Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 48 2018

Papers from the fifty-first meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held at the British Museum, London, 4th to 6th August 2017

Edited by Julian Jansen van Rensburg Edited by Harry Munt Edited by Tim Power Edited by Janet Starkey

Book cover: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 48 2018

Extent: 388 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies

Series: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(June 2018)

ISBN: 9781784918774

8.11 x 10.04 inches

Price: $138.00

In stock

Humanities studies on the Arabian Peninsular including anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art, epigraphy, ethnography, history, language, linguistics, literature, numismatics, theology, and more, from the earliest times to the present day or, in the fields of political and social history, to around the end of the Ottoman Empire.


The Seminar for Arabian Studies has come a long way since 1968 when it was first convened, yet it remains the principal international academic forum for research on the Arabian Peninsula. This is clearly reflected in the ever-increasing number of researchers from all over the world who come each year to the three-day Seminar to present and discuss their latest research and fieldwork. The Seminar has covered, and continues to cover, an extensive range of diverse subjects that include anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art, epigraphy, ethnography, history, language, linguistics, literature, numismatics, theology, and more, from the earliest times to the present day or, in the fields of political and social history, to around the end of the Ottoman Empire (1922/1923). Papers presented at the Seminar have all been subjected to an intensive review process before they are accepted for publication in the Proceedings. The rigorous nature of the reviews undertaken by a range of specialists ensures that the highest academic standards are maintained. A supplementary volume, ‘Languages, scripts and their uses in ancient North Arabia’ edited by M.C.A. Macdonald (ISBN 9781784918996, Archaeopress, 2018), is also available containing the proceedings from the special session held during the seminar on 5 August 2017.

Editors' Foreword
Bayt Bin Himd, a case study of a merchant's house in old Jiddah (poster) - by Hidaya M. Abbas
Documenting the traditional architecture of Khatbah village in Saudi Arabia (poster) - by Aisha Alshehri
Liminality: narratives of identity on Abu Dhabi's desert islands - by Marie-Claire Bakker & Mariam Yousef Alhammadi
Bahrah 1: eight years of excavations of an Ubaid culture-related settlement in the al-Sabiyyah desert (Kuwait) - by Piotr Bielinski
From tentscape to landscape: a multi-scale analysis of long-term patterns of occupation in north-west Qatar - by Jose C. Carvajal Lopez, Kirk Roberts, Laura Morabito, Gareth Rees, Frank Stremke, Anke Marsh, Robert Carter & Fay?al ?Abd Allah al-Na?imi
Living in Madain Salih/Hegra during the late pre-Islamic period. The excavations of Area 1 in the ancient city - by Guillaume Charloux, Charlene Bouchaud, Caroline Durand, Yvonne Gerber & Jacqueline Studer
The origins of Abrahah's cathedral and the Great Mosque - a water sanctuary of the old Arabian religion - by Werner Daum
Use of archival aerial photographs for archaeological research in the Arabian Gulf - by Richard N. Fletcher, Robert A. Carter & Frederick Nesta
Bridging the enclosure and the tower tomb: new insights from the Wadi Sharma sites, north-west Arabia - by Sumio Fujii
The LCG2 complex at Dibba (Musandam, Oman, II-I millennium BC): structural, material, and osteological elements - by Francesco Genchi, Luciano Fattore, Alessia Nava & Elena Maini
Magnetometer survey of a Hafit monumental complex, al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman (poster) - by Jason T. Herrmann, Jorg W.E. Fassbinder, Marion Scheiblecker, Philippe Kluge, Stephanie Dopper & Conrad Schmidt
New evidence of Iron Age ritual practices in central Oman: 2017 excavations in Mudmar East, near Adam - by Mathilde Jean, Maria Paola Pellegrino & Guillaume Gernez
New light on Bronze Age trade in the Arabian Gulf: a Dilmun trading port on Sir Bani Yas island, UAE - by Abdulla Khalfan Al Kaabi & Ali Abdul Rahman Al Meqbali
Results from the 2009-2016 excavation seasons in the historical centre of Dumat al-Jandal, ancient Adummatu - by Romolo Loreto
The new archaeological joint project on the site of Qurayyah, north-west Arabia: results of the first two excavation seasons - by Marta Luciani & Abdullah S. Alsaud
Life and living conditions in north-west Arabia during the Bronze Age: first results from the bioarchaeological work at Qurayyah - by Marta Luciani, Michaela Binder & Abdullah S. Alsaud
Sea level and climatic influences on the occupation of Qatar and the Gulf during the Holocene period - by Phillip G. Macumber
The Neolithic of Sharbithat (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman): typological, technological, and experimental approaches - by Maria Pia Maiorano, Gregor Marchand, Jeremie Vosges, Jean-Francois Berger, Federico Borgi & Vincent Charpentier
The historical context of grave 58 (G58) from the Sinaw area (al-Sharqiyyah, Sultanate of Oman): a warrior during the Samad Late Iron Age? (poster) - by Fausto Mauro
Women in Soqotri and Omani folklore - by Vitaly Naumkin & Leonid Kogan
The early Islamic glass from Sir Bani Yas, UAE - by Matt Phelps, St John Simpson & Ian C. Freestone
Late Islamic fishing industry in the Gulf: the case of Khara'ib al-Dasht, Jazirat Faylaka (poster) - by Agnieszka Pienkowska & Marta Mierzejewska
Routes across Arabia: pilgrimage routes from the region of the modern United Arab Emirates in historical context - by Fergus Reoch
The Thaj Archaeological Project: results of the first field season - by Jerome Rohmer, Ahmad Al-Jallad, Mahmud al-Hajiri, Rozan Alkhatib Alkontar, Tara Beuzen-Waller, Paul Calou, Damien Gazagne & Kosmas Pavlopoulos
A tumulus cemetery on the north coast of Kuwait Bay: results of survey and excavation in the al-Sabiyyah region - by Lukasz Rutkowski
KALAM reloaded - by Ronald Ruzicka
Al-'Ayn Oases Mapping Project: al-Hili Oasis 2017 - by Peter Sheehan, Timothy Power & Omar Salem Al Kaabi
New data from the renewed excavation at Salut: the Iron Age settlement (Qaryat Salut) - by Enrica Tagliamonte & Alessandra Avanzini
Understanding the urban space of an Arabian oasis: the residential quarter of Tayma' - by Luna Watkins
Papers read at the Seminar for Arabian Studies held at the British Museum, London, 4 to 6 August 2017

  • Edited by Julian Jansen van Rensburg
  • Edited by Harry Munt
  • Edited by Tim Power
  • Edited by Janet Starkey