From the emergence to the abandonment of an urban district in the oasis town of Dadan through 2500 years of occupation (original) (raw)
Related papers
Oriental and European Archaeology
Salvage excavations at the site of al-Nasīm, located south of the walled oasis settlement of Taymāᵓ, led to the discovery of burial contexts dated at the turn from the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, confirming earlier hypotheses of an oasis settlement of this period at Taymāᵓ. These findings are now complemented by evidence from the core of the settlement dating to the same period impacting the interpretation of the oasis and its relation to the burial grounds. Bronze artefacts from the graves suggest far reaching contacts between NW Arabian oases and Syria and the Levant at this time. On the other hand, comparative evidence with the oasis of al-Hāᶜit shows similarities in the possible presence of extended burial sites around oasis settlements, opening new interpretative frameworks on the interaction between groups with mobile and sedentary lifestyles, respectively.
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 48 (2018): 185–200, 2018
Transdisciplinary bioarchaeological and osteological research in Qurayyah, Saudi Arabia has begun with the aim of clarifying the agency behind the genesis of the so-called 'urban' oases and the development of the population in the desert environment, beyond its incipient phase. Preliminary results have focused on Early to Middle Bronze Age burial buildings and one instance of a Late Bronze Age formal disposal of bodies. While these have revealed selective and specific death-related behaviour, the pattern of the accompanying grave-goods (Red Burnished/Barbotine pottery, metal weapons, and beads made of materials ranging from amethyst to sandstone, shell, gold, and later, faience) find good comparisons with burials attested in the other main north Arabian oases: TaymāΜ, Khuraybah, and MadāΜin СāliΉ. A series of radiometric determinations on a total of five different areas (Areas A-C, H, and K) have provided us with a varied but continued attestation of funerary remains ranging from the late third to the late first millennium cal BC. Initial analysis of the skeletal human remains from Qurayyah has shown a series of pathological changes attesting to considerable negative environmental influences affecting the settlement's inhabitants during this period. Combined with ongoing archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research, these results will form the basis of a study aimed at gaining a comprehensive insight into the living conditions and diachronic changes that occurred with reference to the dynamics of formation and development of 'urban' oases in northwest Arabia.
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies
Stratified sites at Jebel Faya in the Central Region of the Emirate of Sharjah provide evidence for successive 'facies' of the Neolithic period. The oldest faciesfound at FAY-NE 1yielded 14 C dates in the late ninth millennium cal BC and is characterised by blade arrowheads which are morphologically similar to PPNB points. With 14 C dates from the late eighth and early seventh millennia cal BC, a techno-complex of large flint artefacts from FAY-NE10 represents the second Neolithic facies in the area. A sheep tooth from FAY-NE10, associated to the third faciescharacterised by trihedral rodsprovides evidence for a Neolithic economy. The respective layer contains numerous small fragments of cremated human bone. It dates to around 6000 cal BC. The fourth facies corresponds to the well-known 'Arabian Bifacial Tradition' and has radiocarbon dates from just before 5000 cal BC to just after 4000 cal BC. The Final Neolithicfound at shell-middens on the coast of the Gulf of Oman is to date not represented in the interior.
A. Lamesa, K. Whitaker, G. Gattiglia, M.-E. Porqueddu & C. Sciuto (ed.) From Quarries to Rock-cut Sites. Echoes of Stone Crafting: 177–97. Leiden: Sidestone Press. , 2023
As part of a new large-scale archaeological project launched in 2020, a study of quarrying and stone carving techniques has been undertaken at the Iron Age site of Dadan, one of the major ancient oasis settlements in northwest Arabia. The first stage of this study made it possible to document the whole chaîne opératoire of stone production, from the quarries to the buildings. A wide array of toolmarks and extraction techniques has been documented, in addition to a series of other rock-cut features of commemorative, funerary and religious nature (inscriptions, tombs, shrines, carved processional way). These first results show that the inhabitants of Dadan had an advanced knowledge of quarrying and stone cutting techniques, which they used not only for productive purposes, but also to appropriate – both practically and symbolically – their landscape.
Filling a blank: new excavations at an early Islamic site at Oud Al Toba/Muataredh in al-Ain, UAE
Proceeding of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2015
An early Islamic falaj (pl. aflāj) and a mud-brick mosque were discovered c.1999-2001 in the middle of al-Ain City, UAE. Results of the excavations carried out at the site have been published in al-Tikriti 2003 and incorporated into al-Tikriti 2011. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the resumed rescue excavations at the site that began in June 2011. A network was defined of aflāj and more mud-brick structures unknown in the region before our new excavations began. The discovery of these structures is significant as they provide the-so far-only available evidence for the presence of early Islamic (eighth-tenth century) standing buildings in the al-Ain region. Cemeteries and settlement sites exhibiting Bronze and Iron Age architectural remains are widely known in the region, in contrast to late pre-Islamic and early Islamic sites. The discovery of a number of aflāj and open channels covered by a thick layer of sand and modern debris indicates that an extensive oasis must have existed in this part of al-Ain city or close to it. This discovery may cast light on the history of the oases in al-Ain, which has its origins at the beginning of the Iron Age. The ongoing archaeological activities, using traditional methods supported by geophysical surveys, have demonstrated that the site is much more complex than was originally thought. Tantalizing results have tempted the excavators to link the site with the ancient historical city of Tawam, widely known as the old name of al-Ain.