Archaeological Fieldwork and Cultural Peservation
Since its founding in 1978, AIYS has promoted archaeological fieldwork on all periods of Yemen's history. The following are some of the projects with which AIYS has assisted, in coordination with Yemen's General Organization for Antiquities and Museums.
Formal Start of the Project in 1982 >
Study of Zabid’s urban form >
Traditional brick houses of Zabid >
Zabid Citadel Excavations >
al-Asha’ir mosque probe >
Ceramic Typology >
The Mosques of Zabid >
Commemorative Monuments in Islamic Tihamah >
Spate Irrigation and Water Delivery Systems >
Megalithic site of al-Midamman >
Rock paintings of al-Mastur >
Bibliography >
Excavating Zabid
Royal Ontario Museum Yemen
A joint American-Yemeni team conducted interdisciplinary archaeological-paleoecological research on Holocene climate change and transitions to food production in southern Yemen's Hadramawt highlands. Click for details.
'Ubaid Al-Aliy, Michael Harrower, Margaret Wilson excavating a Neolithic platform in Wadi Sana
Archaeological and Environmental Survey of the Dhamar Region
The Oriental Institute Archaeological and Environmental Survey of the Dhamar Region, begun in 1978-79 and revived on a more intensive basis in 1994, has resulted in findings that have major implications for the history of settlement and political relations not only of the region, but of Yemen generally. Thus far, Paleolithic and Neolithic sites are very slightly represented. Usually the Neolithic is implied only in lithic finds in upper parts of the humic black stratum (6000-3000 BC) that appears in stratigraphic sections. The absence of Neolithic settlements may prove to be characteristic of the region, but it may also be the result of erosion or covering of sites by sediments or of destruction by later occupation. Bronze Age sites, which are far more numerous, are more easily found in the less-watered, more marginal areas to the east rather than in the well-watered western portion of the survey region. This distribution is to be accounted for by the still-current practice of recycling stone from earlier buildings in the construction of later buildings and terrace walls, especially in the well-watered and more heavily-populated areas.
Bronze Age sites (3000-1000 BC) make up about a quarter of the recorded settlements and many are associated with visible relict terraces. A few of these sites are relatively large, with substantial stone-built rectilinear buildings, and are datable by radiocarbon to 2500-1700 BC. Some Bronze Age sites with fortifications may be the earliest walled towns in the entire Arabian peninsula. The pottery from the Bronze Age occupation is similar to that found by the Italians in neighboring Khawlan.
Iron Age or Sabean settlements (early 1st Millennium BC) make up another quarter of recorded sites and are located throughout the region, on both hilltops and valley floors. Some sites reach 10-15 hectares. Large rectilinear buildings inside compound walls characterize these sites, and some have paved roadways or steps leading up to them.
Himyarite sites are, not surprisingly, the most impressive ruins in the region, and are often accompanied by large and elaborate dams. Hakir's agricultural area was extended through the building of three large dams, while Masna'at Maryam was served by two. In contrast the capital, Zafar, was the focus of an elaborate system of more than 80 dams, almost all of modest size. The larger, more ambitious dams were all breached in antiquity, while the low dams of Zafar survive to the present day, although reused as terrace walls.
Islamic sites do not equal the number of either the Bronze or the Iron Ages, but many are found beneath modern villages, and others may lie unrecognized under present-day settlements. There are, however, several impressive Islamic sites, of which the most striking is probably the former Yemeni capital of Dhawran, now abandoned, where a major mosque, ablution area, and shrine remain standing, be it in very bad condition. The intensive recording of these monuments has been undertaken by researchers from the American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) and the French Institute for Yemeni Studies (CFEY), under the general auspices of the Dhamar Survey project.
Project funding: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago directly and through contributions.
Oriental Institute Archaeological and Environmental Investigations of Yemeni Agriculture:
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/YEM/Yemen.html
McGuire Gibson
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
Archaeological Exploration of the Mahra Region
Building on earlier work in Oman, in 1996 the Archaeology Fund (an AIYS institutional member) extended its explorations along the ancient frankincense routes into Yemen, into the virtually unexplored Mahra region of what was formerly South Yemen. It covered nearly 2000 miles of territory and reported over 65 major sites, including two fortresses nearly identical to the Ubar site earlier discovered in Oman; two port sites showing evidence of ancient trade with China and Southeast Asia; a mysterious ring site that appears to have some celestial orientation; and numbers triliths (route markes of the ancient frankincense traders). A second survey campaign was conducted in the spring of 1998. Once the area reconnaissance has been completed, the project plans to excavate at selected sites. For its research in the Mahra area the Fund brings together a team of archaeologists, space imaging scientists/geologists, botanists and paleo-botanists, anthropologists, linguists, and others to conduct a multi-disciplinary analysis of the region and its ancient cultures.
Project direction: The project was organized by the late George R. Hedges (1952-2009, Founder and CEO, The Archaeology Fund). Chief archaeologist: Juris Zarins (Southwest Missouri State University); Chief space imagining scientist/geologist: Ronald Blum
Juris Zarins
The Archaeology Fund
Other AIYS
Archaeological Projects
• Excavations at Jujah-Shibam, Wadi Hadhramaut
New York University's Institute of Fine Arts sponsored these excavations, dated to the late 9th-7th centuries B.C.
• Archaeological Work at the Mahram Bilqis, Ma'rib
In 1998 the American Foundation for the Study of Man, an AIYS institutional member, undertook the first of what is hoped to be many field season of excavation at the Mahram Bilqis in Marib, as part of a joint project with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI).
