Excavations at MR11 on Marawah Island (Abu Dhabi,UAE): new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements and early evidence for pearling

In 1992, an archaeological survey of Marawah Island conducted by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey identified two significant Neolithic settlements known as MR1 and MR11. Both sites are constructed on prominent rocky platforms located towards the western end of the island. In 2000 and 2003, small-scale excavations took place at MR11, with the first full excavation taking place in 2004. Excavations continued at MR11 between 2014 up to 2019. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the site was occupied between the earliest part of the sixth millennium to the mid-fifth millennium BC. Three areas have been so far examined. Area A—a tripartite house (2004 and 2014–2017 excavation seasons); Area B—a partial structure (in 2003 and 2017–2018); and Area C—a series of at least five rooms (in 2017–2019). The results provide a valuable new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements in the region, as well as the earliest known evidence for pearling.     

The Political Discourses of three Contemporary Muslim Scholars: Secular,Nonsecular, or Pseudosecular?

It is well‐known that the quest for an Islamic state was a desire common to most Islamists of the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries. This article discusses three contemporary political theories that stand in sharp contrast to the Islamists’ theory of an Islamic state. These political theories are developed by three prominent contemporary Muslim scholars, Nasr Hamid Abū Zayd, Ablodkarim Soroush, and Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari. The article attempts to discuss the common themes between the views of these scholars concerning governance. It argues that the political theories presented by them significantly differ from those developed by most Islamists, who share the idea that Islam is a self‐sufficient political system. It also argues that while these political theories challenge the idea that incorporates the maximal role for government in religious matters and thus are close to certain aspects of regulations of governance in Western countries, they are different from those political theories in the West that focus on a sharp distinction between religion and state because religion, for such scholar, plays an important role in developing civil society.     

Near-surface imaging of a buried foundation in the Western Desert,Egypt, using space-borne and ground penetrating radar

ALOS/PALSAR L-band full polarimetric data have been used to detect and characterize a well-defined geometric target hidden under sand deposits in the Western Desert of Egypt. This buried object is rectangular in shape with very straight boundaries and encloses an area of 500 m². Inside the rectangular area there is a perfectly circular feature of approximately 53 m² area. High and medium resolution optical satellite images (WorldView-2, ALOS/AVNIR-2) and field investigation confirm that the topography of the study area is relatively flat and completely covered by dry sand. The electromagnetic wave scattering behavior of the detected buried object was measured by decomposing the scattering matrix of ALOS/PALSAR full polarimetric data into Entropy-Alpha (H/α) and Freeman and Durden decompositions. Furthermore, a combination of unsupervised classification algorithms and Constant False-Alarm Rate (CFAR) edge detection was performed on the polarimetric data which revealed a well-defined geometric shape with straight borders. These borders have high α angles with low entropy, which physically means double bounce scattering mechanism with low randomness and is very similar to that of an urban scatterer, indicating that the detected target might be a buried wall-like foundation of a man-made structure. Moreover, 28 ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were acquired using a 270 MHz shielded antenna to validate the satellite radar remote sensing results. The GPR profiles reveal very clear hyperbolic shapes at 1.5 m depth with one of them showing a large hyperbolic shape-like structure, which might indicate the presence of a buried foundation. Thus the site might have significance to archaeological studies of the Western Desert, particularly previous human occupation and the sources of water for such habitation.     

Evaluation of the Nonlinear Seismic Response of an Earth Dam: Nonparametric System Identification

A system identification framework is proposed to investigate the nonlinear dynamic response of massive earth dams using the seismic motion recorded by a sparse array of accelerometers. The framework includes a methodical step of nonparametric analyses to characterize the involved loading conditions and response mechanisms. This nonparametric step provides essential information to reduce the indeterminacy of the associated parametric identificatin problem and ensure a proper model selection, calibration, and validation. The proposed framework was applied to the Long Valley earth dam (California) and benchmarked using records of a series of 1980 earthquakes. This article presents the conducted correlation, spectral motion reconstruction, and nonparametric stress-strain analyses. These analyses revealed a complex three-dimensional dynamic response marked by non uniform boundary conditions and a shear stress-strain behavior slightly less nonlinear than what was observed in triaxial tests of soil samples taken from the dam core.     

Climatic signal in tree-ring chronologies of Cedrus deodara from Chitral Hindukush Range of Pakistan

Tree-rings are an important tool for the investigation of paleoclimatic records for regions or periods of time with no instrumental climatic data. However, the responses of different species and sites to various climatic parameters are unusual. In the present study, we developed tree-ring-width chronologies of Cedrus deodara from three different sites of Chitral Hindukush range of Pakistan. The study was conducted to understand tree-growth climate relationship and its applicability in proxy climate investigations. The chronologies covered the past 469 to 595 years, with a mean segment length (MSL) ranging from 148 to 223 years. Climatic data obtained from the three weather stations showed strong correlation and was found useful for tree-ring climate relationships. Correlation Function (CF) and Response Function (RF) analysis showed that spring precipitation (March–May) is a critical limiting factor for tree-ring growth, and temperature prior to November may also play a major role in affecting tree ring-growth. The results exposed that the three sites have continuous relationship indicated that only single species from different locations are affected by the same environmental variables and hence can be used in climate reconstruction in combination. The Cedrus deodara chronologies developed at different locations had several corresponding narrow and wide marker rings indicating a large macroclimatic response to regional climatic conditions. The current study suggests that the tree-rings of Cedrus deodara from the Chitral Hindukush range could be used to develop chronologies for the reconstruction of seasonal climatic variables.     

It’s hard to be down when you’re up: interpreting cultural heritage through alternative media

Heritage places are characteristically imbued with a multiplicity of meanings contingent on the specificities of the society, time and space in which such places are perceived. The interpretation of places also depends on the affordances of the representational medium through which these places are perceived and the ways in which such a medium is socially deployed and interpreted. Using the ancient settlement of Sirkap, located in modern-day Pakistan, as a case study, the present article demonstrates that a change in the representational medium entails a change in the interpretation of archaeological records. Most conventional historical accounts of Sirkap use two-dimensional site maps and city plans as the primary media to represent the urban fabric of the ancient settlement. These media lend themselves to interpreting the Block D Apsidal Temple complex as the dominant socio-religious structure in the affluent northern parts of the settlement. When the authors developed an interactive three-dimensional reconstruction of Sirkap using gaming technology – a medium that allows users, through their avatars, to explore the settlement from the standpoint of a pedestrian – it was immediately obvious that the aforementioned Block D Apsidal Temple complex did not demand such an interpretation. Instead, the authors argue that, at least in the affluent northern parts of the settlement, the northern gate, its adjacent fortifications, and the Block A stupa court were the dominant structures. Such an interpretation leads the authors to question the canonical understanding of the role of the state and its military apparatus in the socio-religious life of Sirkap.     

The Development Impact of NGO Activities in the Red Sea Province of Sudan: A Critique

This article examines the results of, and the prospects for, the declared shift of NGOs from relief operations to development activities in the Red Sea Province of eastern Sudan. Statistical and qualitative information contained in the reports of NGOs themselves provides the main data source on which the analysis is based. Although NGOs have been successful in conducting massive relief operations in the area, the article asserts that they have not yet and are not expected to achieve any tangible results on the development front. The main reason for this is the apparent misconception of development on the part of the NGOs as an isolated, localized activity which they can perform; another is the NGOs' failure to recognize the difference in the methods, means and prerequisites necessary for relief and for development; a third is the failure of NGOs to equip local institutions to absorb and/or sustain any achieved ‘development’, since most NGOs operate in complete isolation from governmental and traditional Beja institutions.