Al-Kharj II: Report on two excavation seasons in the oasis of al-Kharj

Centre français de recherche de la péninsule Arabique, 2026

The volume AL-KHARJ II presents the results of the French-Saudi archaeological mission in the Al-Kharj oasis, Saudi Arabia, obtained during the third and fourth field seasons (2013, 2015). This research aims to elucidate the settlement dynamics and the environmental context in which they occurred in a key region of Central Arabia, from prehistory to the Islamic period.The geomorphological studies (Chapter 1) conducted around the paleolake of Al-Hayathim confirm significant climatic fluctuations, correlated with sporadic human occupations.Surveys and excavations in the Rufa? graben (Chapter 2) led to the discovery of a series of Middle Paleolithic sites, including a stratified site, Umm al-Sha?al (AK-31). The dominant industries (Nubian-type Levallois) support the hypothesis of an early dispersal of Homo sapiens in Central Arabia, within a then more humid environment.The Bronze Age necropolis of ?Ayn al-?ila? 1 (Chapter 3), the largest in the oasis, comprises over 3,000 tombs of various types. Five tombs were excavated, revealing primary burials from the Early Bronze Age and the reuse of tombs during the Iron Age.A significant portion of the volume is dedicated to the site of Al-Yamama (Chapters 4–6), identified as the medieval city of Jaww al-Khi?rima. The excavation of the great mosque and its immediate surroundings reveals the presence, beneath a mosque dated to the 16th–18th centuries, of one of the earliest mosques in the Arabian Peninsula documented in an archaeological context (late 7th–early 8th century CE). Pre-Islamic domestic occupation of the area (4th–3rd century BCE) confirms the long-term settlement of the site and sheds light on the emergence of the first sedentary establishments in the region. A similar chronological sequence is evidenced in a more southern test pit of the Al-Yamama site (Chapter 6). The archaeobotanical (Chapter 7) and zooarchaeological (Chapter 8) analyses conducted at Al-Yamama provide insights into an oasis economy that emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE and remained relatively conservative over the long term.Complementing the elements presented in a previous volume (AL-KHARJ I), these discoveries illuminate a region that remains, to this day, one of the least studied in the Arabian Peninsula.

• Curatore: Abd Al-Aziz Al-Ghazzi, Jérémie Schiettecatte
• Anno edizione: 2026
• Editore: Centre français de recherche de la péninsule Arabique
• Formato: EPUB3 con DRMFREE
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 9789921048483