The urban shrine in Quarter A at Sumhuram. Stratigraphy, Architecture, Material Culture

The book presents the results of two short excavation sesons conducted by the Italian Mission To Oman on the hill facinf the Iron Age of Salut from the Northeast, known to locals as Jabal Salut. Eight tombs dating from the Bronze Age and reused during later periods, as well as a so far unique small hypostile shrine were investigated.

The book presents the first general outline of the IMTO excavations at the prominent Iron Age site of Husn Salut, including the discussion of the main stratigraphic sequences and associated materials, the illustration of the main finds (pottery, stone vessels, metal items), and an exhaustive range of radiocarbon dates, several of which previously unpublished.

A cura di Avanzini Alessandra e Esposti Michele Degli Data di Pubb:26/03/ 2018 Editore: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Collane: Arabia Antica - Archaelogical and Philological Series, 15 ISBN: 9788891316424 Pagine: 424, 127 ill. B/N, 88 tav. f.t

Vengono qui presi in considerazione diciotto oggetti in bronzo provenienti dal Museo Militare di ?an?? (Yemen) (fig. 1), attualmente custoditi nel Laboratorio di Restauro del Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere dell' Università di Pisa1. Si tratta di un corpus eterogeneo per tipologia, provenienza e cronologia, composto, oltre che da bronzetti figurati e incensieri, da uno specchio di ispirazione ellenistico-romana, da una spada dall' elsa semilunata, da due iscrizioni (una placca rettangolare e una applique modanata) e tre oggetti di incerta funzione. Giunti in Italia nel luglio 2013 e in seguito restaurati nei laboratori dell' Ateneo pisano, essi rientrano nell'àmbito del progetto di Catalogazione e fruizione tramite supporto informatico di iscrizioni sudarabiche (CASIS), coordinato da Alessandra Avanzini2. Il progetto, oltre allo studio, alla catalogazione e alla pubblicazione on-line delle iscrizioni e delle collezioni di antichità sudarabiche custodite nel Museo Militare di ?an??, alla formazione del personale di servizio e all' allestimento del percorso espositivo e museale, ha previsto anche il restauro di alcuni oggetti in bronzo, tra cui i manufatti che qui si presentano. Le attività di studio e ricerca hanno inoltre visto il sostegno del progetto Digital Archive for the Study of pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions (DASI), finanziato dalla UE con un ERC - advanced grant. Data Pubb. 26/03/ 2018 Editore: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Collana: Quaderni di Arabia antica, 6 ISBN: 9788891316332 Pagine: 80, 15 ill. B/N, 63 ill. Col.

New catalogue for 2017 Forthcoming titles and resently published volumes

The Digital Archive for the Study of Pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions (DASI) is a five-year ERC project of the University of Pisa, directed by Prof. A. Avanzini. Started in May 2011, the project seeks to collect in an open-access archive the whole corpus of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, with the aim of fostering studies and scientific publications on the epigraphic heritage of Arabia. The paper describes the main activities carried out in the first two years of the project: the IT research on the cataloguing methodologies of the epigraphic material, the actual work of digitization of thousands of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions and the setting up of the archive website for the fruition of the catalogued material, which opened in October 2013. Moreover, the project encourages the involvement of international partners and promotes the interest in pre-Islamic Arabia through a series of related activities and projects, like the Medina digital library and the IMTO archaeological database, which are promoted in the Arabia Antica portal of the University of Pisa.

From the Contents: Foreword by Alessandra Avanzini; KHOR RORI: SUMHURAM AND ITS TERRITORY: Vittoria Buffa, Alexander V. Sedov, The residential quarter: Area A; Alexander V. Sedov, Excavations at the trench A13; Alexander V. Sedov, The storage quarter: Area B; Alexander V. Sedov, The cultual quarter: Area F; Alexia Pavan, Alexander V. Sedov, Religious architecture in Sumhuram: the extra muros temple; Alexander V. Sedov, The coins from Sumhuram: the 2001A - 2004A seasons; Alessandra Lombardi, Vittoria Buffa, Alexia Pavan, Small finds; Gabriele Carenti, Barbara Wilkens, Terrestrial fauna and marine produce in Sumhuram; Marta Mariotti Lippi, Roberto Becattini, Tiziana Gonnelli, Arcahaeopalinology at Sumhuram; Mauro Cremaschi, Alessandro Perego, Patterns of land use and settlements in the surroundings of Sumhuram; An intensive geo-archaeological survey at Khor Rori: report of field season February 2006: Alessandra Avanzini, Notes for a history of Sumhuram and a new inscription of Yashhurlil; AMR AL-SHARQIYA: ISLAMIC POTTERY: Axelle Rougeulle, A medieval trade entrept at Khor Rori? The study of the Islamic ceramic from amr al-Sharqiya; scientific surveys: Mauro Raffaelli, Marcello Tardelli, Stefano Mosti, Scientific activity in Dhofar (2000 - 2004): botanical mission of Florence University; Mauro Raffaelli, Marcello Tardelli, Stefano Mosti, Khor Rori natural environment ; Erika Ribechini, Mauro Raffaelli, Maria Perla Colombini, Botanical and chemical characterization of frankincense resin from Dhofar; Erika Ribechini, Maria Perla Colombini, Chemical investigation of the resinous material from Sumhuram; Marta Mariotti Lippi, Pasquino Pallecchi, Cristina Bellini, Tiziana Gonnelli, Investigations on the constructional technique of a mud-brick structure in Sumhuram; Pasquino Pallecchi, Analysis of the mortars used to coat the masonry structures in Sumhuram: preliminary results; dhofar: Mario Dini, Carlo Tozzi, Prehistoric archaeological prospecting in Dhofar; Mauro Raffaelli, Marcello Tardelli, Stefano Mosti, Preserving and restoring the frankincense tree (Boswellia sacra) at wadi Doka: a work in progress; Appendix: Appendix i - Radiocarbon dates and chronological sequence of Sumhuram; Appendix ii - Sumhuram: list of A (ambiente), B (building), M (muro), US (unità stratigrafica); Plates; Authors and Istitutions.

Excavations in south and southeast Arabia are progressively revealing the participation of the region in the network of international trade and exchange across the Indian Ocean in the Late Pre-Islamic period (c.3rd century BC - c.3rd century AD). The position of the Oman Peninsula within this Indian Ocean network is highlighted in part by the Indian pottery repertoire at sites like Mleiha, Ed-Dur, Suhar and Khor Rori. This paper examines the evidence from specific Indian vessel forms and fabric based on archaeological data, visual (microscopic) examination and results from petrographic analysis of pottery samples. The main objective of this paper is to identify distinguishing features between ‘actual imports’ and ‘local imitations’ of Indian ceramics in Arabia based on data from morphological and fabric analysis. This includes first, a discussion on imported wares in Arabia relating to source or production areas in India. Second, evidence is presented for ceramics most likely produced in Arabia by adopting similar techniques as attested in the Indian subcontinent, but using local clays. Alternatively, imports or pottery styles from Egypt or Arabia that were introduced into the subcontinent are discussed, suggesting a hypothethical transfer of technology linked to the movement of people between India and Arabia.