A Nabatean port on the Red Sea: note on the pottery finds from al-Qusayr (al-Wajh, Saudi Arabia)-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

A Nabatean port on the Red Sea: note on the pottery finds from al-Qusayr (al-Wajh, Saudi Arabia)

Published:2020-12-31 Issue:29/1 Volume: Page:
ISSN:
Container-title:Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
language:
Short-container-title:

Author:

Durand Caroline¹

Affiliation:

1. CNRS-HiSoMA Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France

Abstract

Al-Qusayr is located 40 km south of modern al-Wajh, roughly 7 km from the eastern Red Sea shore. This site is known since the mid-19th century, when the explorer R. Burton described it for the first time, in particular the remains of a monumental building so-called al-Qasr. In March 2016, a new survey of the site was undertaken by the al-‘Ula–al-Wajh Survey Project. This survey focused not only on al-Qasr but also on the surrounding site corresponding to the ancient settlement. A surface collection of pottery sherds revealed a striking combination of Mediterranean and Egyptian imports on one hand, and of Nabataean productions on the other hand. This material is particularly homogeneous on the chronological point of view, suggesting a rather limited occupation period for the site. Attesting contacts between Mediterranean merchants, Roman Egypt and the Nabataean kingdom, these new data allow a complete reassessment of the importance of this locality in the Red Sea trade routes during antiquity.

Publisher

University of Warsaw

Reference29 articles.

1. Al-Ghabban, A.I. (1993). Akrâ Kûmî – mînâ’ al-hijr (qissat ’iktishâf mînâ akrâ). Kinda, 1, 21–25 (in Arabic)

2. Al-Ghabban, A.I. (2017). Akra Kome, Loki Komi, and Amblone: Historical ports on the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia (Achieving their location in light of the results of archaeological research). Riyadh: Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage

3. ‘Amr, K. (1986). Instrumental neutron activation analysis of pottery and clay from the Zurrabah kiln complex. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 30, 319–328

4. ‘Amr, K. and al-Momani, A. (1999). The discovery of two additional pottery kilns at az-Zurraba, Wadi Musa. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 43, 175–194

5. Blue, L. (2011). The amphora wharf: The context and construction of Roman amphora installations. In D. Peacock and L. Blue (eds), Myos Hormos – Quseir al-Qadim: Roman and Islamic ports on the Red Sea II. Finds from the excavations 1999–2003 (=BAR IS 2286) (pp. 35–42). Oxford: Archaeopress