Saruq al-Hadid: a persistent temporary place in late prehistoric Arabia

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the authors use the site of Saruq al-Hadid – a ‘persistent temporary place’ located in the mobile dune fields of the north eastern edge of the Rub’ al-Khali desert – as a lens to focus discussion on the variable nature of temporary sites and mobile adaptations within the archaeology of southeastern Arabia, the relationships between temporary sites and permanent settlements, and the evidence for collective events and gatherings from later prehistory into the Islamic period. They discuss evolving arguments regarding sedentary and mobile sites and groups in Arabia from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age, and summarize the material record of human activity at Saruq al-Hadid. This research emphasizes the site’s changing significance as a temporary place and its emergence, in the early Iron Age, as a locus for periodic interaction between multiple community groups.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobility
• Neolithic period
• Bronze Age
• Iron Age
• gatherings
• ritual

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by direct and in-kind funding from the Dubai Municipality and the University of New England. We thank and acknowledge our colleagues at both organizations for their collaboration and support.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Dubai Municipality [639/1/1413904].

Notes on contributors

L. Weeks

Lloyd Weeks is professor of archaeology at the University of New England and is the Director of the Saruq al-Hadid Archaeological Research Project (SHARP). His research focuses on the development of ancient societies and metallurgical technologies in the Arabian Peninsula and Iran from the Neolithic to the Iron Age.

C.M. Cable

Charlotte Cable is an adjunct researcher at the University of New England and the SHARP Field Director. Her research explores the spatial elements of culture in the greater Near East, examining the built environment, the mortuary realm and the living landscape to understand social dynamics and organization.

K.A. Franke

Kristina Franke is an adjunct researcher at the University of New England and the SHARP Analytical Director. She is interested in the archaeology of Arabia and Mesopotamia and pyrotechnologies of the ancient Near East.

S. Karacic

Steve Karacic holds a courtesy research appointment in the Department of Classics at Florida State University and is the SHARP ceramic specialist. He is interested in craft technology and its connections with social and economic practice in prehistory.

C. Newton

Claire Newton is an adjunct professor at the Laboratoire d’archéologie et de patrimoine at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, and the SHARP archaeobotanist. She is interested in the environmental and agricultural history of oases and arid environments, and in plant husbandry practices.

J. Roberts

James Roberts is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New England and the SHARP zooarchaeologist. His work explores the nature of human–animal interactions, determining how these develop through time and how they relate to wider environmental and social changes in the past.

I. Stepanov

Ivan Stepanov is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New England and the SHARP ferrous archaeometallurgist. He is interested in the application of archaeometric techniques to the study of metal artefacts and residues from the ancient Near East.

I.K. McRae

Iona Kat McRae is an independent scholar and SHARP field excavator. She holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Sydney and has over 15 years of experience working globally as a professional archaeologist. She is particularly interested in the analysis of ceramics, ground stone and stone tools.

M.W. Moore

Mark Moore is associate professor of archaeology at the University of New England and the SHARP lithics specialist. His research focuses on how flintknappers negotiated the design space of stone flaking, from early hominin toolmaking to complex technologies that emerged in later prehistory.

H. David-Cuny

Hélène David-Cuny is an adjunct researcher at the Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales in Kuwait and the head of graphic documentation for SHARP. Her research explores soft stone vessels and seal production in the Arabian Peninsula.

Y.Y. Al Aali

Yaaqoub Youssef Al Ali is the Head of the Archaeology Section of the Architectural Heritage and Archaeology Department, Dubai Municipality. He is interested in the archaeology of the U.A.E.

M. Boraik

Mansour Boraik Radwan is the principal archaeology specialist in the Archaeology Section of the Architectural Heritage and Archaeology Department, Dubai Municipality. He obtained his Ph.D. in Egypt and has excavated widely there, alongside fieldwork in Cyprus and New Mexico, U.S.A.

H.M. Zein

Hassan Zein is an archaeologist in the Archaeology Section of the Architectural Heritage and Archaeology Department, Dubai Municipality. Trained in Lebanon, he has excavated at Saruq al-Hadid since 2005.