Julfar and the urbanisation of Southeast Arabia

Abstract

The fourteenth-sixteenth-century town of Julfar (al-Mataf) in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) is one of the most fully investigated archaeological sites in the Gulf, having been the subject of seven different excavation projects. Evidence from the published reports, when brought together, provides a detailed and coherent picture of the development of the site from a small fishing community in the mid-fourteenth century to a fully urbanised settlement by the mid-fifteenth century, and then attests to its eventual decline and abandonment by the late sixteenth century.Julfar was the first example of true urbanism in this part of Arabia, and therefore marks a significant historical turning point. Its development is believed to have been linked to the expanding mercantile economy of Hormuz, but it occurred at the same time as a period of spectacular rural growth in its own immediate hinterland, evidence for which has been produced by archaeological field survey. Together these phenomena suggest the development of a local market economy, perhaps for the first time, which would have had significant implications for the social and economic structure of the area.

Settlement history in the eastern Rub al‐Khali: Preliminary Report of the Dubai Desert Survey (2006–2007)

“…Current data suggest that the significant urban expansion seen in coastal regions of south-eastern Arabia (Kennet 2003) does not seem to have penetrated into inland deserts. In a handful of locations, scatters of medieval Islamic ceramics were found, but these probably represent little more than intermittent camp sites by passing nomadic groups.…”

“…In a handful of locations, scatters of medieval Islamic ceramics were found, but these probably represent little more than intermittent camp sites by passing nomadic groups. Current data suggest that the significant urban expansion seen in coastal regions of south-eastern Arabia (Kennet 2003) does not seem to have penetrated into inland deserts. Whatever set of environmental conditions and technological innovations that made permanent occupation possible during the Umm al-Nar and Iron Age, do not seem to have persisted into later periods.…”

The rise and ruin of a medieval port town: A reconsideration of the development of Julfar

“…A series of excavations by international teams then took place at Al-Mataf between 1988 and 1994, involving a German team which sought to identify the town wall surrounding the urban core; a Japanese team which excavated trenches in the southern part of Al-Mataf facing the creek which separated it from Al-Nudud; a British team which explored the central mosque and adjacent area, and also tested Al-Nudud; and a French team which investigated the prominent remains of a fort in the centre of the town, close to the mosque (Hardy-Guilbert, 1991;Jansen, 1991;King, , 1991King, , 1992Sasaki, 1993Sasaki, , 1994Sasaki, , 2006Sasaki & Sasaki, 1992). The Japanese excavations are the most extensively published, while a summary of the British excavations and an invaluable synthesis have been presented by Derek Kennet (Kennet, 2003(Kennet, , 2004. Figure 2 shows the locations of previous and recent investigations.…”

“…The developmental sequence and dating of the British Julfar Al-Mataf excavations (henceforth BJ), which focused on a large mosque in the centre of Al-Mataf and an adjacent occupation area, has not been fully published, but has been summarised by Kennet (2003 : 115, table 3). The former dating F I G U R E 1 3 Assemblage of Phase D.IV (Site Period 5, Stone Robbing and Postholes).…”

Zheng He's voyages to Hormuz: the archaeological evidence

“…This site was regarded as New Hormuz (Kauz & Ptak 2001: 17–22). By the early fifteenth century, the boundaries of Hormuz had extended to the Julfar area, situated on the southern coast of the Hormuz Strait (Williamson 1973: 57; Kennet 2002, 2003, 2004).…”