Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

A collection of over 60 small objects of unbaked clay was found in a Khabur Ware period layer at Tell Arbid. The assemblage included a variety of object types: “spools”, “tokens” and discs (some decorated with the same cross-and-dots motif, some with punctuations), tetrahedrons, round model tables and others. The objects were found in situ and had clearly been used together as a set. Parallels for individual objects and an overview of interpretations of other sets of unbaked clay objects from Northern Mesopotamia and neighboring regions are considered in an attempt at establishing the function of the discussed assemblage. However, its interpretation remains open to discussion.

Report on a season’s work at the largest Ubaid-period settlement in the Gulf region, located in the region of Al-Subiyah in Kuwait. Description of architectural remains and a comprehensive study of several categories of finds: Ubaid and Arabian Neolithic pottery, flint and quartz tools, typical Ubaid small finds, shells, and animal bones.

Archeological work in the 2012 and 2013 seasons in Jiyeh (Porphyreon), which lies on the Phoenician coast north of ancient Sidon, was focused on reconstructing the history of settlement on the site. At least three phases were identified and dated to the Iron Age II, the Persian– Hellenistic–Roman period and late antiquity. The early dating of the functioning of the Christian basilica to the 4th–5th century AD was also confirmed in trial pits. The complex and unusual sewage installation discharging rainwater from the roofs and streets of the 5th-century settlement contributed important data for studies of late antique domestic architecture in the region.

This paper concerns the prehistoric part of a project run by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of Oman, in the micro-region of Qumayrah. The project, instigated in 2016, includes a survey, testing, and excavations of selected sites. During two seasons of investigations, archaeological sites of varied chronology were recorded, three of which were attested to late Stone Age occupation. The largest site (QA 2), although deflated, yielded a rich collection of lithics found in the context of a stone hearth, a platform, and the remains of a shelter. The lithics included simple tools produced by direct-scaled retouch, rare tanged projectile points made on flakes, and bifacial foliated pieces. Tubular beads of stone and shell (including Akab-type beads), and worked seashells, attest to connections with coastal regions. The two other sites (QA 6 and QA 12) are less well preserved, but surface collection and limited testing yielded lithic collections, including tanged spear points. At this stage, techno-typological analysis of materials is the only means of establishing a chronology of these sites. However, new information from this region of Oman is significant considering the disproportion between the state of research at coastal areas and inland territories.

In the second field season of the Omani-Polish Qumayrah Archaeological Project, the prehistoric leg of the team conducted investigations of previously discovered lithic sites in the vicinity of Al-Ayn village. This paper summarizes the results of archaeological testing at three open campsites codenamed Qumayrah-Ayn (QA) 2, QA 6 and QA 12. The investigations provided new evidence of intensive Stone Age settlement of the Qumayrah Valley (also known as Wadi Fajj). The data, comprising lithic tools and some shell and stone beads, indicate that the occupation of these sites should be dated to various stages of the Neolithic period.

Abstract: Modern Jiyeh lies on the seashore about 20 km due south of Beirut. The site, situated within the boundaries of the present towns of Jiyeh and Nebi Younis, has been identified as Greco-Roman Porphyreon. It consists of an urban zone with a basilica on the south and a necropolis located about 200 m to the north of it. Rescue excavations at Jiyeh in 2005 were focused on recording the remains of ancient structures in the southern and central parts of the site. This short report presents the results of our investigations in two areas: the Byzantine basilica and the stratigraphical trench situated on the beach, between the basilica and the northern necropolis.

Keywords: Lebanon, Jiyeh, Porphyreon, Byzantine period, Greco-Roman period, basilica, necropolis