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A Survey for Shipwrecks, Submerged Settlements and Seafaring Technology in Bahrain

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A Survey for Shipwrecks, Submerged Settlements and Seafaring Technology in Bahrain See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315803872 A Survey for Shipwrecks, Submerged Settlements and Seafaring Technology in Bahrain Chapter · January 2015 CITATIONS READS 0 774 1 author: Ralph K. Pedersen The Red Sea Institute for Anthropological Research 24 PUBLICATIONS 54 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Underwater Archaeology in Lebanon View project Nautical Archaeology in Saudi Arabia View project All content following this page was uploaded by Ralph K. Pedersen on 06 April 2017. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. A Survey for Shipwrecks, Submerged Settlements and Seafaring Technology in 1 Bahrain Ralph K. Pedersen, Marburg, Germany In 1993, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) began a 10 week survey in the waters of the Persian Gulf at Bahrain (Pedersen, 1993). The project examined various areas off the northern coast of Bahrain for evidence of shipwrecks and other underwater sites using the traditional archaeological diving methodologies of search and survey. As part of the project, local fishermen and pearl divers were interviewed for their knowledge of sailing conditions and lore. Additionally, sport divers of the local British expatriate community associated with the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) were interviewed. One shipwreck was found, potentially promising archaeological sites located, intriguing rumours and stories concerning the sea were revealed, and other possibilities for future archaeological research came to light in this ancient land where seafaring has been integral to life for thousands of years. Bahrain sits off the western coast of the Persian Gulf, about halfway along its length1. The island of Bahrain is small, measuring just 16 km across, and from a broad northern coast it stretches south 48 km to end in a low sandy point. The highest point on the island is 134 m high. Bahrain actually consists of thirty three islands, most of which are uninhabited, sandy bars barely protruding above the water. The island group is dominated by three large islands: Bahrain proper, Sitra, and Muharraq (Fig. 1). It is these islands that have been the subject of settlement and civilization for millennia. Bahrain Island is unusual for the gulf, particularly its desiccated western coasts. Here, fresh water occurs in abundance, flowing from subterranean springs both on land and under the sea. The underground freshwater supply actually accounts for the name of the island, which means ‘two seas’, the salty one above and the sweet one below the island. The presence of sweet water has made parts of the island a lush garden, producing dates and other produce that has attracted seafarers down through the ages in their quest for trade and need for replenishment. Drinkable water was the fuel of ancient sailing vessels - without it the crew could survive only a few days before perishing. Thus, Bahrain with its dependable and copious water, conveniently located halfway between Mesopotamia and the Strait of Hormuz with the open sea beyond, organically grew into a maritime centre and a kingdom in its own right. The rich pearling grounds around the island only added to its wealth and importance. It is this commerce and activity that gives Bahrain its importance for nautical archaeological research. Early evidence of seafaring In 1953, a Danish expedition under the leadership of Geoffrey Bibby and P. V. Glob conducted the first major post-World War II archaeological investigations in Bahrain 2 REVELATIONS OF THE PAST THROUGH SHIPWRECKS AROUND THE WORLD Fig. 1 Map of Bahrain and the surrounding maritime environs, before the extensive land reclamation projects of the early 21st century. (R. Pedersen) (Glob, 1954: 92-105). The project would eventually research the Portuguese fortress, the Barbar Temple, as well as other sites on the island, discovering evidence of numerous periods including the ancient Dilmun civilization known previously from Mesopotamian texts dating as early as the third millennium BC (Potts, 1990: 83-89). The Danish expeditions uncovered houses and temples, and various artefacts ranging from ordinary ceramics to ornate bronze sculptures (Glob, 1956; and Mortensen, 1956). They also uncovered seals, which not only included those from Dilmun but also ones from Mesopotamia and the Harappan civilization based along the Indus River and in Gujarat in north-western India (Bibby, 1966: 92; and Glob, 1954: 103). The excavations by Bibby and Glob laid the foundation for future archaeological research in Bahrain and the wider Persian Gulf. Our knowledge of ancient seafaring in the gulf lies in the archaeological data - including artistic and textual evidence - from Bahrain, Mesopotamia and elsewhere A SURVEY FOR SHIPWRECKS, SUBMERGED SETTLEMENTS AND SEAFARING ... 3 (Agius, 2008: 39). Various texts from Mesopotamia mention Dilmun as a place of bountiful water and a virtual paradise on earth. It is here that Utnaphistim, the Babylonian Noah, was settled by the gods after the Great Flood as a reward for building the ark and saving mankind (Glob, 1954: 102; Kovacs, 1989; and Pedersen, 2005). His ark was built in the traditional method of the Indian Ocean world, that is, by stitching the wooden hull members together with cordage (Pedersen, 2004a; 2005). This account in the Standard Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh is our only description of boat building from ancient Mesopotamian sources. Most likely, the ships of Dilmun, and other lands along the route reaching India were constructed with this method, which continued through the period of Medieval Arab seafaring into the twentieth century. It can still be found today in India in Karnataka, Kerala, and elsewhere (McGrail et al., 2003: 120, 167; Pedersen, 2004b; and Vosmer, 1997). The boat builders of the Indian Ocean world were conservative in their technology, passing down to the succeeding generations not only boat designs, but the boats themselves. Among the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, where boats could last a century and design changes were slow, there is ‘reason to believe that similar boats have sailed the same waters for over a thousand years’ (Le Baron Bowen Jr., 1949a: 22; Swamy, 1999: 125; and Pedersen, 2003: 17). The ships of the ancient Persian Gulf transported a wide range of goods to and from Mesopotamia and onward to the Indus Valley and the points between. Wood from India, along with copper from Oman, and numerous other goods from Mesopotamia and elsewhere were all transported on ships (Agius, 2008: 39-44; Glob, 1954: 104; Pedersen, 1993; Potts, 1990: 90-92). Bahrain, with its water supply and optimal position along the gulf, thrived from the sea traffic that came its way, serving as a middleman as well as producing in abundance the much coveted pearl (Agius, 2008: 71; Glob, 1954: 103). Generally, where there are boats, there are those lost under the sea, and traces of them or their cargoes should remain. Thus, Bahrain is an ideal place to search for ancient shipwrecks. The Survey: Underwater and elsewhere INA’s 1993 survey concentrated investigations off the north coast and north-western corner of Bahrain Island (Fig. 2). A planned investigation of a submerged jetty consisting of black pebbles located off the western side of the island was not possible due to the structure’s proximity to a secure compound. Investigation of the island’s eastern coast was also not possible. To chart our way and record locations of archaeological interest, we used GPS, the Global Positioning System, which in 1993 was only beginning to be used in archaeology. Ordinarily, one would have used traditional navigational methods, such as using compass and a sextant to find latitude and longitude. With the GPS, the press of a button gave us the same data, saving hours of training in the use of a sextant and eliminating human error. In the Arabian Gulf, a featureless sea with low lying coastal areas, longitude and latitude coordinates of wrecks and other sites are the best way to 4 REVELATIONS OF THE PAST THROUGH SHIPWRECKS AROUND THE WORLD Fig. 2 The northern section of Bahrain featuring the sites discussed in the text. (R. Pedersen) relocate them once found. The GPS gave us the ability to easily fix coordinates, enabling us to return to any exact position, and we used the instrument extensively to record our diving areas and find spots of ceramics under the sea. The northern coast of the island was a centre of sea traffic from earliest times. Ships approaching Bahrain from the north would either pass by this coast on their way to settlements and cities on Bahrain such as Saar - now landlocked, but once a harbour settlement (Killick and Moon, 2005) or they would head into harbourage and anchorage near the Barbar Temple, the area of the Portuguese fortress, or sail down the west coast to points yet unknown. During the Hellenistic period at least, when Bahrain was known as ‘Tylos’, ships made use of a natural channel running through the reef off the Portuguese fortress at Qala’at al Bahrain. Wider afield, the northern Bahraini seas were the site of a battle in the 16th century between warships of the Ottomans and the Portuguese as both powers vied for control of the gulf lands and shipping lanes. A number of ships were supposedly destroyed in this battle, and archaeological research in the fields of warship construction and maritime related endeavours could be well served by the discovery of the remains of the conflict. There is, however, little evidence for the location of the battle, and the area was too large to search thoroughly via diving. No evidence of the Ottoman-Portuguese conflict was seen. Technological surveying, with the use of equipment such as side-scan sonar or sub- bottom profilers could reveal wrecks related to the battle, but this gear was not available A SURVEY FOR SHIPWRECKS, SUBMERGED SETTLEMENTS AND SEAFARING ..
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