Title: Failaka Archaeological Research Project. Preliminary results after the first season of excavation at the Kharaib El-Desht site in 2013 (original) (raw)
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Archaeology of Failaka and Kuwaiti coast – current research (Full Text)
Archaeology of Failaka and Kuwaiti coast, 2019
The Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences together with the National Council for the Culture, Art and Letter of the State of Kuwait (NCCAL) organised an international conference on the latest archaeological research results of international missions in Kuwait. The conference inspired an idea to prepare a new publication – a monograph that could complex present results of excavations supported by the NCCAL to both the scientific community and the wider public. Missions from Georgia, Great Britain, Italy, Kuwait, Poland and Slovakia contributed with their chapters. These will allow us to reconstruct human life in this area at various stages of societal development. Editors of the publication have undertaken the task of collecting scientific studies and the Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences has provided a background for publishing the monograph. The book presents the latest results of analyses of the Bronze Age site Al-Khidr, a cult object in Bahra, Al-Sabiyah and selected findings of archaeological investigations in the north-east coast of Failaka Island. Several chapters evaluate life at the prominent site of Al-Qusur between the 7th and 9th century. Interesting findings are provided by the study at the Al-Quarainiyah site and recent research in Kuwait Bay. Readers will become familiar not only with the results of the study of settlement patterns on Failaka Island but also with details of pottery production, fishing and trade in the Gulf region. The book discusses also traces of seasonal late Islamic settlement discovered at several sites on Failaka Island. As editors we feel honoured and believe that the monograph will contribute to the mosaic of knowledge about the ancient history of Kuwait and Gulf
Archaeology of Failaka and Kuwaiti Coast - Current Research, 2019
Between 2012 and 2016, the Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission (KPAM) conducted four seasons of fieldwork on Failaka Island. A preliminary comparative study of the ceramic material found at Kharaib elDesht and collected during the survey in the area of AlSabbahiya points to a relatively limited variety of luxury vessels at the former site. In both cases, however, the vessel repertoire reflects general directions of the seventeenth to nineteenth century trade exchange in the region of the Persian Gulf, as evidenced by the presence of wares native to Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Persia, as well as luxury table wares of Southeast Asian and Chinese origin. Another task of Polish researches, was to examine the relation of the settlement to the recorded underwater structures (fish traps and the harbour) located between Kharaib el-Desht and Al-Quraniyah. At the present stage of research, it seems that Kharaib el-Desht and the harbour were not contemporary, but it may be valuable to look for a connection between the harbour and Al-Quraniyah.
Archaeology of Failaka and Kuwaiti coast – current research
The long history of the archaeological survey of the Failaka Island and of the Kuwaiti coast has brought to this date many outstanding scientific results. However, many problems remain to be solved. Following the idea of Dr. Shehab A. H. Shehab, we decided to organize an international conference (round table), where scientific teams working on the Failaka Island and on the Kuwaiti coast will share new ideas and embark on a closer cooperation. We hope that the presentations of the newest research results will stimulate an active scientific discussion.
Excavation at the site of Kharaib el-Desht on Failaka Island, Kuwait, began in 2013 and continued in 2015 and 2016. The second season focused on the northwestern part of the site, namely Areas 1 and 4. In the third season, work also encompassed the southeastern part of the site, Area 3, where the exploration of a stone structure was resumed. A fragment of a residential complex was also unearthed in this area. Test trenches, opened inside the stone structure and below the foundation level of the residential remains, confirmed the existence of an earlier phase, predating the Desht settlement.
2019
The conference “Archaeological Failaka – Recent and ongoing investigations” is the Fourth International Conference on the Archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula in Kuwait, yearly organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) and the French Centre for Archaeology and Social Sciences (CEFAS). Failaka Island is a mythical island for historians and archaeologists: its rich ancient heritage made it famous among scholars. Since the 1960s, this island has been explored by Kuwaiti and international teams. Archaeologists have identified a long, if not continuous and dense occupation, as well as monumental architecture (temples, fortress, churches), connections with Mesopotamia, Iran, the Near-East and India. Nine settlements are still under excavations: the Bronze Age sites of al Khider and tell Saad, the Hellenistic fortress of tell Sa’id, the Early Islamic sites of al Qusur and al Qurainiyah, the Late Islamic sites of tell Saad, Kharaib el-Desht, al Awazim, al Said al Ali and al Qurainiyah. These excavations offer the possibility to considerably enrich the history of the island, Kuwait and the Gulf. This conference is organized by Dr. Sultan Al-Duwaish (NCCAL), Dr. Julie Bonnéric (CEFAS), and Dr. Rémy Crassard (CEFAS). In 2019, the conference is held at the National Library of Kuwait between November 26 and 28.
According to the agreement between the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters of the State of Kuwait and the Georgian National Museum, archaeological investigations began on Failaka Island in March of 2011, and on the continental part of Kuwait in the As Sabbiya region. Failaka is situated 17 km off mainland Kuwait in the north of the Arabian Gulf at the entrance to Kuwait Bay. The discovery of dozens of sites on the north-east coast of Failaka dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Islamic Period resulted from the work of Kuwaiti-Georgian Archaeological Mission, where investigations focused on monuments from the various periods. From the Early Bronze Age, this study examines two completely looted burial mounds reinforced with stone slabs as well as a stone “box” with an adjoining thin layer containing pearl shells and fragments of Dilmun vessels dating to the 2200-1750 BC from the site of Al-Awazim, located some 100-150 m from the coast. Nearby, along the shore of th...