Synopsis
The present volume is the first of the publication series of the
Saudi-German archaeological project and focuses on three fundamental
aspects of research at Taymāʾ: the current archaeological exploration of
the oasis is contextualised with previous and ongoing research within
the region, while at the same time offering a first overview of the
settlement history of the site, which may have started as early as more
than 6000 years ago. New information on the palaeoenvironment has been
provided by multiproxy-analysis of sediments from a palaeolake
immediately north of the settlement. The results indicate an Early
Holocene humid period in the region that is shorter than the so-called
African Humid Period. The abrupt aridification at around 8 ka BP, known
from other regions in the Near East, is also attested in north-western
Arabia. The reconstruction of the past vegetation of the site and its
surroundings demonstrates that oasis cultivation at Taymāʾ started
during the 5th millennium BCE with grapes and figs, rather than with the
date palm. According to hydrological investigations on water
resources, groundwater aquifers provided the main source of local water
supply. These were exploited through wells, some of which have been
identified in the area of the ancient oasis. Finally, since the time of
early travellers to Northwest Arabia evidence of cultural contacts has
been observed in the records from the site, which had been occupied by
the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus (556–539 BCE) for ten years. A
historical-archaeological essay on Egypt and Arabia as well as a study
on the ambiguous relationship between Assyria and Arabia – characterised
by conflict and commerce – shed new light on the foreign relations of
ancient Taymāʾ.
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