Bilad al‐Qadim revisited: recent archaeological research at the Al‐Khamis Mosque, Ain Abu Zaydan and Abu Anbra, Bahrain

Abstract

Context DescriptionDate AZ14-2 Common Ware (CW) body sherd with handle stump and decorated with incised wavy lines (Figure 14.1). Comparable to example illustrated by Carter (2005: fig. 4.2: 31) dated to 11 th to mid 12 th centuries 11 th to mid 12 th centuries AZ14-3 Chinese Dusun stoneware body sherd (Figure 14.2) 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-3 Chinese white ware body sherd with vegetal pattern on interior (Figure 14.3) 11 th to 13 th centuries AZ14-3 Iranian Sgraffiato body sherd with brick red fabric and traces of cream slip and glaze (hatched) (Figure 14.4) 11 th to 13 th centuries AZ14-4 CW rim sherd. Simple unincised rim from a small bowl (Figure 14.5) comparable to example illustrated by Carter (2005: fig. 4.2: 13) dated to 11 th to 12 th centuries 11 th to 12 th centuries AZ14-5 3 Iranian Sgraffiato body sherds, 2 with pale pink fabric and green glaze (Monochrome), one with pinky red fabric and brown and yellow glaze (Hatched) 11 th to 13 th centuries AZ14-5 CW vertical rim with orange/brown glaze on the interior and incised horizontal lines on the exterior (Figure 14.6). It is similar but not identical to ribbed and incised CW vertical jar forms illustrated by Carter (2005: 428, fig. 4.4: 1-10) and dated to the late 12 th to 14 th centuries Possibly late 12 th to 14 th centuries AZ14-4 CW handle formed of twisted ropes of clay (Figure 14.7) comparable to example illustrated by Carter (2005: 435, fig. 4.4: 29) and dated to the late 12 th to 13 th centuries Late 12 th to 13 th centuries AZ14-7 Eroded Iranian Sgraffiato body sherd with pale pink fabric and glaze missing 11 th to 13 th centuries AZ14-7 Turquoise glazed body sherd of probable Iraqi provenance (cf. Mason and Keall 1991: 57-61; Carter 2005: 409) 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-7 CW body sherd with incised wavy line decoration (Figure 14.8) comparable to example illustrated by Carter (2005: fig. 4.2, 31, 32) and dated to the 11 th to 12 th centuries 11 th to 12 th centuries AD AZ14-8 4 Frit body sherds with cobalt blue glaze and dark blue incised lines on interior of 3 sherds (Figure 14.9). Comparable to wares described by Carter (2005: 422) as from "delicate, thin-walled bowls" with a "pinkish-white and slightly grainy" body that appears in the 11 th century in Bilad al-Qadim, and is dated through to the late 13 th century at Siraf (ibid; Tampoe 1989: 73, 79) 11 th century (possibly to 13 th century)AZ14-8 Sirafi bowl rim sherd. Simple slightly out-turned rim in pink fabric with pale yellow brown slip (Figure 14.10) 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-8 Sirafi storage jar body sherd with incised decoration (Figure 14.11). "Lower Gulf Red Ware" (Carter 2005: 403), or Large Incised Storage Vessel (Kennet 2004). 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-9 2 Sirafi storage vessel body sherds. Fine pink brown fabric with pale cream slip and incised line decoration on exterior (Figure 14.12) 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-9 2 Turquoise glazed body sherds 8 th to 10 th centuries AZ14-9 2 Iranian Sgraffiato rim sherds, both in pale pink fabric 1 lacking glaze, the other with ...

Excavations at Samahij, Bahrain, and the implications for Christianity, Islamisation and settlement in Bahrain

“…Farias, 2005: 515), and recovered from the remains of a palace or a rich merchant’s house in a context (MOS 01E‐5.1) dated to the ninth–early tenth centuries (Insoll, 2005: 76). Other evidence from Awal, such as the Umayyad date erroneously ascribed the Al‐Khamis mosque, also in Bilad al‐Qadim (Kervran & Kalus, 1990: 7), must be discounted (Insoll et al, 2016: 240).…”

“…The chronology of this material suggests that settlement in the Middle and Later Islamic periods was, until the nineteenth century, primarily restricted to Awal with, conversely, Early Islamic occupation largely confined to Muharraq. Settlement then expanded significantly on Muharraq in the nineteenth century, with occupation attested across Muharraq town (Carter & Naranjo‐Santana, 2010, 2011; Insoll, 2018, 2019).…”

“…A similar absence exists in all other seventh–eighth‐centuries contexts on Muharraq so far excavated, with a lack of identifiable coins, Arabic‐inscribed potsherds or seals, Muslim burials, or mosques dating from this period (cf. Carter & Naranjo‐Santana, 2010, 2011; Insoll, 2018, 2019). It is in Bilad al‐Qadim, on Awal, that the first archaeological evidence indicating the presence of Muslims is found.…”

“…These date from the twelfth–twentieth centuries, with a hiatus apparent between the ninth and eleventh centuries. In Muharraq town, ceramics dating from between the ninth–tenth and eighteenth centuries are absent, though extensive occupation dating from between the seventh and ninth centuries has been recorded (Carter & Naranjo‐Santana, 2010, 2011; Insoll, 2018, 2019). The extent of occupation on Muharraq between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries is unknown, but in Samahij may only have been at village or hamlet level, and around the ruins of Building 1.…”

“…Limited time and resources precluded detailed investigations, and the function and chronology of this building remained unknown. In November 2019, as part of the Early Islamic Bahrain research project, which has investigated various areas of Bahrain since its inception in 2001 (e.g., Insoll, 2005;Insoll et al, 2016Insoll et al, , 2019, excavation was recommenced to examine both buildings. Permission to complete the research was obtained from three levels: BACA, the responsible government cultural authority; the Shi'a Jaffaria, the religious authority responsible for the cemetery; and the local community in Samahij.…”