Page 194 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

-170-

3000 - 2000 B.C.
Lakes near Hofuf surpassed the level of the preceding peak. Lake shores
were
occupied by villages dating from Early Dynastic through
Barbar I
phases of the third millennium B.C.
Lakes apparently fell by the end of
the third millennium, suggesting dessication.
1500 - 800 B.C.
Development of paleosols took place
on eolian sands near Abqaiq. A
subdued moisture peak or ponding behind dunes is indicated. Paleosols
were subsequently buried by eolian sand,
Later paleosols were covered
by ceramics from a
major first-millennium archeological site.
100 - 0 B.C.
Ponding and thick marsh growth
were common in eastern portions of the
Hofuf Oasis. Evidence for a significant increase in moisture is uncertain
because we
do not know whether irrigation water was diverted to this part
of the oasis at this time.
0 - A.D. 1000
Marsh growth continued in the eastern Hofuf oasis. Nearby Early Islamic
irrigation systems
were excavated into eolian deposits more than 2000
years old. Canals were filled with later eolian sands.
A.D. 1200-1300
Major water overflows took
place from northern outlet of the Hofuf
Oasis. Large drainage channels were subsequently filled with eolian
sediments followed by ponding and marsh growth.
A.D. 1300 to Present
Increasing aridity.

Coastal History
The Arabian Gulf reached its
• * . ,A1_ , present form as a result of tectonic movements
W1 t e Zagros orogeny that climaxed in Pliocene and Early Pleistocene
times. Since then, the most effective agents in the development of the Arabian
coastal landforms have been fluvial and coastal erosion (Kassler 1973). Pleistocene