Monitoring Islamic Archaeological Landscapes in Ethiopia Using Open Source Satellite Imagery

The African landscape is set to change dramatically in the coming years, and will have a detrimental impact on the inherent archaeological and cultural heritage elements if not monitored adequately. This paper explores how satellite imagery, in particular open source imagery (Google Earth, multispectral satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2), can be utilized to monitor and protect sites that are already known with particular reference to Islamic archaeological sites in Ethiopia. The four sites used are in different geographic and geomorphological areas: three on the Somali Plateau (Harlaa, Harar, and Sheikh Hussein), and one on the edge of the Afar Depression (Nora), and have varied histories. The results indicate that open source satellite imagery offers a mechanism for evaluating site status and conservation over time at a large scale, and can be used on data from other areas of Africa by heritage professionals in the African continent at no cost.     

A Dilmun temple in Bilad al‐Qadim,Bahrain: A preliminary indication?

Excavations and surveys completed in the putative former Early Islamic capital, Bilad al-Qadim in Bahrain, uncovered a variety of structural remains of seemingly pre-Islamic date. These, an altar, ashlars and column drums recorded at the disused spring of Abu Zaydan, are conceivably from a Dilmun period structure, perhaps a temple. This idea is briefly explored and the relevant material described.     

Insights into Past Ritual Practice at Yikpabongo, Northern Region, Ghana

Varied interpretations have been provided for the figurine mound sites located in Koma Land and in the Mogduri District, Northern Region, Ghana, including that they represent burial mounds or shrines. In particular, the producers or affiliates of the mounds are unknown, as the traditions of the present inhabitants of the archaeological region dissociate themselves from the mounds. Current excavations of the mounds have provided considerable contextual information, leading the excavation team to hypothesise that the mounds are best understood within a shrine context and that the figurines, possibly representing ancestors or other beings, were used in ceremonies aimed at communicating with the supernatural world for healing or other purposes. This article presents the current understanding of these mound sites with particular reference to the 2010 and 2011 excavation seasons and the ethnography of existing groups in the area. Possible future avenues of enquiry are also discussed.     

Organic geochemical analysis of archaeological medicine pots from Northern Ghana. The multi-functionality of pottery

Sherds from pots found layered under a granite boulder in the Tong Hills of the Upper East Region of Northern Ghana seem, based on their deposition context to have been used for the preparation of medicines. Organic geochemical and isotopic analyses of these sherds and a modern day analogue reveal an n-alkanoic acid composition that is consistent with their being used in the preparation of plant derived substances. Isotopic analyses of the modern medicine pot indicate a contribution of n-alkanoic acids derived from plants that use C₄ carbon fixation, most likely maize, sorghum and/or millet suggesting that this pot was used for cooking C₄ based plant substances, perhaps, based on current analogy, staple porridge type food. The modern medicine pot could thus have had a prior use. The absence of C₄ plant residues in the archaeological sherds suggests that either staple foodstuffs differed radically to today, or, more likely, were not prepared in vessels that were to be used for medicinal purposes.     

Bilad al‐Qadim revisited: recent archaeological research at the Al‐Khamis Mosque,Ain Abu Zaydan and Abu Anbra,Bahrain

In comparison to our understanding of pre‐Islamic occupation and land use on Bahrain, that of the Islamic period has remained less well known. In connection with the building of a visitor centre at the Al‐Khamis Mosque and the planning of an associated heritage trail, renewed archaeological research has taken place in Bilad al‐Qadim, an archaeologically important area of Islamic settlement in the north‐east of the main island of Awal. This has involved excavations in the Abu Anbra cemetery, at Ain Abu Zaydan and at the Al‐Khamis Mosque. The results of these excavations are reported here and these contribute to our understanding of Islamic settlement on Bahrain by supporting the interpretation that Bilad al‐Qadim was the main centre of Islamic settlement in the eleventh–thirteen century AD.     

Gao and Igbo-Ukwu: Beads, interregional trade, and beyond

Recent excavations in the city of Gao in eastern Mali have uncovered a sizable assemblage of imported and locally produced beads which are similar in many ways to the beads excavated at the site of Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria. The similarities between the two assemblages suggest that they are indicative of interregional trade along the River Niger. As the likely source of many of the beads is Fustat in Egypt, Gao may well have been the middleman between Igbo-Ukwu and the former site. This route, it is argued, is more satisfactory than a direct east-west trade across the Sudannic zone, which has been argued for previously as a channel of international trade for Igbo-Ukwu.