Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission to Failaka (KSAM)
The Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission to Failaka (KSAM) was established following an original idea of Mr Shehab A. H. Shehab,
Department of Museums and Antiquities Director, National Council for
Culture, Arts & Letters (NCCAL), State of Kuwait. His visit to the
Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) Institute of Archaeology in May 2004
resulted in the agreement for a five year scientific programme signed
between the National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, State of Kuwait, and the Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic,
in September 2004 in Nitra. The KSAM project could have not
materialized and would not have taken its present shape if not for the
constant and generous support of the NCCAL presided by Secretary General
Mr Bader S. A. Al-Rifai, and the kindest, expeditious and
effective role of Mr Shehab A. H. Shehab. Regarding the prolific and
smooth cooperation with NCCAL, the help of the Secretary General
Assistant for Antiquities and Museums and Engineering Affairs Sector, Mr Ali Al-Youha,
must be pointed out. Without him the documentation and preliminary
conservation of the site as it is being realized would hardly be
possible.
KSAM has been designed as a joint Kuwaiti-Slovak multidisciplinary research
project fostering international cooperation and ties between
young-generation researchers. The KSAM project was developed and has
been elaborated and steered by Ms Lucia Benediková and Mr Peter Barta.
As for the Slovak side, the mission has been working
under the auspices of the SAS Institute of Archaeology. Thanks to Mr
Karol Pieta, SAS Institute of Archaeology scientific secretary and
Slovak team director, the mission has been able to take advantage of the
presence of specialists in environmental archaeology and
geo-disciplines that strongly cross-fertilize archaeological research.
Apart from senior archaeologists and academicians, the fieldwork has
very much benefited from the presence of graduates and undergraduates in
archaeology and neighbouring disciplines coming from Kuwait (National
Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, State of Kuwait), Slovakia
(Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, and from
the Department of Archaeology, Constantine the Philosopher University,
Nitra) and Turkey (Prehistoric Section, Istanbul University). For
analyses of particular material groups that require a special approach
KSAM cooperates with Kuwaiti (KISR and KOC), German, Czech, Belgian,
British, Polish and Turkish laboratories and specialists. In their
laboratories steatites, bitumens, metals, mortars, obsidians,
archaeobotanical and archaeozoological material have been analysed and
investigated.
Four excavation seasons have taken place on Al-Khidr –
in 2004, 2006, 2007 and by mid April 2008 the last field work season
came to ist end. From 2009 onwards the material studies are scheduled
that shall be concluded by a publication of the results.
Thanks to the really warm and cordial welcome of the mission by the National Council for Culture, Arts & L.
Papers in scientific journals
- Pieta, K. – Shehab, S. A. H. – Benediková, L. – Bielich, M. – Tirpák, J. – Bartík, M.:
Archaeological and Geophysical Survey at Deserted Early Islamic Village
Al-Qusur, Failaka Island, State of Kuwait. Ve službách archeologie
1/09, 2009, 29–35.
Click to display or download
- Barta, P. – Benediková, L. – Hajnalová, M. – Miklíková, Z. – Belanová, T. – Shehab, S. A. H.: Al-Khidr
on Failaka Island: Preliminary Results of the Fieldworks at a Dilmun
Culture Settlement in Kuwait. TÜBA-AR, Turkish Academy of Sciences
Journal of Archaeology 11, 2008, 121–134.
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- Shehab, S. A. H. – Bartík, M. – Tirpák, J. – Ďuriš, J. – Barta, P. – Benediková, L. – Bielich, M.: Survey and Mapping of Al-Quraniya, Failaka Island, State of Kuwait. Ve službách archeologie 2/08, 2008, 17–22.
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- Miklíková, Z. – Barta, P.: KSAM renews archaeozoological research in Kuwait. International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) Newsletter 8/2, 2007, 1.
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- Barta, P. – Bartík, M. – Benediková, L. – Ďuriš, J. – Pieta, K. – Shehab, S. A. H. – Štolc, S., Jr. – Tirpák, J.: Geophysical
prospecting of the Bronze Age site Al-Khidr, Failaka Island, State of
Kuwait. Študijné zvesti Archeologického ústavu SAV 41, 2007, 69–73.
Click to display or download
- Pieta, K. – Shehab, S. A. H. – Tirpák, J. – Bielich, M. – Bartík, M. – Ďuriš, J.: Archaeological
and geophysical prospecting of deserted Early Islamic village Al-Qusur
(Failaka Island, State of Kuwait). Študijné zvesti Archeologického
ústavu SAV 41, 2007, 74–76.
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- Benediková, L. – Barta, P.: Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission. Bulletin of The Society for Arabian Studies 12, 2007, 23–25.
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