Note on the pottery finds from the Nabataean harbour of al-Qusayr (al-Wajh, Saudi Arabia) on the Red Sea
Al-Qusayr is located 40 km south of modern al-Wajh, roughly 5 km from the eastern Red Sea shore. The site has been known since the late 19th century, when the explorer Richard Francis Burton described it for the first time, in particular the remains of a monumental building so-called al-Qasr. In Mar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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University of Warsaw Press
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean |
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| Online Access: | http://pam-journal.pl/gicid/01.3001.0014.5996 |
| Summary: | Al-Qusayr is located 40 km south of modern al-Wajh, roughly 5 km from the eastern Red Sea shore. The site has been known since the late 19th century, when the explorer Richard Francis 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 al-Qasr but also on the surrounding site corresponding to the ancient settlement. A surface collection of pottery sherds revealed a striking combination of Mediterranean and Egyptian imports on one hand, and of Nabataean products on the other hand. This material is particularly homogeneous on the chronological point of view, suggesting a rather limited occupation period for the site. Attesting contacts between Mediterranean merchants, Roman Egypt and the Nabataean kingdom, these new data allow a complete reassessment of the importance of this locality in the Red Sea trade routes during antiquity. |
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| ISSN: | 1234-5415 2083-537X |