New clues to the development of the oasis of Dadan. Results from a test excavation at Tall al-Sālimīyyah (al-ʿUlā, Saudi Arabia)
Résumé
This article presents the results of a test excavation conducted by the team of the Dadan Archaeological Project (CNRS/RCU/ AFALULA) in October/November 2019 at a peripheral site of ancient Dadan, in the al-ʿUlā valley (north-west Arabia). The excavation data were processed jointly with the ECOSeed archaeobotanical project and the ArcAgr-AU geo-archaeological project. This multidisciplinary approach provides critical new insights into the development of one of the major ancient northwest Arabian oases. The excavations revealed the earliest safely dated architectural remains in the oasis, associated to the earliest evidence of local date-palm cultivation, in the twelfth–eleventh century BC. The results also enable a reassessment of the earlier archaeological evidence, suggesting a peak in the development of the oasis in the eighth–fifth century BC, at the time of the first North Arabian kingdoms and the rise of long-distance aromatics trade.
Domaines
Archéologie et Préhistoire| Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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