. The tomb monuments have proved to be multi-structural building complexes, with quasi-architectural rock façades being only a part of the funerary precinct, and thus have confirmed the record given by the 'Turkmaniyyah-Tomb' inscription. The tombs' overall appearances as well as specific functions of their structures are at the centre of a cultural-historical study concerned with mostly unknown Nabataean burial customs. In addition, further analogies can be cited with reference to Hellenistic monuments in bordering regions, for they bear close formal similarities. Such a comparison would suggest a supra-regional approach to the topic. Although the nearly complete lack of written records make conclusive evidence more difficult, this approach may offer the possibility of an insight into certain aspects of afterlife beliefs and commemoration practices as they are conveyed by the Petraean monuments. The paper will present archaeological and epigraphical sources from the wider Mediterranean area. These sources are crucial to any discussion about the origin of the principal features of funerary architecture and its functions.

References:
Fedak J. 1990. Monumental Tombs of the Hellenistic Age. Toronto & London: University of Toronto Press.
Hesberg H. & Zanker P. (ed.). 1987. Römische Gräberstraßen. Selbstdarstellung, Status, Standard. Kolloquium in München vom 28. bis 30. Oktober 1985. München: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: in Kommission bei der C.H. Beck?schen Verlagsbuchhandlung.
Kühn D. 2005. Totengedenken bei den Nabatäern und im Alten Testament: Eine religionsgeschichtliche und exegetische Studie. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.
Schmid S.G. 2009. Überlegungen zum Grundriss und zum Funktionieren nabatäischer Grabkomplexe in Petra. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins (ZDVP) 125: 2, 139-170, pl. 8-17.

12:55-14:00 LUNCH

Chair: Peter Parr (Institute of Archaeology, University of London, UK)

14:00 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

ALCOCK, Susan E.
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Susan E. Alcock is a classical archaeologist, with interests in the material culture of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia, particularly in Hellenistic and Roman times. Much of her research to date has revolved around themes of landscape, imperialism, sacred space and memory. She has been involved with fieldwork in Greece and Armenia, but is now directing the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP). Her books (solo authored or edited) include: Archaeologies of the Greek Past: Landscape, Monuments and Memory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), which won the Spiro Kostof Award from the Society of Architectural Historians; Pausanias: Travel and Memory in Roman Greece (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001); and Empires: Perspectives from history and archaeology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Landscapes north and nearby Petra: The Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP) 2010-2011

Brown University has had, of course, a long relationship with the site of Petra through excavations at the 'Great Temple' complex in the city centre. In 2010, a Brown-based team launched a new - and very different - phase of archaeological investigation at and nearby Petra.
This paper outlines BUPAP's first two field seasons, principally concentrating on two aspects of our work: mapping and excavation at the medieval village at al-Bayda and an intensive regional survey in the area just north of Petra (e.g., Wadi al-Slaysil).
Each element of the project was intended to expand our understanding of Petra and its regional setting along different dimensions. Work at medieval al-Bayda not only involved documenting a vulnerable village site but provided a substantial ceramic sequence for medieval southern Jordan. Using intensive systematic methodologies more familiar in the Mediterranean world, the regional survey has recovered a remarkable - and fragile - landscape, clearly testifying to major changes in settlement and land use, from Palaeolithic to the present, in an area just a few kilometres north of Petra.
Our overall intention is to combine with other recent efforts (as demonstrated in this Seminar) to put Petra in context: both by expanding our diachronic understanding of the site, and by deepening our conceptions of its dynamic hinterland.

References:
Lavento M., Kouki P., Eklund A., Erving A., Hertell E., Junnilainen H., Silvonen S. & Ynnilä H. 2007. The Finnish Jabal Harun Project Survey: preliminary report of the 2005 season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 51: 289-302.
Lindner M.G. 1995. The unique Nabataean High Place of Ras Slaysil northwest of Petra and its topographical context. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 39: 267-280.
Schmid S.G. 2001. The Nabataeans: travellers between lifestyles. Pages 367-425 in B. MacDonald, R. Adams & P. Bienkowski (eds), The Archaeology of Jordan. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

14:25 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

FIEMA, Zbigniew T.
Department of World Cultures/Institutum Classicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Republic of Finland.

The speaker was educated in Poland and the United States. In 1992-1997, he directed the Petra Church Project and the Roman Street Project for the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. In 2000-2010, he taught at the University of Helsinki and was a Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland. Altogether, the speaker has the experience of 30 years of archaeological research and fieldwork in Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Switzerland. Currently, the speaker is preparing the final publication of the Finnish Jabal Haroun Project which he directed in field between 1997 and 2007.

Reinventing the Sacred: From shrine to monastery at Jabal Haroun

The Jabal Haroun (Jabal al-Nabi Harun), located c.5 km SW of Petra in southern Jordan, is the highest peak in the area, easily attracting attention and stirring the imagination. According to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, the mountain is the burial place of Aaron, Moses's brother. Since 1997, the Finnish Jabal Haroun Project (FJHP) has carried out archaeological excavations of a Byzantine monastery located on the high plateau of the mountain. But the existence of the monastery exemplifies only a part of the whole spectrum of the religious significance accorded to the mountain from Nabataean times, a significance that continued well into the Islamic period. The excavations revealed that initially the site was occupied by a major Nabataean sanctuary, probably from the first century BC-AD. In the later fifth century, a Byzantine monastery was built at the site. However, by the fourth century, the period of struggle between traditional Nabataean cults and Christianity, the mountain began to be associated with the Biblical tradition of the Exodus, and attracted Christian pilgrimages. Apparently, one of the religious phenomena associated with the rise of Christianity in the Near East - the transformation of a pagan, cultic place into a sacred, Biblical location - had taken place at Jabal Haroun. While presenting the history of the Nabataean cult at Jabal Haroun, the paper will concentrate on the critical fourth century during which the Christian reinvention of the religious tradition took place in Petra.

References:
Fiema Z.T. 2002. Petra and Its hinterland during the Byzantine period: new research and interpretations. Pages 191-252 in J. Humphrey (ed.), Roman and Byzantine Near East: some new discoveries. iii. (Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 49.) Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology.
Fiema Z.T. & Jaakko F. 2008. Petra - The mountain of Aaron. i. The church and the chapel. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica.
Healey, J.F. 2001. The religion of the Nabataeans: a conspectus. Boston & Leiden: Brill.
El-Khouri L. 2007. Nabataean pilgrimage as seen through their archaeological remains. ARAM 19: 325-340
Lindner M. 2003. Von Isis zu Aaron. Archäologische Wallfahrt zum Jebel Harun. Pages 177-204 in Über Petra hinaus. Archäologische Erkundungen im südlichen Jordanien. Rahden: Verlag Marie Leidorf.

14:50 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

BEN-DAVID, Chaim
Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, State of Israel

Dr Chaim Ben David is the Head of the Holy Land Studies Department in the Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee. He is researching ancient routes in the desert areas of Israel and Jordan from the Iron Age to the Nabataean/Roman period. With others he is working on the publication of all the milestones found in the Roman province of Judaea-Palaestina.

Nabataean or Late Roman? Reconsidering the date of the paved section and the milestones along the Petra-Gaza road

Some scholars have dated the paved section and the milestones found in the Negev along the Petra- Gaza incense route to the Nabataean period; others agree with this early date but suggest that the road was also in use during the Roman period.
Apart from the Negev, no paved sections or milestones along the incense routes from the Persian Gulf or from Southern Arabia to Petra have been recorded. Not more than three dated milestones prior to AD 106 have been found in the region. These and other questions lead us to doubt the possibility of an early date for the paved section and the milestones. Recent excavations in ?Avedat have produced evidence that the army camp, thought for years to be Nabataean, was constructed in the late third or early fourth century AD.
We would like to define two stages of the road in the Negev. The first stage was when it was used as a camel route can indeed be dated to the Nabataean period and is apparently part of the Petra-Gaza incense route. The second stage with paved sections and a milestone can, in our opinion, be dated to the Diocletian period may be part of the Roman road leading to the headquarters of the X legion in Ailah (?Aqabah) and not to Petra. This paper defines the different stages of the incense route
and concludes that the dating of the period of the paved road and milestones should be to the Late Roman period and not to the Nabataean one.

References:
Ben David C. 2007. The paved road from Petra to the Arabah - commercial Nabataean or military Roman?. Pages 101-110 in A.S. Lewin & P. Pellegrini (eds), The Late Roman Army in the Near East from Diocletian to the Arab Conquest. Proceedings of a colloquium held at Potenza, Acerenza and Matera, Italy (May 2005). (BAR International Series, S1717.) Oxford: Archaeopress.
Meshel Z. & Tsafrir Y. 1974. Nabataean road from ?Avdat to Sha?ar-Ramon. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 106: 103-118.
Negev A. 1966. The date of the Petra-Gaza road. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 88: 89-98.

15:15 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

DAVIES, John K.
School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

Professor JK Davies FBA FSA, now Emeritus, was Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at Liverpool 1977-2003. His published work has all been in Greek History (Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic), and mostly on social, administrative, cultic, and especially economic aspects. He initiated and leads a research group on Hellenistic Economies, which organises periodic international colloquia.

Nabataean trade: contexts and structures

Various recent monographs and conference publications have re-opened the debate about how to describe and model the economic processes and activities of the Mediterranean and its hinterlands in the Hellenistic period (conventionally 323-31 BCE), the intention being ultimately to replace Rostovtzeff's outmoded portrait (1971). It is an informal, international debate, ranging from serious attempts to adopt and adapt modern economists' theories and terminology to detailed work on commodities, sites, institutions, and the fluid and complex structures of demand and supply.
Nabataean activity in trade and transport came to be an integral component of such structures, but has not yet figured as highly it should in our discussions. Yet it poses questions of pre-eminent importance. First, the case offers a 'worked example' of the supply of a commodity (spices) whose areas of production lay 'out of the region' (in Mediterranean terms): does that offer a model for the supply of other commodities? Secondly, can one estimate the level of annual traffic in monetary terms? How were the spices 'paid for', and what happened to the proceeds? Thirdly, it was in the Nabataeans' interests to create and protect reliable and secure transit routes: how was this done, and how effectively? Fourthly, did Nabataean prosperity derive from entrepreneurs' gains or from fiscal liens, or from both? Fifthly, how, and how effectively, did they protect their activities from competition and predatory action?

References:
Avanzini A. (ed) 1997. Profumi d'Arabia. Atti del convegno. Roma: Bretschneider.
Rostovtzeff M.I./transl. D. & T. Talbot Rice. [1971]. Caravan Cities. New York: AMS Press.
Sartre M. 2001. D'Alexandre à Zénobie. Histoire du Levant antique, IVe siècle av. J.-C. - IIIe siècle ap. J.-C. Paris: Fayard.
Schmid S.G. 2007. La distribution de la céramique nabatéenne et l'organisation du commerce nabatéen de longue distance. Pages 61-91 in M. Sartre (ed.), Productions et échanges dans la Syrie grecque et romaine (Actes du colloque de Tours, juin 2003) (TOPOI Supplément, 8. Lyon: Maison de l'orient mediterraneen.

15:40-16:10 TEA COFFEE

16:10-17:00 - Friday 29 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

Panel Discussion with Speakers & audience
'Developing an agenda for Nabataean Archaeology'
Lead by Lucy Wadeson (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, UK) & Laïla Nehmé (CNRS, Orient et Méditerranée, République Française)

Seminar for Arabian Studies Conference
RECEPTION
18:30 - Clore Centre East

SATURDAY JULY 30th 2011
Parallel Sessions
(BP Lecture Theatre)

ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY (continued)
Chair: Derek Kennet (University of Durham, UK)

09:30 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

BING, Zhao
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, République Française

CARTER, Robert
Oxford Brookes University, Gypsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK

Dr Carter is the author of numerous articles and books on the prehistory and historical archaeology of Arabia of all periods, as well as the wider prehistoric Near East. At the moment he is particularly interested in early watercraft, the Islamic archaeology of eastern Arabia, and the role of the Gulf's pearl fishery on post-medieval state formation in the region. His forthcoming book, Sea of Pearls, will soon be published by Arabian Publishing Ltd, London.

LANE, Kevin
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

VELDE, Christian
National Museum of Ras al-Khaimah, Department of Antiquities and Museums, UAE

The rise and ruin of a medieval port town: Excavations at Julfar al-Nudud

The paper will present new insights on the development and decline of Julfar, based on the 2010 excavations at Julfar al-Nudud, Julfar, Ras al-Khaymah, is the only medieval port site and urban settlement on the Arabian shore of the lower Gulf between the 14th and 16th centuries AD. It was a major town and a source of significant revenue to the kingdom of Hormuz, being both a staging post in the medieval sea-trade of the Gulf and Indian Ocean, and the leading entrepôt for the region. Following the Portuguese conquest of Hormuz in the early 16th century, Julf?r continued to feature in the sources as a trading and pearling centre. Previous studies have hypothesized that the focus of urban settlement shifted from the archaeological site of Julf?r to the modern site of Ras al-Khaymah town some time during the 16th century, with the ancient name being retained well into the 17th century to denote the area or wider coastal oasis.
Excavations took place in the southern portion of the site, al-Nudud, in Spring 2010, conducted by the National Museum of Ras al-Khaymah and Oxford Brookes University. This area had been considered as a late extension or suburb of the previously excavated town to the north, Julfar al-Mataf. The new excavations revealed that a mudbrick settlement was built and abandoned prior to the end of the 14th century, followed by a posthole reoccupation. This was superseded by a settlement of large stone buildings, probably beginning in the late 14th century/early 15th century which, in turn, was abandoned in the late 15th or early 16th century. A prolonged period of stone-robbing and more ephemeral occupation then ensued.
Correlation with the sequences excavated by the Japanese and British teams at Julfar al- Mataf suggests that urban occupation at al-Nudud began at least as early as and possibly earlier than the sequences excavated previously at al-Mataf. The final urban decay at al-Nudud (i.e. the abandonment of the stone buildings) appears to coincide with a similar decline at al-Mataf, with the Japanese trenches showing almost no activity following the end of the 15th century, and the occupation area next to the mosque in the British trenches being abandoned at around the same time.
We therefore argue that the focus of urban settlement shifted from Julfar to Ras al-Khaymah during the early 16th century, in a process which may have begun prior to the Portuguese defeats of Hormuz in 1507 and 1515, but which may also have been stimulated by the upheavals caused by their arrival. Barbosa, who visited around 1515, refers to both Julfar and Ras al-Khaymah as large settlements, suggesting that the transition was in process. The old town of Julf?r was not entirely abandoned thereafter: the Friday Mosque was maintained at Julfar al- Mataf, and the Hormuzi/Portuguese condominium may have retained a presence at the adjacent fort, while barasti occupation may have continued in some areas.

09:55 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

PETERSEN, Andrew
School of History Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint Davids, Lampeter, SA48 7ED, Wales, UK

Andrew Petersen is a lecturer in archaeology and Director of Research in Islamic archaeology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Before coming to the University of Wales Andrew was assistant professor of Islamic archaeology at the United Arab Emirates University in al-'Ain. He is currently directing the University of Wales excavations in northern Qatar on behalf of the Qatar museums Authority under the umbrella of the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project. His research interests include Hajj routes in Arabia, Islamic urbanism and Islamic architecture.

Palace, mosque and tomb at Ruwaydah, Qatar.

The paper will present the results of the second season of excavations at this major Late Islamic site in northern Qatar. Three main areas were selected for investigation including a palatial complex in the north-east corner of the fortress, a mosque located next to the fortress and a tomb located 1 km north of the fortress. The palatial complex was built around a central courtyard with successive layers of occupation and rebuilding - crucially the excavation of this area has enhanced the chronology for the fortress as a whole as well as giving an indication of the high status domestic architecture of the region. Excavation of the mosque also revealed several construction phases including a change in orientation which suggests prolonged use of the site. The rectangular tomb structure is built on a small mound and is the only part of the site which extends onto the foreshore. A rectangular stone-lined grave stands in the middle of the tomb though, unusually, there are no other graves in the vicinity. Outside the tomb to the south a series of burnt layers testifies to the intensive occupation of parts of the site between the stone buildings.

Keywords: Qatar, mosque, tomb, palace, fort

References:
de Cardi B. 1978. Qatar Archaeological Report. Excavations 1973. Doha: Qatar National Museums/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rahman H. 2005. The Emergence of Qatar. The Turbulent Years 1627-1916. London/New York: Kegan Paul.
Petersen A.D. & Grey A.D. 2010. Excavations and survey at al-Ruwaydah, a late Islamic site in northern Qatar. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 40: 35-48.

10:20 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

AL-SULAITI, Abdulla
Director of Archaeology and Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Bahrain

The Historic occupation of al-Jaww in Bahrain

In 1783 the Al Khalifah branch of the 'Utub tribe, previously based in al-Zubarah in Qatar, took control of Bahrain. This conquest led to a migration of people in support of the Al Khalifahs, from al-Zubarah to Bahrain. Initially, these people settled at al-Jaww on the central east coast of Bahrain, where they re-fortified and expanded the settlement with the assistance of Ahmad bin Razq, a wealthy supporter of the Al Khalifah shaykhs. The way in which the fort was reconstructed and the settlement was laid out can be seen as an expression of the identity of the people who built them. Thus we are able to trace the history of these people who moved between Qatar and Bahrain over a long period, by the physical traces left in the forts and urban fabric of their settlements. The history of al-Jaww has not been studied in detail before the researches made by this author and it is now the focus of a Bahraini archaeological research project.

10:45 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

MUHESEN, Sultan
Director of Archaeology and Heritage, Qatar Museums Authority, State of Qatar

Sultan Muhesen is Professor of Archaeology and Prehistory at Damascus University. He is the former Director General of the Department of Antiquities and Museums in Syria. He has excavated many sites in Syria and has publishing several books and articles. He is holder of the Polish, Danish and Japanese decoration: the Humboldt Award.

The archaeology of Qatar: new directions

During the past few years, the archaeology of Qatar has experienced an important investment in capacity building under the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA). Research and conservation programs on both archaeology and cultural heritage have been launched jointly with international institutions. Considerable funding has been allocated, and staff appointed, under a new organization headed by a Director of Archaeology and Heritage. Like other countries of the Gulf region, the archaeology of Qatar has been shown to be more important than was thought previously. Nonetheless, archaeological sites are facing challenges with respect to their protection in the face of modern developments and construction. A major effort is underway to record and map all sites with cultural heritage value. At the same time, large-scale archaeological investigations have been initiated as long-term projects with excavations of some of the most important sites. The site of al-Zubarah and its hinterland, inscribed on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is now one of the largest archaeology and heritage projects worldwide, undertaken jointly by the QMA and the University of Copenhagen. It is being studied as an interdisciplinary project including several international scholars and specialists, and involving several institutions in Qatar and abroad. Additional archaeological and cultural heritage projects are underway with the Universities of Wales and Birmingham as well as the DAT in Berlin. In this paper, many of these activities are presented.

Keywords: Qatar, archaeology, Qatar Museums Authority, al-Zubarah

11:10-11:40 TEA COFFEE

ARCHITECTURE & INDUSTRY
Chair: Venetia Porter (British Museum, UK)

11:40 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

POWER, Timothy
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) P.O. Box 15715, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tim Power is an Islamic archaeologist who has worked in Egypt, Yemen and the UAE. He studied Islamic art and archaeology at the University of Oxford, and completed his doctorate on the Red Sea basin between Byzantium and the Caliphate, now being published by the American University in Cairo Press. He is currently employed as an archaeological consultant to the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, responsible for the excavation and publication of Islamic period sites in the al-Ain Oasis. His broader research interests focus on production and exchange in the pre-modern Dar al-Islam, particularly the trade of the Indian Ocean and its tributaries the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

SHEEHAN, Peter
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), P.O. Box 15715, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Peter Sheehan is an archaeologist who has been working in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East since 1987. He is particularly interested in urban archaeology and site formation processes and has spent many years working in and around the Roman fortress of Babylon in Old Cairo. Since 2007 he has been Historic Buildings Manager for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and has been working on a number of archaeological and conservation projects across the emirate of Abu Dhabi, primarily at historic buildings in the oases of al-Ain.

The settlement patterns and foreign contacts of the Islamic period al-'Ain oases, Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE: new perspectives from a quantified study of the ceramics

Archaeological work in the al-'Ain oases undertaken by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) included the cataloguing and quantification of ceramic assemblages retrieved through stratified excavation. The Early to Late Islamic assemblage from the Bayt bin 'Aati in Qattarah oasis amounted to upwards of ten thousand sherds, which were counted and weighed by type before being subjected to statistical analysis. This study has been supplemented by archaeological evaluations throughout the al-'Ain oases, including redevelopment projects in the Jahili and Muwaiji forts, and emergency conservation work in numerous historic buildings, such as the Bayt bin Hadi in Hilli oasis. The results have considerably refined our understanding of the settlement patterns and foreign contacts of the Islamic al-'Ain/Buraimi Oasis. It has been possible to identify longue durée trends in local settlement patterns, particularly episodes of 'sedentarization' and 'Bedouinization', as well as periods of greater and lesser integration into east Arabian and Indian Ocean trade networks. The primary sources were then assembled and translated in order to contextualize the ceramic chronology and attribute politico-economic causes to the archaeological findings. This paper represents a first attempt to synthesize the still growing dataset compiled over the past four years.

12:05 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

AL-BEDWAWI, Saif bin Aboud
Ajman Diwan, UAE

Saif bin Aboud al-Bedwawi is from the UAE, where he is a senior historian at the Ajman Diwan. His main interests are in the modern history of the Gulf with special emphasis on British imperial history in the region. He has published various articles, mostly in Arabic.

Dibs of Arabia: the date-syrup industry in the old Emirates

During last year's conference (July 2010), the subject of dibs (date syrup) production in the Gulf was raised. Basra was cited as a major source of dates, which were exported down the Gulf. Accordingly, it was suggested that dibs was produced from such (imported) dates afterwards in various cities such as Sharjah. The author considers this to be erroneous. It is the aim of this paper to assess dibs production from local dates, as opposed to imported dates, by investigating fresh discoveries in old Sharjah (Farij al-Shayoukh). Several madabis (sg. madbasah) have been found in the neighbourhoods of the old city of Sharjah. Some of these are still preserved, while others were studied and recorded by archaeologists at Sharjah heritage sites.
The presence of these madabis is evidence that dibs was not made from dates brought from Basra. On the contrary, it was made in almost every town in the old Emirates. The production of dibs follows a procedure that is limited by time. That is to say, after the dates ripen, the second step is to cut them down and lay them in the open in the sun for several days at the mustah. When ready, the second step is to soften them in a a long woven container (jarab) with the hands or feet. The third step is to keep the dates in a sealed store (yanz or bakhar) without any air movement. Finally, within two weeks the dibs begins to drain slowly between grooves in the floor below to be collected in a buried pot.
These procedures suggest that dibs were not produced from dates imported from Basra; they simply would not reach Sharjah in time. Not only that but dibs would certainly flow in the boats and make the deck wet, smelly and sticky. Adding to that, it was not good business to buy dates from Basra in the summer, but to keep such trade to the winter season when the local dates had been consumed and thus when the prices rose.
A calculation of the quantity of dates and date palms required to operate a typical dibs facility (madbasah) can be made. Each dibs facility (madbasah) could take a maximum 400 jarab; each jarab needed 4 waznah (a local measurement) of dates in order to fill it; each waznah is 4 mun (a local measurement); and each mun is 4 kg. A madbasah could therefore take 400 × (4×4×4)= 25,600 kg of dates. If we say each date tree could produce 2 waznah (24 kg) of dates, then the whole madbasah would need 800 date trees (depending on the age of the tree and water). Furthermore, it is interesting to find out that a madbasah could be a type of community cooperative store because each date owner could store his production in it. When an old farmer was asked how each farmer could distinguish his date containers from others, he said they put tags on the top. As far as sharing the dibs is concerned, after a period of 30-50 days, each farmer would take his share in proportional quantity to his amount of stored dates. This paper is passed on fieldwork that included several field visits to date-presses around the UAE, the collection of ethnographic data through interviews with several elderly informants, and on information from Sharjah Cultural Heritage Department

Keywords: dibs, dates; mustah; jarab; falaj; yanz.

12:30 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

YACCOB, Abdol Rauh
Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic Univesity, Simpang 347, Jalan Pasar Baharu, Gadong BE 1310, Negara Brunei Darussalam

Abdul Rauth Yaccob awarded a BA in 1978 from the National University of Malaysia in Arabic Studies and Islamic Civilization, an MLitt in 1982 from St Andrew's University with a dissertation on the modern Middle East, and PhD in 1996 from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London with a thesis on the modern Middle East. Tutor at the Department of Arabic Studies and Islamic Civilization, Faculty of Islamic Studies, National University of Malaysia from 1979 until 1982; a lecturer from 1982 until 2000 then promoted to Associate Professor from 2001. From 2003 employed in Brunei Darussalam, initially at the University of Brunei Darussalam, later at Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University. Previously, Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Arabic Language and Islamic Civilization, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University from December 2007.

Yemeni's opposition to Ottoman rule: an overview

Modern history of the Ottomans in Yemen from 1872 until the treaty of Da''an in 1911, can be regarded as a failure on the part of the Ottoman administration to promote stability and welfare in the vilayet and it failed to serve the interest of the Yemenis. It seemed that the Ottomans treated Yemen as an abandoned vilayet, subordinated and dependent on other countries, notably based on the interests and viewpoint of Egypt with its control of the Suez Canal.
The Yemen previously was under the Mamluks of Egypt who surrendered to the Ottomans in the 1530s, following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. After 1630s the Ottomans were expelled from the Yemen, having ruled for a relatively short-lived period compared to the rest of the Muslim lands within the Empire. It was two and a half centuries later, in 1872, notably just after at the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, that the Ottomans began to reconsider their policy of securing the whole Yemen. Though the Ottomans succeeded in taking Sanaa in 1872, if not the whole Yemen, the entire policy of governing the vilayet was absolutely incompetent. Accordingly, less than two decades later the Zaydi Imams started in a series of uprisings to oppose the Ottoman administration in the country.
This paper attempts to trace the general pattern of opposition to Ottoman rule in Yemen before the conclusion of the treaty of Da''an in 1911. It may be observed that Imamic-Ottoman relations were unfriendly due to malpractices of Ottoman officials, apart from the position of the Zaydi Imams who were treated as local religious leaders. This was further stimulated by Zaydi political concepts which encouraged them to rise up against any unjust ruler as a religious duty as Im?ms who gained support and approval from the Zaydi tribesmen and the notables. The paper will also examine the content of the treaty of Da''an as the purpose of the uprising was finally achieved through the treaty. This not only benefited the Imams and the Zaydi but also the Ottomans.

12:55-14:00 LUNCH

ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY (continued)
Chair: Arnulf Hausleiter (DAI, Germany)

14:00 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

ALI, Nadia
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, LAMM-C6572, (Aix-en-Provence) & University de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) (History of Early Islamic Art), République Française

Nadia Ali completed her PhD in 2008 at the University de Provence with a dissertation entitled 'The Creative Process of Umayyad Palatial Iconography'. It was supervised by Claude Audebert and Yves Porter. Her work mainly deals with the role of the logic of artistic practice and forms in the making of Early Islamic visual culture. As a recipient of the 2007-2008 Aga Khan post-doctoral fellowship, she conducted research on a new project concerning the South Arabian contribution to the making of Umayyad iconography. Currently, she is a temporary lecturer in Islamic art and architecture at the University of Provence, while working on the transformation of her doctoral dissertation into a book.

The South Arabian contribution to the making of Umayyad iconography

How the art of the Umayyads responded to the artistic encounter with post-classical art in Bilad al-Sham has been the subject of debate among scholars for more than a century. Many scholars insisted on a rupture with post-classical art in Bilad al-Sham while others accepted the continuity explanation and posited a dual cultural process of selection and translation. This model of translation seems to imply that the receiving culture of the Umayyads was already clearly different from the post-classical cultural amalgam of Bilad al-Sham so that it required translation.
What is seldom emphasized is that the Umayyads did not come from a cultural void. It seems that the Umayyads were familiar with the composite cultures of late antique Bilad al- Sham long before the rise of Islam. Both regular trade with Byzantine Bilad al-Sham and extended contacts with local Christian Arabs had exposed the Umayyads, as the leading merchants of Quraysh, to the visual culture of late antiquity, or at least to an Arabized version of it, as reproduced by the Nabateans, the Ghassanids and the Himyarites. In support of this hypothesis, it may be instructive to take a closer look at the understudied reliefs discovered in Zafar, the capital of the last South Arabian kingdom, namely Himyar (300-570). This paper proposes to reconsider some reliefs of Zafar wby using an art-historical approach. Special attention will be given to the reconstruction of the architectural context of the figures, the framing devices, the iconographical themes and the influence of Late Antique artistic traditions. The main purpose is to determine the iconographical characteristics of the Himyarite figurative art in order to help to revise the exaggerated dichotomy established by the canon between the Late Antique sources of Umayyad iconography and an often essentialized Arab background assumed to be nomadic and isolated from the rest of world civilization prior to the rise of Islam.

Keywords: Late Antiquity, iconography, Zafar, Himyar, Umayyad.

References:
Costa P. 1973. Antiquities from Zafar. Annali dell'Istituto Orinetale di Napoli 33: 193-206.
Shahid I. 1955. Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks.
Yule P. 2007. Himyar, Spatantike in Jemen. Aichwald: Linden Soft.

14:25 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

ZAZZARO, Chiara
The MARES Project, Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, IAIS Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX 4 4ND, UK

Chiara Zazzaro is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, where she investigates the maritime archaeology and ethnography of the southern Red Sea. Her PhD, from the University of Naples 'l'Orientale', investigated the coastal sites, material collections and navigational conditions in the Horn of Africa. Current research focuses on the study of ancient boatbuilding construction techniques and their comparisons with ethnographic boatbuilding traditions in the southern Red Sea and on coastal sites of the Red Sea including Farasan Islands (Saudi Arabia), the ancient port of Adulis (Eritrea) and the Pharaonic harbour of Mersa Gawasis (Egypt).

COOPER, John P.
The MARES Project, Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, IAIS Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX 4 4ND, UK

John P. Cooper is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, where he investigates the maritime ethnography and archaeology of the southern Red Sea. His PhD, from the Centre for Maritime Archaeology of the University of Southampton, investigated the navigational landscape of the Egyptian Nile during the medieval period. Current research focuses on recent boatbuilding traditions in the southern Red Sea, the archaeology of the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia, and the ancient port of Suez, Egypt.

An archaeological survey of the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia

In May 2010 a team from the MARES Project of the University of Exeter conducted a three-week preliminary archaeological survey of the main islands of the Farasan archipelago. The survey identified sites of diverse functions and dating to various periods of occupation including ancient South Arabian, Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic settlements, early Christian cemeteries, a decorated ancient South Arabian well, a human-modified cave and a fortress. Among the surface finds were substantial architectural remains, inscriptions, potsherds and a large stone anchor.
Previous archaeological research on the archipelago has been limited to as-yet unpublished surveys and to one test excavation conducted in the 1980s, in addition to more recent work on early human migration. Epigraphic studies of Roman and South Arabian inscriptions have been reported in more detail. The islands reveal a great potential for future research given the large number of uninvestigated sites. This paper contextualizes the results of the MARES survey within the historical southern Red Sea, as well as with the first author's previous study of the Eritrean coast, and the results of recent surveys by the MARES Project in Yemen and Djibouti.

14:50 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

PECCHIOLI, Laura
Seminar für Sprachen und Kulturen des Vorderen Orients, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, D-69117 Heidelberg, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Laura Pecchioli, Dr Arch, began her professional development in the area of software development exploring interactively accessed spatial data while navigating in 3-D environments. With a background as an architect, she specialises on the conservation of archaeological sites. Last year she turned her attention to Interaction Design and Ubiquitous Computing (HCI). Her projects centre on architectural restoration applications and cover several areas. Other projects include GeoInformational Systems, but also hands-on field projects in Rome (Commissione Pontificia di Archeologia Sacra), Quedlinburg/Saxony-Anhalt (Hochschule Bildende für Künste Dresden), Zafar/Yemen (Heidelberg University), Virtual Design Museum Project (Politecnico di Milano), Baalbek /Lebanon (TU Berlin), etc. She publishes in different media and lectures widely at international conferences.

YULE, Paul Alan
Seminar für Sprachen und Kulturen des Vorderen Orients, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, D-69117 Heidelberg, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Dr Paul Yule's fieldwork centres on Arabia and South Asia. In recent years in his teaching and fieldwork he has focused on Late Antiquity, for instance in Zafar/Yemen, and Samad al-Shan in the Eastern Province of the Sultanate of Oman. He has been invlived in other research projects and involved in cultural resource management, as at the third millennium tower tomb site of al-Jaylah in the eastern Jabal Akhdar in Oman. Paul Yule also studies the relationship of Arabic linguistics to the archaeology of Arabia. He disseminates his research and archiving via the image and text servers HeidICON and PropylaeumDOK.

Zafar 2010: after excavation

From 1998 to 2009 a team from Heidelberg University and General Organization of Antiquities, and Museums (GOAM) mapped and excavated the Himyarite capital Zafar in al-Najd region of the Yemen. As much as was possible our research strategy focused on the latest centuries of the Himyarite empire (AD 270-525) and the Late- and post-Himyarite period (AD 525-632). Financial and temporal resources enabled tests at different sites at Zafar. We terminated the annual excavation of the 30 x 30m stone building on the south-west slope of the Husn Raydan and, more specifically, on the slope of al-Jawf. This year's season allowed a rare final look at the pottery and a chance carry out documentation and conservation measures on the excavated structures. For the Late Antique pottery few parallels exist in neighbouring areas. In a bid for transparency in our work, we are gradually expanding the Heidelberg University image base, HeidICON, for the Yemen (at present it contains 4,268 images) and Oman (355 images) to complement publication and teaching efforts. As the site museum is no longer accessible for foreigners, this year Laura Pecchioli created an online virtual site museum.

Keywords: Zafar, virtual reality, cultural resource management, late pre-Islam

References:
Yule P. 2009. Zafar, Capital of Himyar, Eighth Preliminary Report, February-April 2009
http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/volltexte/2009/302/
Yule P. 2008. Pictorial documentation from Zafar http://heidicon.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/pool/zafar
Yule P. In press. Himyar-Late Antique Yemen, English and Arabic version, 2nd edition [1st edition 2007. Himyar: Die Spätantike im Jemen = Himyar: Late Antique Yemen. Aichwald: Linden Soft].

15:40-16:10 TEA COFFEE

15:45 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

IMBERT, Frédéric
Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I), IREMAM (Institut de Recherches et d'Études sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman, 13621 Aix-en-Provence cedex1, République Française

Frédéric Imbert est Maître de Conférences à l'Université de Provence, membre de l'Institut de Recherche et d'Etude sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman (IREMAM). Spécialiste de langue arabe et d'épigraphie islamique, il a dirigé de nombreuses missions de prospections en Jordanie et en Syrie depuis 1987. Ses recherches portent sur les inscriptions arabes et les graffiti des deux premiers siècles de l'Hégire au Proche-Orient. Il procède actuellement à une vaste étude des graffiti coufiques visant à révéler les aspects historiques, religieux linguistiques et paléographiques de ces textes privés. Il a été Directeur du Département d'Enseignement de l'Arabe Contemporain au Caire de 2002 à 2006.

Graffiti arabes du Proche-Orient: formes de l'écrit à l'aube de l'Islam

Les dernières recherches menées dans le domaine des graffiti arabo-musulmans des deux premiers siècles de l'Hégire, au Proche-Orient, renouvellent les connaissances que nous avons de la société des musulmans à l'aube de l'islam. Au-delà des informations sur la foi, la place du Coran ou du prophète Muhammad, les graffiti les plus anciens nous permettent aussi de réfléchir sur le statut de l'écrit et de l'écriture. Notre contribution se propose de montrer et d'analyser quelques exemples de développements graphiques très originaux (décors, écritures inversées, originalités graphiques, etc.) au sein d'un corpus de textes antérieurs à 150 de l'Hégire. Toutefois, notre étude ne se place pas uniquement dans une optique d'analyse de faits décoratifs et proprement artistiques qui relèverait de l'histoire d'art; notre intention est plutôt de montrer comment le graphisme archaïque, sous toutes ses formes, reflète les mentalités des personnages qui gravèrent ces textes, principalement dans la perspective de leur rapport avec la chose écrite mais également au travers des mots qu'ils employèrent pour la qualifier. Nous analyserons enfin certains aspects de ce que nous appelons "l'oralité de pierre", ce qui nous conduira à évoquer des considérations paléographiques, notamment notre découverte récente du proto-hamza.

Keywords: epigraphy, graffiti, Early Islam, palaeography, Middle East

References:
Hoyland R. 1997. The Content and Context of Early Arabic Inscriptions. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 21: 77-102.
Kawatoko M., Tokunaga R. & Iizuka R. 2005. Ancient and Islamic rock inscriptions of Southwest Saudi Arabia. i, Wadi Khushayba, Tokyo University: The Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan.
al-Kilabi H. 2009. al-Nuqush al-islamiyyah 'ala tariq al-hajj al-shami, shamal jarb al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Sa'udiyyah. Riyadh: Maktabat al-Malik Fahd al-wataniyyah.

16:10 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

PRIOLETTA, Alessia
Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico, Università di Pisa, Via Galvani 1, 56126 Pisa, Repubblica Italiana

Alessia Prioletta graduated at the University of Pisa with a thesis on South Arabian Epigraphy. She obtained her research PhD. in 2004 at the University of Florence with a thesis on Hadramitic inscriptions (supervisor Alessandra Avanzini). Since 2004, she has been the coordinator of the cataloguing group in the CSAI project, which aims to provide a complete on-line edition of the South Arabian epigraphic corpus (http://csai.humnet.unipi.it). From 2007 she has been head of epigraphic cataloguing in the museums of Yemen within the CASIS Yemeni-Italian cooperation project. She has worked in the museums of Sanaa, Aden, Dhamar, Baynun, Ibb, Zafar and Zinjibar.

A new evidence of the goddess 't(t)rm and some remarks on the deities' gender in South Arabia

A bronze tablet with a Sabaic inscription appeared in the Sanaa market and offers the first intriguing occurrence of the goddess 't trm outside the Hadramitic city of Raybun. The inscription is a penitential text whose formulary and lexicon closely remind us of the texts of confession from the Jawfite site of Haram. Chronologically, it is among the most archaic Sabaic examples of this category of texts. The interesting point is that the confession is addressed to 't trm H gr, a divinity that was already known as 't tr H gr in inscriptions from Kamna. In the new text, the divine name has the assimilated -t- (a phenomenon also occurring in Minaic texts from al-Jawf), shows a final-m and, above all, is grammatically of feminine gender.
This new evidence seems to support the existence in South Arabia of two divinities having opposite gender ('t tr/ 't trm), as it happens in Syria-Palestine ('t tr/'t trt and 'štrt, without omitting 'štrm of the Sharon plain, which some scholars connect indeed to the South Arabian 't trm). The inscription also gives the opportunity to make some comments on the issue of the deities' gender on the basis of the epigraphic sources.

Keywords: South Arabia, epigraphy, religion, divine gender, 't trm

References:
Bron F. 2000. Divinités communes à la Syrie - Paléstine et à l'Arabie du Sud préislamique. Pages 437-440 in M. Molina, I.M. Rowe & J. Sanmartin (eds), Arbor Scientiae: estudios del Próximo Oriente Antiguo dedicados a Gregorio del Olmo Lete con ocasión de su 65 aniversario. (Aula orientalis, 17-18). Barcelona: Editorial AUSA.
Frantsouzoff S. 2001. Raybun: Hadran, temple de la déesse 'Athtarum/'Astarum. (Inventaire des Inscriptions Sudarabiques, 5). Paris: Acade?mie des inscriptions et belles-lettres; Rome: Istituto italiano per l ;Africa e l'oriente.
Sima A. 1999. Kleinasiatische Parallelen zu den altsüdarabischen Buß - und Sühneinschriften, Altorientalische Forschungen 26: 140-153.

16:35 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

AGOSTINI, Alessio
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/UMR 8167, 'Orient et Méditerranée', Paris A, 27 rue Paul Bert, 94204 Ivry sur Seine, République Française

Alessio Agostini graduated and obtained his PhD degree at the University of Florence (Italy). Since 2002 he has been a member of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Yemen directed by the late Professor Alessandro de Maigret (sites of Tamna? and Bar?qish). In 2010 he was been granted a Marie Curie Fellowship, financed by the Research Executive Agency of the European Community, at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, where he is studying some new expiatory texts from the Minaean site of Baraqish.

New perspectives on the Minaean confession of sins

During the excavations of the Italian Archaeological Mission at Baraqish (directed by A. de Maigret between 1990/1992 and 2000/2006) a group of new expiatory texts addressed to god Nakrah was found. Their study is still undergoing, but some of their major issues can already be outlined. These new epigraphic data can help to better define certain social and religious aspects within South Arabia in the 1st millennium BC. Some linguistic and lexical difficulties besides these texts will also be shown.
The rite of the public confession of sins is known early in South Arabian studies, but texts connected to this matter are still scarce. It seems that this rite was particularly centred in al-Jawf area, thus in the ancient Minaean kingdom and in the site of Haram. Inscriptions addressed to Nakrah, both in Baraqish and in the near extra-muros sanctuary of Darb al-Sabi, suggest that confessions to this divinity were made in the hope of a recovery from an illness, whose cause, it was felt, was probably connected with a sin made in the past by the repentant.
This new documentation can consequently enlarge our understanding of this peculiar religious activity within pre-Islamic South Arabia.

Keywords: Ancient South Arabia, epigraphy, expiatory texts, religion, linguistics.

References:
Halèvy J. 1899. Ex-voto sabéens relatifs aux purifications. Revue Sémitique 7: 267-278.
Pettazzoni R. 1935. La Confessione dei Peccati. ii. Egitto - Babilonia - Israele - Arabia Meridionale. Bologna: Nicola Zanichelli, Editore.
Ryckmans J. 1972. Les confessions publiques sabéennes, le code sud-arabe de pureté rituelle. Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli 32: 1-15.

17:00 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (BP Lecture Theatre)

FRANTSOUZOFF, Serge A.
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (Russian Academy of Sciences), 18 Dvortsovaya Embankment, 191186 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Dr Serge Frantsouzoff (Sergey Frantsouzoff) graduated from the Oriental Faculty of the Leningrad State University in June 1985 he as awarded his PhD in November 1990 with a thesis on the early medieval history of ?a?ramawt. From 1990 he worked at the St Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies and promoted to Senior Researcher in 1998; in 2009 this institution was transformed into the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The fields of Dr Frantsouzoff's academic interest include the languages, history and culture of ancient South Arabia (Sabaean Studies), medieval Yemen and ancient and medieval Ethiopia - as well as the Christian Arab written heritage.

New data on Wadi 'Idim (Eastern Hadramawt) in the pre-Islamic period

In spite of several surveys undertaken by French archaeologists at the sites of Mashgha and Sunah in 1979 as well as by their Russian colleagues at al-Ghuraf in 1989 and 1994 the pre-Islamic history of Wadi 'Idim has been only superficially explored.
A short rock inscription of a local merchant discovered at the head of a small tributary of this valley by oil workers and generously entrusted to me for publication by Dr 'Abd al-'Aziz bin 'Aqil proves to be of great interest for that subject (Fr-'Idim 1). On the basis of palaeographic criteria it can be dated from the third to first centuries BC. Its author's nisbah (l. 2: 'dmy-hn) testifies that the toponym 'Idim was in use for more than two thousand years. The 'wars of Hadramawt' referred to in it (l. 4: 'd;.rr/H;.d;.rmt) should be identified with a series of conflicts between Hadramaw and Qataban which took place in the late second to first centuries BC. The final passage on selling one 'qnt' of dates (ll. 5-6) has a close parallel in another Hadramitic inscription (Mukalla' Museum 161/9-10).
The analysis of all the available data on Wadi 'Idim in pre-Islamic times suggests a possibility that the road constructed by Sayyid Bu Bakr al-Kaf in the early thirties from Tarim to al-Shihr through Wadi 'Idim followed an ancient caravan way.

17:30 - Closing Address.
Robert Carter (Chairman - Seminar for Arabian Studies)

SATURDAY JULY 29th 2011
Parallel Sessions
(Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

LITERATURE AND SOCIETY
Chair: Janet Starkey (Durham University, UK)

09:30 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

NAUMKIN, Vitaly
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 12 Rozhdestvenka Street, Moscow, 103753, Russian Federation

Professor Dr Vitaly Naumkin is Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. Editor-in-Chief, Vostok-ORIENS Journal, RAS. Professor and Chair at the Moscow State University. He is author of numerous publications in Russian, English, Arabic, French and so on in history, philology, area studies (Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia) and international relations. These include the Island of the Phoenix (1993), Essays in the Ethnolingustics of Socotra (with Victor Porkhomovsky) (1991), Red Wolves of Yemen (2004) and the History of the Arab World (1994, in Russian).

KOGAN, Leonid
Ancient Near Eastern Department, Russian State University for the Humanities, 15 Chayanova Street, Moscow, Russian Federation

Leonid Kogan studied Semitic philology at the Oriental department of St. Petersburg State University (graduated 1996). Since 1996, doctoral student (PhD 2001), lecturer and, from 2005, Head of the Ancient Near Eastern Department at the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow), a job which he now combines with a half-time research position at the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Main fields of interest: Assyriology, historical grammar of Akkadian, comparative Semitic grammar and etymology, modern South Arabian languages and folklore. L. Kogan is a co-author of the multi-volume Semitic Etymological Dictionary (2000; 2005) and author of numerous special studies in Semitic linguistics and philology.

CHERKASHIN, Dmitry
Moscow, Russian Federation

Dmitry Cherkashin studied Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic linguistics and philology at the Russian State University for the Humanities (graduated 2006). Main fields of interest: Arabic and Islamic literature, Islamic studies, linguistic study of classical Arabic, modern South Arabian languages and folklore.

AD-DA'RHI, Ahmad
Soqotra, Republic of Yemen
Ahmed Issa is a University student from Socotra, Republic of Yemen

AD-DA'RHI, Isa
Soqotra, Republic of Yemen
Issa is a schooteacher of Arabic from Socotra, Republic of Yemen

Towards an edition with commentary of Soqotri folk literature: the 2010 fieldwork season

Ever since the pioneering publications of the Austrian team of the first decade of the 20th century, modern South Arabian folklore has been published almost exclusively in transliteration and translation only. In view of the highly complex nature of these idioms, this way of presentation becomes a serious impediment for a productive use of these remarkable texts by Semitists and all interested specialists in general. In order to mitigate this negative trend, the present authors are now trying to provide their editions of Soqotri texts with extensive linguistic and philological notes, focusing on various aspects of grammar, lexicon and realia. Thanks to this approach, the newly published Soqotri texts will hopefully become more attractive for a broader scholarly audience. The goal of the present paper is to present two sample texts collected by V. Naumkin during his earlier trips to the island, but recorded anew during the 2010 fieldwork season and extensively commented upon with the help of two young native speakers of Soqotri, both representing the Bedouin tribe Da'rho. Both clearly archaic texts are of immense interest from the cultural-historical point of view.
The first one is a legendary account of the origin of the Qeshin tribe and has a transparent etiological meaning: the European-like anthropological features of the members of the tribe are ascribed to a 'Frankish' woman who became, many centuries ago, the wife of the Soqotran 'cultural hero' Rahabhan. The second text tells us how the murderers of a poor woman were discovered and punished by her son many years after the crime, thanks to the help of the moon, to whom the boy was 'entrusted' by his mother at the moment of her violent death. In many aspects, this story is a direct literary parallel to the Greek legend known to the general public through Schiller's famous ballad Die Kraniche des Ibykus.

Keywords: Soqotra, archaic texts, Da'rho tribe, moon, cultural hero

References:
Müller D.H. 1902-1907. Die Mehri- und Socotri-Sprache. i (1902), ii (1905), iii (1907), Vienna: Südarabische Expedition der Akademie der Wissenshaften.
Naumkin V. 1993. Island of the Phoenix. Reading: Ithaca Press.
Naumkin V. & Porkhomovsky V. 1981. Ocherki etnolingvistiki Soqotry [Essays on the Ethnolinguistics of Soqotra]. Moscow: Nauka.

09:55 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

YOSEFI, Maxim
The Department of Middle East Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653 Beer-Sheva 84105, State of Israel

Maxim Yosefi graduatied in Anthropology, and began studying traditional poetry and its functions in the social context. This interest led him to become acquainted with the oral traditions and cultural anthropology of the Arab World. His dissertation and a number of articles deal with ancient and modern traditional Arabic poetry from an anthropological point of view.

The traditional Arabic poem as a ritual

The paper intends to cover the problem of canons in tribal Arabic poetry in a new way. From the author's point of view, some types of complicated tribal Arabic poems (sg. qasidah pl. qasa'id) and poems which include praises or greetings, coffee poems, and prayers for rain - may be studied as intratextual rituals. The author will try to explain the nature of this ritual, to show its development and its conservation from its ancient, pre-Islamic forms to its modern forms, and to compare the ways it has been passed on through the generations with the adoption of Islam in nomadic and sedentary tribal societies. The aim is to show that a complicated tribal Arabic poem is not a combination of themes and motives but of functional elements. The methods of performing each function can be different, but the functions themselves are permanent. The paper will take an anthropological approach to the canons in traditional Arabic poetry, which were developed in the pre-Islamic period and continue into the modern period in the poetry of both nomadic and sedentary tribes. Intratextual rituals in classical and tribal Arabic poetry have not yet received enough attention by modern scholars. Apparently this could be attributed to the fact that the stability of patterns and forms in traditional Arabic poetry, which are one of its main qualities, wwere studied mainly with reference to pre-Islamic material and within the bounds of the study of literature and not as tools of anthropology.

Keywords: poetry, ritual, qasidah, Bedouin, Yemen

References:
Bailey C. 1991. Bedouin poetry from Sinai and the Negev: mirror of a culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kurpershoek M. 1994. Oral poetry and narratives from central Arabia. i, The poetry of Ad-Dindan (A Bedouin bard in southern Najd). Leiden: Brill.
Musil A. 1928. The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society.

10:20 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

DAMLUJI, Salma Samar
Daw'an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation, Bin Sawwad Building, Ba Jam'an St. Khor Mukalla, Mukalla, Hadramut Govenorate, Republic of Yemen
website www.dawanarchitecturefoundation.org

Currently Salma Samar Damluji is Project Architect on Masna?at Daw?an, an architectural rehabilitation site, in ?a?ramawt since 2005. She is Chief Architect and founding member of The Daw?an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation based in Mukalla, Yemen, from 2007. She was project partner with the Cultural Emergency Response of The Prince Claus Fund, on rescue sites in ?a?ramawt: Masna?at Daw?an (2007-2008) and more recently in S?? & ?Ayn?t (2009-2010).
Her latest book, The Architecture of Yemen (2007) was launched with the Arabia Felix Exhibition at the The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in London, November 2007-February 2008. She lives in London and Beirut.

Restoration of the mosques of Sah and 'Aynat: Wadi Hadramawt, Yemen

In 2008, following the floods that devastated large sections of neighbouring Wadi Sah and Hadramawt, the Daw'an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation was able to restore several buildings in Sah and 'Aynat. This includes Shaykh ?Umar Bawazir mosque in Sah, rebuilding four tombs in Siqat al Sadah Cemetery, and the mosque of 'Aynat. The project was carried out in association with the Cultural Emergency Response (CER) at The Prince Claus Fund and completed in Summer 2010.

Sah: Ghayl 'Umar renovating the dome and roof area, and rebuilding one of the four tombs in Siqat al-Sadah cemetery.
Al-Faqih mosque in 'Aynat was the earliest mosque built in the town, and attributed to al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad bin 'Ali Ba 'Alawi (1178/1179-1255), founder of the Hadrami 'Alawi school. On an architectural level, the design which was renewed in the 1930s, carries the features of original mosque architecture that was developed in Tarim, a neighbouring city in Wadi Hadramawt. The presentation will concentrate on the methodology implemented by the master builders in both locations. This includes visual illustration in architectural drawings, and photos covering the work that spanned over two stages: reinforcing the mud brick structures, and the techniques used; and the second stage that covers the renovation and restoration process.

References:
Anon. 2010. In the spotlight: restoration of Sufi cultural heritage in Yemen. CER Newsletter November, online at http://www.cultureindevelopment.nl/News/Discussing_Culture_&_Development/646/In_the_spotlight:_Restoration_of_Sufi_cultural_heritage_in_Yemen
Damluji S.S. 2007. The Architecture of Yemen: from Yafi to Hadramut. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Meulen D. van der 1939-1941. Hadramaut Some of its Mysteries Unveiled. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

10:45 - Saturday 30 July 2011 (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

ALABDULAALY, Huda AlAbdullah A
Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Personal memoranda and their role in historical studies

Historical sources dealt with the issue of the Armenians under Ottoman rule and its impact on the Armenian people after the Berlin European Conference Treaty of 1878, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876-1909), until the fall of Ottoman empire - as well as associated activities, events and facts that constitute a major part of the history of the region over a long period. These sources, especially British and Russian newspapers, also included information on Armenian activities in that era. There were also other important sources, namely letters and memoranda of journalists and correspondents, as well as personal messages and opinions of intellectual and politicians, all of which shed light on this and associated issues. This paper will review a series of letters and writings on the issue and explore their role in highlighting unpublished facts between 1918 to 1924.

Keywords: personal memoranda, Ottoman empire, Armenia, newspapers, sources

References:
Farid M. 1893/repr. 2003. Tarikh al-Dawlah al-'Aliyyah al-'Uthma'niyyah. Beirut: Dar al-Nafa'is.
Hovannisian R.G. 1980. The Armenian Holocaust: a bibliography relating to the deportation, massacres, and dispersion of the Armenian people, 1915-1923. Cambridge, Mass.: Armenian Heritage Press.
al-Shinnawi, 'A.'A.M.1983. Al-Dawlah al-'Uthmaniyyah [The Ottoman empire: an Islamic maligned state. Cairo: Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop.

11:10-11:40 TEA COFFEE

End of Parallel Sessions - All Lectures now take place in the BP Lecture Theatre.

© Seminar for Arabian Studies 2011.

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