Julien Charbonnier

Archaïos

Published in Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 53 Within the framework of the AlUla Cultural Oasis Project (UCOP) a comprehensive foot survey was carried out in the valley of al‑ʿUlā (Saudi Arabia) (2019–2022). Archaeological remains were systematically recorded in cultivated areas stretching from Ḥegrā to the southern limits of the m...

Funded and steered by the French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA), on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the AlUla Cultural Oasis Project (UCOP), carried out by Archaïos, aims at mapping and understanding the spatial organisation of the al-‘Ūla oasis (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The project’s methodology includes a systematic pedes...

The palm grove of al-ʿUlā (AlUla) oasis (KSA) contains, besides plots solely dedicated to agriculture, hundreds of complexes called 'farms' that are spatially divided into two groups, with at least one of them established after the early twentieth century. These farms and their components are subject to an in-depth study conducted within the AlUla...

Over 400 fragmentary coloured glass bangles have so far been collected in the al-ʿUlā oasis during the archaeological survey carried out within the framework of the ongoing AlUla Cultural Oasis Project (UCOP) led by Archaïos, funded and steered by the French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA) on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). A...

Archaeological investigations conducted since 2006 at Masāfī (hinterlands of the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE) have led to the discovery of several architectural entities organised around the local palm grove and in use from the Bronze Age onwards. The whole complex constitutes an important site for understanding the regional protohistory in Eastern Ar...

Despite al-ʿŪla's arid climate, the earliest sedentary settlement in the wadi dates as far back as the first millennium BC and has been continuously inhabited up to the present day. Rare and short-duration rainfall forced the inhabitants of the wadi to develop several methods to exploit underground water resources. While the well-known qanat networ...

Oases have been cultivated and irrigated in arid environments for millennia. They have been endangered recently by climatic and socio-economic changes. In order to fuel the debate on their rational management, it was necessary to understand the history of their formation. To locate former cultivated areas, understand how and what plant resources we...

Over the past fifteen years the French archaeological mission in the UAE has excavated several areas of Masāfī in Fujairah. A Late Bronze Age settlement was found in MSF-5 and Iron Age architectural remains in MSF-1, MSF-2 and MSF-3 that include respectively a public building, fortified settlements, and a temple possibly dedicated to the cult of th...

Oasis soils result from the combined action of natural and anthropic processes, and thus constitute valuable systems for the understanding of human–environment trajectories over the millennia. The present research aims to develop the study of ancient oasis soils by identifying proxies to detect past agricultural practices. Ten reference pits were d...

The site of Wakarida is situated near the eastern edge of the Tigray plateau, dominating the Afar depression. The study on the site has started in 2011 with a short archaeological and geophysical survey. During the three campaigns of excavations between 2012 and in 2013, carried out in two areas, the archaeologists unearthed typically Aksumite buil...

Abstract In order to understand the role of water resources in the establishment and long-term evolution of settlements investigated by the French Archaeological Mission in the UAE in the oasis of Masāfī, wells and springs of all periods, identified at the surface and in stratified contexts, were mapped and studied thanks to a multidisciplinary app...

In the case of Late Bronze Age pottery archaeometry is still rare in south-east Arabia. This article presents the results of a study undertaken on pottery assemblages from three Late Bronze Age sites located in the northern United Arab Emirates: Masafi-5, Kalba 4, and Shimal SX. Macroscopic and technological observations of a large set of potsherds...

In the case of Late Bronze Age pottery archaeometry is still rare in south-east Arabia.This article presents the results of a study undertaken on pottery assemblages from three Late Bronze Age sites located in the northern United Arab Emirates: Masafi-5, Kalba 4, and Shimal SX. Macroscopic and technological observations of a large set of potsherds...

Oases are subject to decreasing resources and changing human activities. Fully aware of their rich heritage, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have undertaken work to preserve and revitalize these oases. However, there is a clear lack of understanding of the dynamic links between climate change, hydraulic and agricultural management, and socioeconomic...

Despite the scarcity of water resources, arid regions have been populated since prehistoric times. To survive, human populations established themselves in refugia, isolated spaces benefiting from sources of water, which they gradually transformed into artificial niches, or oases as we know them today. The XXXVIIIth Rencontres of Antibes aimed to be...

The qanāt, as a traditional, low-cost, sustainable, water distribution system, was fundamental for the settlement of arid environments. This special issue of Water History journal (March 2018) lays out the basis of an interdisciplinary research agenda for qanāt studies in archaeology.

Sharing the water flow from qanāts is important for many communities past and present and can often involve complex water-share systems. Studying and comparing historical sources and vernacular practices can help us to understand how this has and still is accomplished. Did the technical requirements of qanāts result in similar water management meth...

The qanāt, as a traditional, low-cost, sustainable, water distribution system, was fundamental for the settlement of arid environments. This brief introduction to the special issue “The Qanāt: Archaeology and Environment” presents an overview of a workshop of the same name, held at Durham University in October 2014, and introduces the key themes th...

Les oasis, espaces de polyculture intensive irrigués en milieu aride à semi-aride, sont caractérisées à la fois par des conditions physiques naturelles contraignantes mais aussi par les choix et mises en oeuvre anthropiques qui les façonnent. Ces espaces sont donc à l'équilibre entre différents facteurs socio-environnementaux : contraintes morpho-c...

This book is an invitation to travel back in time to discover the heritage of the United Arab Emirates. Just like an archaeologist, you must closely observe the objects and models presented in Sharjah and Mleiha museums, to reconstruct the history of the Emirate of Sharjah. Your investigation will take you from the Stone Age to the end of Antiquity...

Introduction. Living in arid environments from prehistoric times to the present day: approaches to the study of refugia and oases

3000 d’histoire agraire sous la palmeraie de Masafi (Émirat de Fujairah)

In South East Arabia (Sultanate of Oman and United Arab Emirates), oases are irrigated gardens characterised by intensive and mixed farming: date palms form a canopy under which other crops are protected from the sun’s rays and the heat. The origin of this agrosystem and its impact on the historical trajectory of Arabian populations are still much...

In semi-arid to arid environments, water is the most constraining resource for agricultural communities. In Southeast Arabia (Sultanate of Oman and United Arab Emirates), the demographic growth and the increase of sites at the beginning of the Iron Age II (1100–600 b.c.) is generally attributed to the development of groundwater harvesting technique...

Le projet « Recherches archéologiques et épigraphiques dans la région du Tigray, Éthiopie (périodes pré-aksumite et aksumite, Ier millénaire avant notre ère-viiie siècle de notre ère) » a pour principal objectif de contribuer à l’étude de la transition entre des périodes historiques (pré-aksumite, aksumite et post- aksumite), des types d’installati...

Located in the northern part of the Hajar mountains (UAE), the oasis of Masāfī bene ts from abundant copper and water resources and a strategic location at the crossroad between the western piedmont and the shore of the Gulf of Oman. Our project aims at reconstructing the dynamics and evolution of this oasis. An interdisciplinary approach was adopt...

This article presents the results of recent research carried out by the French Archaeological Mission in Wakarida, eastern Tigray, Ethiopia. Excavations revealed a small city dating from the middle and late Aksumite period (AD 350/400–800/850). Despite a relative scarcity of imported items in Wakarida, the local architecture and pottery allowed the...

Wādī Bayḥān is located on the edge of the Ramlat as Sab’atayn desert (Yemen) and constituted the core of the preislamic kingdom of Qatabān. During the 1st millennium B.C., floodwaters caused by summer rainfall were diverted into the fields. Several irrigation systems of this kind were spread all along the valley. The aim of the present paper is to...

Le projet « Recherches archéologiques et épigraphiques dans la région du Tigray, Éthiopie (Ier millénaire avant notre ère-VIIIe siècle de notre ère) » porte sur les civilisations de l’Éthiopie antique, la transition entre diverses périodes de l’histoire antique, la transformation du milieu naturel et les types d’installations humaines. Le site de W...

This paper aims to review the evidence of irrigation structures in Southeast Arabia during the Bronze Age (c. 3200–1300 B.C.) and the Iron Age (c. 1300–300 B.C.). The preliminary results of the excavation of hydraulic structures in Masāfī (United Arab Emirates) are also presented. While in Arabia many studies have been devoted to the qanāt technolo...

This article presents the results of the excavation of a residence dated between the second and fourth centuries AD, constructed over the ruins of the South Arabian town of Makaynūn, in central Hadramawt (Yemen). The building yielded a large quantity of material including objects proving contacts between the central Hadramawt and regions located to...

Despite the rapid modernization of the country, oases are still a living heritage in Oman. Many Omanis possess a garden in their hometown even though they live in Musqat. Qanāts, locally called aflāj (sing. falaj), supply many of the oases, such as dam. The flow of a falaj has to be shared day and night: each user possesses water shares — correspon...

The traditional methods of water management are still used in Ādam (Oman) and have been investigated as part of this study, which focuses on falaj al-Māleḥ. Each user possesses water shares – corresponding to time periods – distributed along a water cycle. On the field, the organization of the cycle, the techniques for diverting water into the fiel...

The irrigation technique prevailing in Oman oases, the falaj, delivers water year round. The users of a falaj have to divide its water on a temporal basis. Each of them is allocated a certain number of 30-minute water shares. Sundials were traditionally used to calculate these shares. This is still the case in the oasis of Adam. The inhabitants of...

De l’âge du bronze et jusqu’à nos jours, les populations d’Arabie du Sud ont privilégié le détournement des eaux de crue pour irriguer les parcelles cultivées. Au cours des premiers siècles de l’ère chrétienne toutefois, une nouvelle technique d’irrigation a été adoptée dans les régions montagneuses. Des barrages ont été construits afin de retenir...

The surveys that took place in the region of Ādam (Sultanate of Oman) during the four first campaigns (2007 to 2010) allowed us to evaluate the density and the variety of archaeological remains that are found in this area (situated on the margins of the Rub‘ al‑Khālī desert). Its population can be traced back to Neolithic and from then on, settleme...

Since 2000 the French Archaeological Mission in the U.A.E. is carrying out researches in several areas of the Emirate of Fujairah in order to study strategies of adaptation and territorial organization of Iron Age communities in regions of mountains. In Masafi, a collective building and a temple have been excavated and a fortified settlement has be...

Les populations d' Arabie méridionale ont adopté l'économie de production assez tardivement par rapport à celles du Croissant fertile, au cours des IV e et III e millénaires avant notre ère. Les plantes alors consommées étaient méditerranéennes, ce qui confirme l'influence exercée par le Proche-Orient. De part et d'autre de la péninsule, les débuts...

At the beginning of the Christian era, the appearance of retaining dams represented a turning point in the history of landscape in the mountains of South Arabia. They allowed the irrigation of the valley floors for a long period by providing water storage. In this paper, a preliminary study of the distribution of these barrages over the Yemeni High...

This paper aims at recognizing and understanding the various agro-systems of the ancient South Arabia. Archaeobotanical data are confronted with studies concerning pre-Islamic landscapes and agricultural techniques. It appears that, during the Bronze Age and the South Arabian period, new cultivars, coming from the Near-East, Africa and India, have...

Rapport non publié des résultats obtenus lors de la 4e campagne de la mission archéologique dans le royaume antique de Qataban (Yémen) en 2007-08 sur le site de Hasi : relevé topographique du site, fouille archéologique, prospection du territoire alentour.