Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit
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Origins of Doha Project ‐ Season 4 Archive Report: Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit Robert Carter and Daniel Eddisford UCL Qatar July 2016 Origins of Doha Project ‐ Season 4 Archive Report: Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Site Description ............................................................................................................................... 5 3. Site Background .............................................................................................................................. 6 Historic background ........................................................................................................................ 6 Previous archaeological work ......................................................................................................... 7 4. Archaeological Survey at Fuwairit .................................................................................................. 8 5. Archaeological Excavation at Fuwairit ......................................................................................... 13 Trench 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Trench 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 20 6. Conclusions and proposals for further work ................................................................................. 25 7. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 25 Appendix A: Context List ................................................................................................................... 26 Appendix B: Preliminary phased stratigraphic matrices ................................................................... 28 Appendix C: Finds list ........................................................................................................................ 30 Appendix D: Sample list .................................................................................................................... 33 2 Origins of Doha Project July 2016 Origins of Doha Project ‐ Season 4 Archive Report: Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit List of Figures Figure 1: Location of the sites of Fuwairit and Zarqa ............................................................................. 5 Figure 2: Northern buildings and city wall (modern satellite image). .................................................... 8 Figure 3: Northern buildings and city wall (1958 aerial image). ............................................................. 9 Figure 4: Plan and DEM of the visible walls and deflated buildings at the northern area of the site. 10 Figure 5: Plan of the visible walls and deflated buildings at the northern area of the site. ................. 11 Figure 6: Walls eroding into the sea at the northern area of the site. These walls were destroyed during the time we were surveying the site. ........................................................................................ 12 Figure 7: Walls eroding into the sea at the northern area of the site. These walls were destroyed during the time we were surveying the site. ........................................................................................ 12 Figure 8: Location of excavation areas ................................................................................................. 13 Figure 9: Fire instillation [46] pre‐excavation in a small sondage dug into the earliest deposits in Trench 1. ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Figure 10: Midden layers (43), (42), (41), (40) and (34) visible as the dark layers in the bottom of the section. External deposits (33), (32), (30), (28) and (27) are visible as lighter coloured layers in the top third of the section. ........................................................................................................................ 15 Figure 11: Plan of Phase 1c features. .................................................................................................... 16 Figure 12: A slot excavated through the robbed out wall [26] of Building 4 (looking southwest). ...... 16 Figure 13: Plan of Phase 1d features. ................................................................................................... 17 Figure 14: Robber cut [12] showing the extent of the walls of Building 2 and internal shell surfaces (18), (19) and (20). Hearth (23) is visible at the right hand side of the photo. The walls (8) and (9) in the corner of the trench are part of a later unexcavated structure, Building 1. .................................. 18 Figure 15: Internal surfaces in a small room in the northwest corner of Building 1. ........................... 18 Figure 16: Plan of Phase 1e features. ................................................................................................... 19 Figure 17: Rubble building collapse (2). ................................................................................................ 20 Figure 18: Cordelia Hall and Dave Mackie Planning in Trench 1. ......................................................... 20 Figure 19: Plan of Phase 2a features. .................................................................................................... 21 Figure 20: Cuts [521] and [525]............................................................................................................. 21 Figure 21: Tanur [534]. .......................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 22: Wall (516) forming the corner of a compound with alleyway deposits in the foreground. 22 Figure 23: Detail of wall (516). .............................................................................................................. 23 Figure 24: Plan of Phase 2b features. ................................................................................................... 23 Figure 25: Excavating sand overburden (501). ..................................................................................... 24 Cover Photo: Ben Sharp Planning in Trench 1 3 Origins of Doha Project July 2016 Origins of Doha Project ‐ Season 4 Archive Report: Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit 1. Summary The first season of fieldwork was undertaken at the sites of Fuwairit and Zarqa between 28th January and 17th of March 2016. The fieldwork consisted of: The excavation of two trenches at Fuwairit archaeological site (HAC287). Surface mapping of archaeological features at Fuwairit (HAC286) and Zarqa (HAC285). Recording of standing traditional architecture in Fuwairit village (HAC283). Surface pick‐ups of artefacts at Fuwairit. Limited area survey of the hinterland of the Fuwairit and Zarqa sites. The archaeological investigations were conducted in collaboration with Qatar Museums and under the remit of the QNRF‐funded Origins of Doha and Qatar Project, and funded through the grants awarded to this project (NPRP grant no. 5‐421‐6‐010 from the Qatar National Research Fund, a member of Qatar Foundation). Fuwairit was an important coastal settlement in the centuries preceding Qatar’s unification, rising to regional prominence as the home of the al‐Thani family during the early 19th century. However, there are few early written references to sites along the northern coast of Qatar. The surface mapping of archaeological features and the initial excavations undertaken this season have begun to reveal details about life in Qatar in the 18th and 19th centuries. The archaeological excavations undertaken suggest there were at least three separate occupations of the site between the 18th and the early 20th century. The excavations also identified an older portion of the site which had not previously been recognised. This was apparently a separate small walled town, possibly earlier than the other occupations. This reports presents the initial results and stratigraphy of the archaeological excavation and survey work at Fuwairit. The post‐excavation analysis of the artefacts and environmental samples from the site is currently being undertaken. The historic building recording undertaken at Fuwairit and the survey work at the site of Zarqa are presented in two separate reports. 4 Origins of Doha Project July 2016 Origins of Doha Project ‐ Season 4 Archive Report: Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Fuwairit 2. Site Description The archaeological site of Fuwairit is located on the northeast coast of Qatar, centred on Qatar National Grid (QNG) reference 215295 475177. The site is bounded to the north by Jebel Fuwairit and to the east by dense mangrove. The site of Fuwairit is a little over a kilometre long, with the main area of ruined architecture measuring c.750m long by 160m wide. To the north a defensive wall extends c.500m along the coast to the foot of Jebel Fuwairit, enclosing a tidal area and beach frontage that presumably acted as