The ceramics of Yughbī (Qatar), one of the earliest Islamic sites of the Gulf

Authors

  • José Cristóbal Carvajal López Incipit-CSIC, Edificio Fontán

Keywords:

Qatar, Arabian Gulf, early Islamic archaeology, ceramics, Petrography, ceramic petrography

Abstract

In this paper the results of the macroscopic and petrographic analysis of the ceramics of the site of Yughbī are presented. This site was excavated in 2018, during the final fieldwork campaign of The Crowded Desert Project. It is so far the earliest Islamic site known in Qatar and one of the earliest ones in the Gulf, and it features a very well contextualized ceramic assemblage of 697 sherds, most of which date to a period between AD 660s and 770s.


The ceramics of Yughbī have been studied both macroscopically and with petrographic microscopy. The combination of both analyses shows the presence of South Iraqi, Eastern Arabian, and Indian wares, but an almost total lack of Iranian wares. The comparison of connectivity profiles between the ceramics of Yughbī and those of other sites of the same period (late Sasanian and early Islamic) indicate a certain similarity with Ṣohār and, to a lesser extent, with Kush and Bushehr. The ceramic assemblage of Yughbī is much less similar to that of closer sites, such as Ṣīr Banī Yās, Sīrāf, or Bilād al‑Qadīm.

References

Ashkanani H. 2014. Interregional interaction and Dilmun power in the Bronze Age: A characterization study of ceramics from Bronze Age sites in Kuwait. PhD thesis, University of South Florida. [Unpublished.]

Ashkanani H. & Kovar B. 2021. Investigating ancient technology and ceramic composition at Al-Khidr site (Failaka Island, Kuwait): Geochemical analyses of Bronze Age pottery by pXRF and thin-section petrographic analyses. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 32/1: 8–20.

Blackman M.J., Méry S. & Wright R. 1989. Production and exchange of ceramics on the Oman peninsula from the perspective of Hili. Journal of Field Archaeology 16: 61–77.

Carvajal López J.C., Guérin A. & Georgakopoulou M. 2022. Petrographic analysis of ceramics from Murwab, an early Islamic site in Qatar. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 51: 55–70.

Carvajal López J.C., Priestman S.M.N. & Georgakopoulou M. 2023. New information on late antique to early Islamic ceramic production and distribution in the Gulf. Petrography of samples from Siraf, Bushehr, and Fulayj. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 52: 17–34.

Carvajal López J.C., Morabito L., Carter R., Fletcher R. & Al-Naimi F.A. 2016. The Crowded Desert: A multi-phase archaeological survey in the north-west of Qatar. Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 46: 45–62.

Carvajal López J.C., Giobbe M., Adeyemo E., Georgakopoulou M., Carter R., Sakal F. …

Al-Na’īmī F.A. 2019. Production and provenance of Gulf wares unearthed in the Old Doha Rescue Excavations Project. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 49: 51–67.

Carvajal López J.C., Roberts K., Morabito L., Rees G., Stremke F., Marsh A. ... al‑Naimi F.A. 2018. From tentscape to landscape. A multi-scale analysis of patterns of long-term occupation in north-west Qatar. Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 48: 31–45.

Carvajal López J.C., Roberts K., Morabito L., Rees G., Stremke F., Marsh A. ... al‑Naimi F.A. 2020. The dawn of the Islamic era? The excavation of Yughbī in the Crowded Desert of Qatar. Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 50: 53–69.

Carvajal López J.C., Roberts K., Rees G., Stremke F., Marsh A., Morabito L. ...

Al-Naimi F.A. 2017. A Crowded Desert: Early results from survey and excavation of nomadic sites in north-west Qatar (poster). Proceedings of the Seminar of Arabian Studies 47: 43–50.

Hill D.V, Speakman R.J. & Glascock M.D. 2004. Chemical and mineralogical characterization of Sassanian and Early Islamic glazed ceramics from the Deh Lurah Plain, southwestern Iran. Archaeometry 46, 4: 585-605.

Kennet D. 2004. Sasanian and Islamic pottery from Ra’s alKhaimah: Classification, chronology and analysis of trade in the western Indian Ocean. (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1248). Oxford: Archaeopress.

Levi Della Vida G. 1997. Ḳaṭarī b. al‑Fudjā’a. Pages 752–753 in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. iv. (New edition). Leiden: Brill.

Mason R.B. & Keall E.J. 1991. The Abbasid glazed wares of Siraf and the Basra connection: Petrographic analysis. Iran 29: 51–66.

Méry S. 1991. Origine et production des récipients de terre cuite dans la péninsule d’Oman à l’âge du Bronze. Paléorient 17: 51–78.

Méry S. 1995. Archaeology of the borderlands: 4th millennium BC Mesopotamian pottery at Ra’s al‑Hamra RH-5 (Sultanate of Oman). Annali Istituto Universitario Orientale 55: 193–206.

Méry S. 2000. Les céramiques d’Oman et l’Asie moyenne. Une archéologie des échanges à l’Âge du Bronze. Paris: CNRS Éditions.

Müller N.S., Kilikoglou V., Day P.M. & Vekinis G. 2010. The influence of temper shape on the mechanical properties of archaeological ceramics. Journal of the European Ceramic Society 30: 2457–2465.

Müller N.S., Vekinis G., Day P.M. & Kilikoglou V. 2015. The influence of microstructure and texture on the mechanical properties of rock-tempered archaeological ceramics. Journal of the European Ceramic Society 35: 831–843.

Mynors S. 1983. An examination of Mesopotamian ceramics using petrographic and neutron activation analysis. Pages 377–387 in A. Aspinall & S.E. Warren (eds), Proceedings of the 22nd Symposium of Archaeometry. Bradford: University of Bradford.

Ownby M. 2014. A basic petrographic analysis of ceramics from Kuwait. Pages 288–305 in H. Ashkanani, Interregional interaction and Dilmun power in the Bronze Age: A characterization study of ceramics from Bronze Age sites in Kuwait. PhD thesis, University of South Florida. [Unpublished.]

Priestman S.M.N. 2021a. Ceramic exchange and the Indian Ocean economy (AD 400–1275). ii. Indian Ocean pottery classification. (British Museum Research Publications, 223). London: The British Museum.

Priestman S.M.N. 2021b. Ceramic exchange and the Indian Ocean economy (AD 400–1275). i. Analysis. (British Museum Research Publications, 223). London: The British Museum.

Quinn P.S. 2013. Ceramic petrography. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Stremtan C., Ashkanani H., Tykot R.H. & Puscas M. 2012. Constructing a database for pXRF, XRD, ICP-MS and petrographic analyses of Bronze Age ceramics and raw materials from Failaka Island (Kuwait). Pages 274–279 in R.B. Scott, D. Braekmans, M. Carremans & P. Degryse (eds), Proceedings of the 39th International Symposium for Archaeometry. Leuven: Centre for Archaeological Sciences, KU Leuven.

Tomber R., Cartwright C. & Gupta S. 2011. Rice temper: Technological solutions and source identification in the Indian Ocean. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 360–366.

Whitbread I.K. 1995. Greek transport amphorae, a petrological and archaeological study. (Fitch Laboratory Occasional Paper, 4). Athens: British School at Athens.

Whitbread I.K. 2001. Ceramic petrology, clay geochemistry and ceramic production — from technology to the mind of the potter. Pages 449–459 in D.R. Brothwell & A.M. Pollard (eds), Handbook of archaeological sciences. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Whitcomb D.S. 1986. Before the roses and nightingales. Excavations at Qasr-i Abu Nasr, Old Shiraz. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Zampierin D., Moita P., Lischi S., van Aerde M., Barrulas P. & Mirão J. 2024. A multi-analytical approach applied to pottery from Oman as a key to understanding ancient Indian Ocean maritime trade. Archaeometry 2024: 1–49. Early view: https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12949

Živković J., Power T., Georgakopoulou M. & Carvajal López J.C. 2019. Defining new technological traditions of late Islamic Arabia: A view on Bahlā Ware from al‑Ain (UAE) and the lead-barium glaze production. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11: 4697–4709.

Downloads

Published

11/06/2024

How to Cite

Carvajal López, J. C. (2024). The ceramics of Yughbī (Qatar), one of the earliest Islamic sites of the Gulf. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 53, 24–40. Retrieved from https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/PSAS/article/view/2256

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.