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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...
Gold was plentiful in Egypt and had been used by the Pharaohs from earliest times as a means of asserting their power. But the history and archaeology of the mining and production of the Egyptian gold is a lot less known than the splendour of the country’s kings. Between 2013 and 2016, the French Eastern desert mission aimed to fill in these gaps in our knowledge through the excavation of the gold...
Frankincense is an ancient produce which continues to be a major commercial product in Sudan. Incense remain an important commodity in everyday customs and a source of income. It serves as a living link between the past and the present that is rich in religious, social, cultural and economic history. Resins are utilised for medicinal, cultural, religious and funerary practices in ancient and present...
The site of Wakarida is situated near the eastern edge of the Tigray plateau, dominating the Afar depression. The study on the site has started in 2011 with a short archaeological and geophysical survey. During the three campaigns of excavations between 2012 and in 2013, carried out in two areas, the archaeologists unearthed typically Aksumite buildings accompanied by abundant ceramic material, with...
This paper focuses historical and archaeological evidence for the ‘valuables’ passing through Suakin, as part of the Red Sea-Indian Ocean trade. The main locations on Suakin Island Town investigated 2002-2013 are briefly described. Interviews show that at Suakin, in the later 19th century/early 20th century, imported valuables included fabrics from Europe, perfume oils, cloths and wooden chests from...
This paper concerns a probable shipwreck cargo of Aqaba amphorae, which was discovered during the second season of the survey project along the Saudi Arabian coast, initiated by nautical archaeologists of Philipps-University Marburg and conducted in cooperation with members of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage in autumn 2013. Seafaring and sea trade was, according to the few ancient sources...
The al-ʿUlā – al-Wajh Survey Project deals with ancient trade routes between al-ʿUlā and Madāʿin ʿāliʿ (ancient Hegra) and the Red Sea in the area of al-Wajh in NW Saudi Arabia. This investigation is related to economics of long-distance maritime and caravan trade and the utilization of the "Incense Route" which served to convey frankincense and other commodities from South Arabia to the...
This paper focus on the study of the Smaragdus region, currently in the Wadi Gemal National Park (Eastern Desert, Egypt). This area was well known in ancient times, thanks to the presence of emerald, a semiprecious stone considered as highly valuable in ancient times. The exploitation of the emerald mines, especially in Roman times, led to the creation of an important network of settlements linked...
This paper tries to explain the first results obtained on trench 102, located on the southwestern area of the ancient harbour of Berenike. Chronologically the trench runs from the Late Hellenistic to Roman Period, showing different uses of this area during Antiquity. Some of the data recovered are quite interesting in order to understand the evolution of this scarcely known area of Berenike’s harbor...
Marine goods found in the oasis of Taymāʾ (Northwest Arabia), 300 km away from the nearest coast of the Red Sea, illustrate the economic importance and prosperity of the site. Excavations of the Saudi-German collaborative project revealed 631 marine specimens of 5 animal classes: coral, gastropods, bivalves, scaphopods and fish. The finds origin from various contexts (burial ground, public buildings,...
Although rather distant from the Western Indian Ocean basin, Southern Levant can be considered fairly included into trading dynamics regulating the movement and use of exotic goods, especially luxury raw materials, frequently representing the final destination for this kind of items. During the Late Bronze Age, Southern Levantine jewelry enumerates a wide eclectic group of differentiated artifacts,...
The Red Sea is a deep rift between Africa and Asia, yet asan aquatic “highway” it links Europe to the Indian Oceanworld. While the existence of Greco-Roman trade downthe Red Sea to the wider eastern world is relatively wellknown,we are still investigating the harbors and destinationpoints along the shores of the Red Sea. Understandingthe geographical, and indeed geological, aspect ofthe sea is a key...
Archaeological campaigns conducted during 2016 and 2017 at the site of Inqitat (Al Hamr al-Sharqiya), in the area of Khor Rori (Dhofar), produced an interesting assemblage of jewellery of various materials. The characteristics of the site are exceptional because they show traces of occupation from (prehistoric times)/ Prehistory right up to the Islamic period. Its geographical position(location),...
Along the coast of the Arabian peninsula, in the southernmost region of the Sultanate of Oman, lies the ancient port of Al-Baleed, known in Medieval times as Zafar. Placed in a strategic position for its geographical location, climate, availability of water and abundance of fodder, its long history dates back to the Bronze Age. The settlement reached its peak in Mediaeval times when it was a (a hub?)...
Excavations carried out between 2012 and 2014 at Wakarida in north-eastern Tigray has brought to light a huge quantity of pottery distributed in the different levels identified on the site. This contribution presents the different pottery assemblages collected and proposes a periodization of the occupation of Wakarida city in two main periods called Period I and Period II, with period I including...
Ten years after the Red Sea III conference: "Natural Resources and Cultural Connections of the Red Sea", held at the British Museum on 27–28 October 2006, enough new data has been made available to warrant another in-depth look at the archaeology of natural resources extraction and processing (mines, workshops, etc.). The main themes of the conference are: 1) economic significance of commerce...
Dried resins such as frankincense or myrrh have been important commodities in antique societies due to their pleasant scent when burned. Creation of an aromatic fragrant smoke, used for a variety of functions in Antiquity, is attested by textual sources as well as by iconographic sources. Since ephemeral phenomena such as odors or smells can only be studied through their indirect effects, investigating...
Although rather distant from the Western Indian Ocean basin, Southern Levant can be considered fairly included into trading dynamics regulating the movement and use of exotic goods, especially luxury raw materials, frequently representing the final destination for this kind of items.During the Late Bronze Age, Southern Levantine jewelry enumerates a wide eclectic group of differentiated artifacts,...
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