Page 123 - DILMUN 16_Neat

THs FEcH AcHAEOLOGCAL Mrsso

Ar OAAT AL-BAHA, 1989 - 1994 :
Some results on Late Dilmn and later eriods

B‫ﺭ‬

Dr. Pierre LOMBAD
ationil Cente for Scientific esearch, Lyon Farnce

ABSTACT

The ne roject carride out at Oal'at Al-Bahrain since 1989 by the French Archaeolo‫ﺢﺗ‬
Mission is deoted to the central area of the site, here imosing remaisn, usually non ‫ﻡ‬
the somehat imrecise name of "P٨[ce of Ueri", ere brought to light by the Darn‫ﻛ‬
Edeition as early as 194. The study of the Late Dilmun hase (ca. 1 o 4 BC), dro‫ﺯ‬a
for a long time to the adantage of the earlier hases of Bahrain histoyr, constituts ‫ﺙ‬
rominent theme of this field research hich also includes the later Hellenistie (Tylos) a‫ﻩ‬
lslamic leels of the tell. A٦ historical account of this roject, a recall of its main objecties an
of the strateg‫ ﻫ‬hich as adoted, is first roosed here. t is follode by a resentation ac
the rincial architectural, stratigrahical, chronological and material results achiede on h
eriods since fie years.

Oal'at al-Barhain, the main or base of the French Archaeological Mission a٤
Barhain since 19, comrises in more than 2 hectares an almost continuo‫ﺬﻛ‬
stratigrahy from the end of the rd millenium BC to the 16ht cenutry AD. During
this last eriod, the Portuguese occuants restored an ancient lslaimc fortress of h
end of the 14th and of the 1the cenutries, hich remains today the most scetaraluc
arcihtecutral monuments on the site, ihch in fact taes its name from the fortre‫ﺩ‬s
Desite seeral sill enigmaitc gas (such as the early slamic eriod), tihs long
occuation renders Oal'at al-Bahrain one of the ey sites of eastern Arabia, alornm‫ﺕ‬
ith seeral others, such as Tarut (in Saudi Arabia) or Tell Abraq (in the Uintde arAb
Eirates).

f one generally agree that Oal'at al-Barhani is one of the major ancient ciits of
hte island, the archaeologist and the ihstorian should one day define hte eact satst
of tihs settlement, hich is distinguished, een isolated, at the heart of the fertile
2one of Barhain by certain elements: a ramart, ihch aears today to hae sdoot
for almost to millennia the resence, in the Brone Age as in the ron Age, fo
seeral ublic buildings for economic, adminisrtaite or religious use ifnally, a
military and defesnie arcihtecrutal rtadiiton, erhas dating from the beginning fo
the Crhisitan era.

rAe htese aritc٠ular feautrse s٠ufif٠c٠٠ient to mae of tih٠s ast tell the anci:،ent ihs•o. teir
caital of hte i٠sland Do they rei٠fn١orce, rahter, the i:moage of a great co‫ﺇ‬١ "‫خ‬lo٢inat
merchant c٠iyt, layin٠g an esseni٠tal role i٠n the stagi،ng ost cosnt•iutted by ٩‫ﺍ‬la ١١٦ ١n
the ast beteen Mesootamia٠, the shores of hte Gul,f Oman, th،e ١n١ ،na

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