Guest editors’ foreword

This special issue of Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy is the result of the conference ‘Archaeological Failaka, Recent and Ongoing Investigations’ organised at the National Library of Kuwait by the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL) of the State of Kuwait and the French Research Center of the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA, formerly known as CEFAS) between 26 and 28 November 2019. Not less than 13 articles on the archaeology of Failaka offer an overview of the most recent works on sites dating from its first occupation in the Bronze Age to the late Islamic period. It provides a new insight into the rich history of Failaka – an island explored by Kuwaiti and international teams since the 1950’s and that was connected with Mesopotamia, Iran, the Near East and India – and begin to fill in some gaps, in particular concerning the late Islamic period, the pottery studies, the long-distance trade and the geomorphology of the island.     

Perceptions of Academic Librarians in Kuwait of Library 2.0

This paper reports the results of a Web‐based survey designed to explore the perceptions of academic librarians in Kuwait of Library 2.0. It investigates their familiarity with Web 2.0 concepts, tools, services and applications as these relate to academic libraries, and also explores the obstacles to their use. A Web‐based questionnaire was administered to all of the librarians in four universities in Kuwait. It was found that these librarians have a low level of familiarity with Library 2.0 applications. Lack of training was found to be the most inhibiting barrier to their use. There is a positive correlation between their years of work experience and their perceptions of Library 2.0 applications in academic libraries but no correlation between their years of work experience and the barriers to its use. The results from this study contribute to an understanding of the effect of these technologies on academic librarians. They could also be used to create and support appropriate initiatives for the integration of these applications in academic libraries.     

An Umm an‐Nar culture stone bas‐relief from Al‐Qutainah,Sultanate of Oman

The Al‐Qutainah stone with its bas‐relief decoration was found in a secondary position, reused through time. The object is clearly a facing stone, originally part of an Umm an‐Nar period tomb, and was subsequently repeatedly reused for making new engravings. While working out the sequence of images it became clear that the very first image was a pair of human figures. This artwork is associated to grave architecture and therefore dates to the Umm an‐Nar period. Two models of interpretation can be suggested, the image of a human pair or the image of a supplicant and deity. Changes in the original meaning of the image indicate conceptual changes in subsequent periods, most probably alterations in the underlying social structure. The importance of the Qutainah stone is not solely due to rare monumental human figurative expression of the period in Oman; furthermore, the find spot in the Adam region is at a distance from the central location of Umm an‐Nar culture that has so far emerged.     

Egyptian Scarabs Discovered on Kuwait’s Failaka Island and Similar Finds from the Gulf Region

Over the course of the last three decades, Ancient Egyptian scarabs have been discovered on Failaka Island off Kuwait, as well as at other sites in the Arabian Gulf. A scarab is the most expressive amulet of the cultural identity of ancient Egypt, revealing its influence and its cultural diffusion in the ancient world. Therefore, this paper discusses the reasons for the presence of such exotic products on the island and also answers the question about their origin. Were Failaka scarabs locally manufactured? What is their connection to the Levant? Are they a testimony to the interconnection between ancient Egypt and Arabia?