Glass and glass production in the Oman peninsula in antiquity reconsidered – chemical and mineralogical investigation of sands

A batch of green‐ and amber‐coloured glass chunks and unguentaria dating from the first century CE was found in 2007 at Dibba al Hisn, a site on the Arabian Sea coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its elemental and isotopic composition revealed the glass to be of a previously unknown plant ash glass type, different from known contemporary Roman, Mesopotamian, and Indian glass. The Sr isotopic composition of the glass corresponds to locally available plants, pointing to the possible existence of a first‐century CE local glass production centre. To explore this possibility, sands from around the UAE were analysed to establish their suitability for glass making and correspondence with the Dibba finds. This paper presents the results of the elemental analysis of fourteen sands. The analysis, performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES), revealed all sands to be rich in lime and alumina. X‐ray diffraction revealed the presence of calcite and other carbonate minerals, as well as antigorite and quartz. Comparison of the sand compositions to average first‐century CE non‐Roman glass found at Dibba showed them to be unsuitable as raw material for producing the glass of Dibba. The evidence thus identifies this glass batch as imported, contrary to what was suggested before. This paper also reviews the occurrence of thick‐walled unguentaria in the region.     

Palaeolithic chert exploitation in the limestone stretch of the Egyptian Nile Valley

Different raw material procurement strategies are attested in the limestone stretch of the Egyptian Nile Valley. Chert cobbles from Nile terraces or from their derived deposits were generally used. Four main procurement strategies have been recognized. During the Middle Palaeolithic intensive surface collecting was the most common strategy. However, open quarrying techniques involving features such as ditches are also attested. True subterranean mining with vertical shafts and underground galleries was known by the Early Upper Palaeolithic at 35,000 years BP. Extracted nodules were processed at the procurement sites. The study of the reduction strategies has proved valuable in gaining a better understanding of the Palaeolithic sequence of the Egyptian Nile Valley.

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Résumé Différentes stratégies d'obtention de matière première ont été reconnues dans la zone calcaire de la vallée du Nil égyptien. En majorité, ce sont des galets de chert qui ont été utilisés. Les stratégies d'obtention se classent en quatre types. Au Paléolithique Moyen la méthode la plus fréquente était la collection intensive en surface. Mais il y eut aussi une technique d'exploitation en profondeur, à l'aide de tranchées à ciel ouvert. Une véritable extraction minière avec des puits verticaux et des galleries souterraines fut pratiquée dès le début du Paléolithique Supérieur, vers 35.000 BP. Les galets extraits étaient réduits sur les sites d'exploitation mêmes. L'étude des processus de réduction nous a permis de mieux comprendre la séquence paléolithique de la vallée du Nil égyptien.

     

Searching for fish names with the Vula’a of Papua New Guinea

This article describes an ethnographic project initiated by a group of people in Irupara village, Papua New Guinea (PNG), who for a period between 2001 and 2010 self-identified as ‘historians’. At the forefront of the group’s concerns was a younger generation unfamiliar with the local language names of fish and fishing techniques. I document the collaborative project developed to address a situation perceived as a loss of language, culture, and identity. As well as providing a valuable lexicon in an Austronesian language, the research brings to light important distinctions between recording ‘history’ and ways of recalling and expressing the past commonly referred to as ‘historicity’.     

Out of Arabia: British Strategy and the Fate of Local Forces in Aden,South Yemen,and Oman, 1967–76

The British engagement with Oman from 1967–76 came at a time when other imperial and defence commitments were being reduced in the Gulf region and elsewhere. Following the ignominious retreat from Aden, the British chose to support the Omani regime in its conflict with Communist-inspired insurgents (1970–6). This article gives context to the dichotomy of outcomes in southern Arabia and examines the role of local military forces in the counter-insurgencies. It demonstrates that Britain's domestic political considerations, regional strategic requirements, and concerns for its global reputation, rather than counterinsurgency operations and the local forces, were the main drivers of outcomes. Insurgents and local actors nevertheless responded to changes taking place in and around Oman, recalibrating their decision to co-operate or resist on their own terms, and changes in the international support for the insurgents were decisive. The key argument is that the dynamic combinations of international support, British strategic assumptions and miscalculations, and local agency, were crucially important to the outcomes in the region. The ‘fate’ of those who had allied with, or resisted, the British, needs to be set in this context.