Page 105 - DILMUN 14

the fortress as well a5 in the imcdiatc cxtcrior area (Fig. ehp.«ri)n‫ﺍ‬ciple goal of

these soundings was to providc a morc precisc stratigraphic position of the fortress,

of which the terius post quem appcars to be the Hcllcistic pcriod.

hese soundings wcre continued to virgin soil, that is to s١y, wcll below ١he
Hcllenistic levels, to examine the succcssion of occupation lcvels which prccecd the
fortress. his secondary rescarch was tied to a study of thc coastline variations of
the Oal'at al-Bahrain, since the third millenim 3.C. .‫ ﻻ‬In this study, a hypothesis
was advanced, which proposcd that a lowering of the sea level towards the
beginning of the second millennium B.C. was succceded during the course of the
following millennium, by a marine transgression. his transgression, proposed by
the geomorphologists, appears to coincide with another hypothesis, proposed on
the basis of the archaeological data : an abandonment of the site of Oal'at
al-Bahrain from the end of the Kassite' period until the "Neo-Assyrian' period.
his period of abandonment covers en gros, the last quarter of the second
millennium B.C. and the first quarter of the following millennium. In the
chronology proposed by Bibby 9, this gap is situated between the "City IV', or
again, between the "middle iliun' and late ilmun' periods (able 2).

banlsh Excavatlons Fonch Excavatlons Mesopotamlan Perlods

630 , }- } b 8٥٥٦١n٥
١٦ Patr١٥n
Sel٥٧c‫ﺃ‬d
‫ﺃ‬ A ٥h٥٥١٥n٥٥٨
N٥b‫ﻡ‬-‫ﻥ‬9ylonlen
e N٥-0٩٥٥yrtan

٧١W b ٥٤‫ﻭ‬٥‫"ﺃ‬٥
‫ﻥ‬

‫ﻩ‬o» ‫ﺍ‬ ٦ ٧١١

'‫ﺃ‬٥oo ‫ﺍ‬ > a٥ oimun ٩
٧
10oo
‫ﻻ‬ b
٧١ ‫ﻥ‬

.» ‫ﻻ‬

Clty d ١٩١ ‫ﻥ‬

1600 ٦ ٩ ‫ﻭ‬

200o ‫ﺇ‬ • ‫ﻭ‬
c١ty ١
2200 ‫ﺍ‬ d
240o e
‫ﺭﺇ‬
b

‫ﻥ‬

١

able 2

18