ADIAS Occasional Newsletter - November 2001
(issue no. 1 of the 2001-2002 Season)

Updating of database and more fieldwork under way as tenth ADIAS season begins

With the tenth season of work by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, now well under way, and with fieldwork having already commenced, a report on our plans for the next few months can now be offered. As usual, a substantial amount of fieldwork is planned. Special attention will also be paid to the cataloguing and databasing of all the information collected over the years, and to the preparation of final reports on a number of important sites. One of the main areas of attention over the next few months will be the continuing work on the updating of the ADIAS database, being put together with the help of the IT Department of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA. During the summer months, the head of the ADIAS IT Department, Dr. Mark Beech, has been busy collecting data in electronic form from former ADIAS team members now in Britain, so that this can be incorporated into the database. Much of the data was first collected using methodologies that now have to be updated in order to ensure that all information is maintained in the same general format. A substantial amount of work on this standardisation process has already been done by Mark, with help from colleagues Paula Wallace and Daniel Hull, our new Resident Archaeologist (see separate story) . 

With help from ERWDA and the Environment and Wildlife Department of the Private Department of President HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Mark, Paula and Dan visited Sir Bani Yas in early November to pack up ADIAS finds and equipment on the island and transport them to Abu Dhabi, where they will be integrated into the collections in the Maqta offices. A study season on the Sir Bani Yas finds is provisionally planned for March or April next year. Completion of the database work was originally scheduled for the end of the year, but will not now be ready until next spring, since other more urgent tasks in the field have arisen. Another focus of the winter and spring season will be the carrying out of further fieldwork, both to examine new areas, and to go back to areas where sites have already been identified. Survey work has already been undertaken on Futaisi (see separate story) , in part of the Liwa Oasis, and near Mirfa, with several other short preliminary surveys also due over the next few weeks. Two other fieldwork projects, however, will involve more detailed work. 

As regular readers of the Newsletter will know, evidence of occupation on Al-Aryam (Bu Khushaishah) island during the Late Stone Age period was identified for the first time earlier this year. During a meeting in late October with HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it was agreed that more fieldwork would be carried out on Al-Aryam, probably early in the New Year, to see whether any further evidence of the Late Stone Age can be identified. HH Sheikh Hamdan also handed over for study a nearly-complete Late Islamic pot he had discovered on the island during the summer. We are grateful to him for his continued interest and support. 

Another short season of fieldwork is being planned on Dalma, on the Late Stone Age settlement site in the compound of the former offices of the Abu Dhabi Women's Association. The site, the oldest settlement so far identified in the country, was affected during late October by trenching work associated with development of the sewage system on the island, and a careful study of the area affected now needs to be undertaken. Upon receiving information about the trenching work, we made contact with the Abu Dhabi Municipality, which kindly gave prompt instructions for the work to be halted. HH Sheikh Hamdan then arranged for an ADIAS team, led by Mark Beech, who has directed excavations on the site, to visit Dalma to assess the situation, and to make recommendations for further work. We are grateful, once again, to HH Sheikh Hamdan for his assistance, and are also grateful to the Municipality, through its Under Secretary, Mohammed Al Hamili, for its help. Discussions are now under way to improve channels of communication with the Municipality and other Government Departments to ensure a better recognition of, and protection for, archaeological sites. This process will be facilitated by ADIAS participation in planning for an Environmental Database for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Being co-ordinated by ERWDA, this database is designed to be created with the participation of all Government departments as well as the oil industry, and will include both environmental and archaeological data, and will provide an important tool for future planning of development. Another important feature of the forthcoming season will be the continuation of work on producing reports on ADIAS excavations that are suitable for publication, both for an academic audience and for a wider public. Much of this work is being done by specialists in France and Britain, all of whom have been closely associated with ADIAS for several years. Details of planned publications will be announced in due course, and will, of course, be carried on the ADIAS website.

Futaisi survey work continues

Two further days of survey work were undertaken on Futaisi at the beginning of November by ADIAS team members, including the Executive Director and the Resident Archaeologist. Several new archaeological sites were identified on the north-east and north of the island during the course of the work. All appeared to be of Late Islamic date. Over 30 sites have now been recorded on the island. Also taking part in the survey was Dr. Tony Kirkham, one of the geologists who has been undertaking ADIAS-supported studies of the evolution of the coast and islands. During an examination of a qassar (rock outcrop) just off the western side of the island, Kirkham identified the best examples he has yet found of fossil mangrove roots, dating back to a period of higher sea levels four or five thousands years ago. Similar fossil roots have also been found on Abu al-Abyadh and the Dabb'iya peninsula. During the survey work, team members had the opportunity of having lengthy discussions with the owner of the island, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, who provided useful additional data about use of Futaisi in the mid to late 20th century, and also provided the team with a guided tour of the island. ADIAS is grateful to Sheikh Hamad for his interest in our work, and for permission to undertake further studies on Futaisi.

ADIAS Resident Archaeologist appointed

ADIAS has appointed its first Resident Archaeologist, Daniel Hull, who took up his post in early October. He will stay in Abu Dhabi until next May. Holder of a 1st class BA degree in archaeology from the University of York, Dan obtained his MA in 2000 from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, where he studied under the supervision of ADIAS Academic Director Dr. Geoffrey King. His dissertation was entitled: "Perceptions of the Past: The Role of Archaeology in the United Arab Emirates." He is no stranger to Abu Dhabi or to ADIAS, having directed two phases of fieldwork at the Jebel Dhanna sulphur mines in late 2000 and early 2001, and also the early 2001 archaeological baseline study of Abu al-Abyadh. He has also worked on Marawah. Dan's work will include maintenance of the ADIAS records and finds database, development of links with ERWDA and various fieldwork projects, in association with the Executive Director and visiting ADIAS team members. He will also be closely involved with plans for publication of major ADIAS sites. He will also be available to give talks on ADIAS activities to schools, voluntary groups and other bodies.

Website winning visitors

As regular readers of the Newsletter will know, the ADIAS website was launched last May. It can be accessed at www.adias-uae.com . Although it has not been widely promoted through the Web's various search engines, there has been an encouraging trend for the number of visitors to the site to increase every month. In May and June, there was an average of 11 visitors a day, in July 15 a day and in August and September 16 a day. 15.6 million bytes of material were downloaded by visitors in August. The content of the Website is being regularly expanded and updated by our Webmaster, Dr. Mark Beech. Current contents include a list of team members for each year since ADIAS was formed in 1992, a list of publications and internal reports (some of which can be downloaded), a 'Virtual Gallery' of photographs, including links to ADIAS objects in the 'Virtual Museum' by kind permission of the Ministry of Information www.uaeinteract.com site, a full archive of all radiocarbon dating results, the most recent Newsletter, and various press articles and press releases related to ADIAS activity. There are also links to other sites of local and regional archaeological interest, as well as to the website of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA. In collaboration with ERWDA, we are now working on a summary database of all sites identified by ADIAS over the last nine years. This will be incorporated in the Abu Dhabi Environmental Database, and will also be made available on the website. Expansion of the photographic archive is also being undertaken, although with many hundreds of pictures to scan, it will be some time before this is completed. Comments and suggestions from our sponsors and supporters are welcome.

Focus on Dalma at UK Conference

A conference on the Fifth Millennium BC (5,000 BC to 4,000 BC) in the Middle East  is being held in Liverpool, UK, in mid-November.  This period coincides with the Late Stone Age in the Emirates, and three papers will be delivered at the Conference on aspects of the Late Stone Age settlement on the island of Dalma. Abstracts of the papers follow. The ADIAS participation will help to spread information about our work more widely in the academic community. Copies of the papers will be deposited in the ADIAS Library.

An 'Ubaid settlement on Dalma Island, Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates: the archaeology -
Elizabeth Shepherd Popescu (Norfolk Archaeological Unit, Norwich, U.K.)

In the first of the papers relating to the 'Ubaid settlement of Dalma Island, UAE, the archaeological evidence for occupation will be outlined. The island lies 45km from the coast of Abu Dhabi and is a barren and mountainous salt dome. In 1992, traces of extensive prehistoric activity were discovered within the compound of the local branch of the Abu Dhabi Women's Association. The presence of flint scatters, pottery and beads indicated that it was of 'Ubaid date, adding to the growing number of 'Ubaid-related sites along the Gulf littoral. The site has now seen several  investigations which have exposed post-built structures and associated features and deposits, including middens and a hearth. Amongst the extensive artefact assemblage is a type of plaster vessel which appears to be unique to the site. Evidence for environment and economy is plentiful, comprising a diverse range of terrestrial and marine mammal bones, fish remains, molluscs and carbonised date stones. Radiocarbon dating of the latter indicates a date in the late sixth to early fifth millennia BC. The evidence from the site has wide-ranging implications for Neolithic economy, trade and exchange mechanisms.

The environment and economy of an early 5th millennium BC site on Dalma island, United Arab Emirates
by: Dr. Mark Beech (Department of Archaeology, University of York, U.K.) and Emily Glover (Mollusc Section, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, London, U.K.)

This paper discusses the environmental and economic evidence from three seasons of excavation at the Dalma site. The discovery of carbonised date stones at this site has made an important contribution to the dating of early date consumption in the Near East. AMS radiocarbon dating of these date stones provides some of the earliest radiometric dates for south-east Arabia. Large quantities of animal bones were recovered during the excavations. These indicate that fishing and hunting were of great importance although ovicaprid husbandry was also practised. Gazelle, marine turtle, dugong and dolphin were only occasionally exploited. Other marine resources utilised included crabs and marine mollusca. Fishing seems to have been an important activity. Analysis of fish remains from the 1993-4 seasons suggests that a wide range of species are present, including inshore and pelagic species. Fishes represented include thresher, requiem and hammerhead sharks, sawfish, eaglerays, sea catfish, snappers, grunts, needlefish, groupers, jacks/trevallies, emperors, seabream, parrotfish, barracudas and tuna.

Marine molluscs are a dominant and visible feature of all coastal sites on the Arabian Peninsula  from the early Holocene to Islamic times. Despite their ubiquity the study of marine shell from archaeological sites has been relatively neglected, although, with the acceleration of research within the last decade or so, fresh interest has developed in the description of prehistoric environments, economies and biogeography. Sites from the mid-Holocene are still poorly known but three seasons of excavation at Site DA11 have provided new evidence for the exploitation of coastal resources and habitats.  In contrast to contemporary sites  on the mainland, DA11 has an unusual range of exploited molluscs, dominated by  a few species from exposed rocky shores, cobbles and  coarse sand, along with a great use of pearl oysters from shallow water cobbles and sea grass beds. Molluscs from sheltered lagoon environments which are common on mid-Holocene sites on the mainland are entirely absent. This evidence highlights  two important concepts: (1) the overall patchiness of mollusc distribution along the shore reflecting quite subtle habitat needs of each species with the potential to change over time under different climates or other conditions, and (2) the effect this had on the human exploitation of these species. With further archaeological research  on molluscan shell it should be possible to establish quite a clear picture of  prehistoric coastal environments during the mid-Holocene.

Ubaid plaster technology at Dalma Island, U.A.E.: Raw materials, manufacture and decoration
by: Dr. Louise Joyner (Department of Scientific Research, British Museum, London, U.K.).

Plaster vessels and construction material fragments from Dalma were analysed scientifically using a number of methods including optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis in the scanning electron microscope and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The aims were to identify the types of plaster used, to reconstruct the manufacturing processes of the vessels, and to identify the pigments used to decorate some of these vessels. Three types of plaster used for the vessels and construction materials were recognised. The plaster vessels were produced by a slabbing technique, sometimes using different plaster recipes for the cores and margins of the vessels. Some of the plaster vessels have black decoration applied to their exterior surfaces which appear to imitate Ubaid pottery imported from Mesopotamia. The black pigment is manganese and iron-rich, and it is uncertain if this pigment is locally available. A pink slip, which has been applied to the exterior surface of a few vessels, is made from a mixture of finely ground hematite and gypsum, both of which are found on Dalma Island.

(Work is now well under way on the preparation of a detailed report on the Dalma site. The note that follows, by our pottery expert, summarises some of the results ).

Ubaid-period Pottery and Plaster Vessels from Dalma
by Dr. Robert Carter (Institute of Archaeology, UCL, London, U.K.)

One of the most important sites identified by ADIAS is an Ubaid-related settlement on Dalma island (DA-11 and DA-12). Surface collections and excavation have shown this to have circular hut remains, Ubaid pottery from Mesopotamia (Southern Iraq), locally-made plaster vessels, flint tools and abundant fish bones (Flavin and Shepherd 1994; Beech and Elders 1999; Beech et al. 2000). A full study of the pottery and plaster has now been completed. The pottery is not common, and is extremely fragmentary. For this reason, a tight and definitive dating of it can not be made. It is most likely, however, to belong to a phase known as the Ubaid 4 period, though it may also be slightly earlier (Ubaid 2/3). The plaster vessels were among the most common and most interesting artefacts from the site. All were simple bowls, and just over half bore painted decoration on their outside. Their shape and decoration suggest that these vessels were imitations of Ubaid pottery. These imitations were not pottery, but were made of gypsum plaster (plaster-of-Paris). This is either because clay was not found locally, or because the inhabitants of Dalma at that time did not know how to make fired clay vessels. It is difficult to compare the plaster vessels with Ubaid pottery, because of the differences in the materials used to make them. The painted decoration compares best with that of Ubaid 4 pottery, however. This agrees with the information from the Ubaid pottery sherds. The absolute dating of the Ubaid period has not yet been fully established. Traditionally it has been thought that the Ubaid 4 period belongs to the 5th millennium BC. Carbon-14 dates from Ubaid 4 levels at a site in Iraq (Oueili) suggest that it may in fact be earlier, dating to the late 6th/early 5th millennium BC (Valladas et al. 1996). This agrees with the Carbon-14 dates from DA-11 itself, which fall in the late 6th and first half of the 5th millennium BC. In conclusion, it seems that fishermen from Dalma were receiving pottery from Mesopotamia during the Ubaid 4 period, and making simple imitations out of local material. In some respects, this is similar to what was occurring at certain large sites in the Central Gulf, where people from Ubaid Mesopotamia seem to have been visiting and trading pottery since at least the Ubaid 2/3 period. The Dalma plaster vessels, however, are unique. Nothing like them has ever been found elsewhere. It is probable that, in imitating painted Ubaid ceramics, the inhabitants of Dalma were seeking to match the wealth and status of the major sites in the Central Gulf. The full report on the Dalma pottery and plaster is to be published in a volume edited by Elizabeth Shepherd-Popescu and Mark Beech.

Bibliography:

Beech M. and Elders J. 1999. An 'Ubaid-related settlement on Dalma Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Bulletin of the Society for Arabian Studies 4: 17-21.

Beech M., Elders J. and Shepherd E. 2000. Reconsidering the 'Ubaid of the Southern Gulf: new results from excavations on Dalma Island, U.A.E. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 30: 41-47.

Flavin K. and Shepherd E. 1994. Fishing in the Gulf: preliminary investigations at an Ubaid site, Dalma (UAE). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 24: 115-134. 

Huot J-L. (ed.) 1996. Oueili: Travaux de 1987 et 1989. Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. Paris

Valladas H., Evin J. and Arnold M. 1996. Datation par la méthode du charbon 14 des couches Obeid 0 et 1 de Tell el Oueili (Iraq). Pages 381-383 in J-L. Huot (ed.), Oueili: Travaux de 1987 et 1989. Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. Paris.

Help from Emirates, BP & EIC

Post-excavation study of our excavations of several Bronze Age tombs on the island of Marawah has now been nearly completed by the team of Australian archaeologists who carried out the work for us, and preparation of a final publication is under way. Much of the study was carried out back in Australia, led by Nadia Iacono and Dr. Soren Blau. With the study phase nearly complete, it was time to return data, including drawings, photographs and notebooks to Abu Dhabi, for integration in our Maqta archive. Every little bit of sponsorship helps ADIAS to carry out more work, and we were delighted that Emirates Airlines kindly flew the packages of material back to Abu Dhabi for us in August at no charge. Help has also been received over the summer months from long-time sponsor British Petroleum, who paid for the shipping to the University of York, in Britain, of several kilos of soil samples collected during our ADCO-sponsored excavations at Jebel Dhanna last winter. These samples will now be subjected to phosphate analysis by Dr. Mark Beech and Daniel Hull. This will help us to determine how the areas from where the samples were collected were used during the sulphur mining operations at Jebel Dhanna, and, in particular, may help to provide some idea of whether the miners kept livestock with them in their encampments on the jebel. Finally, we are pleased, once again, to thank the Emirates Insurance Company for their continued support for ADIAS, in the form of personal insurance for resident and visiting members of the ADIAS team

New ADIAS office in ERWDA HQ

Besides our main offices at the Maqta out-station of ERWDA, ADIAS now also has an office in the ERWDA HQ, provided under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed last July. The office will be used primarily to help in the process of building up the main ADIAS database, which is being housed on the ERWDA server. To get this process well under way, the ADIAS IT Manager, Dr. Mark Beech, spent three weeks in Abu Dhabi from mid-October to early November, helping to re-design the ADIAS database so that it is compatible with ERWDA standards.

Publications and Papers

The Proceedings of a conference held last year by ERWDA have now been published, and contain a paper dealing with ADIAS work. The conference, in January 2001, was entitled 'The First International Symposium and Workshop on Arid Environments," and the ADIAS paper, by Peter Hellyer and Dr. Mark Beech focussed on the need for archaeology and cultural heritage to be taken into account when planning for conservation. Entitled: 'Protected Areas and Cultural Heritage: An Abu Dhabi Case Study', the paper outlines the importance of archaeology as a feature of the environment and heritage of the coastal zone, and also discusses the value of information on past environments that can be obtained from archaeological work. Copies of the Proceedings can be obtained from ERWDA (tel: 02-6817171).

Dr. Mark Beech presented a paper to the annual Seminar for Arabian Studies in Britain in July, which dealt in part with his study of environmental remains from ADIAS sites. Entitled "In the land of the Ichthyophagi: Modelling fish exploitation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from the 5th millennium BC to the Late Islamic period", the paper summarised the results of the study of 23 archaeological fish bone assemblages from sites located in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with a particular focus on the southern Gulf region and the present day coastline of the United Arab Emirates. Various techniques were used to model the regional variability in archaeological fish bone assemblages, while Dr. Beech also discussed the significance of the overall results, as well as their importance for understanding prehistoric and historic subsistence strategies in SE Arabia.

More news soon!
 

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