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Islamic archaeology in the Iberian

peninsula and MoroccoJohnny De Meulemeester

The author reviews the development of Islamic archaeology in Spain, Portugal and Moroccothrough its publications and fieldwork, identifying research themes such as ceramic studies, fortifiedsettlement and landscape archaeology, irrigation and urban archaeology. Features excavated inSpain or Portugal can best be understood through ethno-archaeological studies of the Moroccanlandscape and its living traditions.

Keywords: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Islamic, medieval archaeology

Introduction

This short article outlines published sources for the study of the archaeology of the medievalIslamic period in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (Figure 1), and then highlights some ofthe themes of current research. Medieval archaeology in the region was born out of an arthistorical approach to monumental buildings, which in places still enjoys a leading role.For example, the Deutsche Archaologische Institut (German Archaeological Institute) in

Madrid recently published an overview of Islamic architecture and art objects (Ewert et al.1997). The architectural history of the Moorish periods is also well documented (e.g.Barrucand & Bednorz 1992, re-issued by Taschen in 2002). But more recently, medievalarchaeology has matured to a full discipline.

The regionalisation of the Spanish state, after the Franco era, created a direct stimulusfor the new regional authorities to look to their roots and pay more attention to theirown specific history than to their Roman or prehistoric past. Islamic archaeology hasconsequentially established itself as a part of the study of the peninsulas eight centuries ofMoorish rule (on the evolution of Spanish medieval and Islamic archaeology, see, e.g. Glick1995: ch. XI-XXI [in English] and Salvatierra Cuenca 1990, especially from p. 69 onwards).The first investigations in medieval archaeology led to the publication of the Boletin deArqueologa Medieval(vol 1 in 1987) by the Asociacion Espanola de Arqueologa Medieval.The development of the subject is also owed to the organisation of a regular conference,Congreso de Arqueologa Medieval Espanola, which met for the first time in Huesca in 1985;the first conferences comprised three main sections: Visigothic (Reino Visigodo), Islamic(al-Andalus) and Christian (Reinos Cristianos) archaeology, although these subdivisions arenow superseded. Since Huesca, different series of local, regional, national and internationalmeetings have been programmed. The different colloquia give an overview of the activities

Department of Archaeology and Ancient History of Europe, Universiteit Gent, Blandijnberg, 2, B-9000 Gent,

Belgium (Email: [email protected])

Received: 26 January 2004; Accepted: 27 May 2004; Revised: 23 June 2004

antiquity79 (2005): 837843

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The Iberian peninsula and Morocco

Figure 1. Map of the area: 1. Valle de Ricote (Murcia);2. Assif Marghane (Ouarzazate); 3. Saltes (Huelva).

in Islamic archaeology over the last 20 years:Madrid in 1987, Oviedo in 1989, Alicante

in 1993 and Valladolid in 1999. Referencesto work on Islamic period Spain can alsobe found in the al-Andalus section inthe conferences on peninsular archaeology(e.g. Barroca et al. 2000), and since 1994,by the University of Jaen yearly editedvolumes Archaeologa y territorio medieval(Archaeology and medieval territory). Anoverview of Islamic rural archaeology inthe peninsula is given in some articles

in the Ruralia series (the Jean-Marie PezesConferences on Medieval Rural Archaeology;Bazzana & Poisson 1996 [with extensivebibliography]; Bazzana 1998, 2002).

In Portugal the growth of Islamic archaeology has been fairly similar, althoughchronologically speaking a little later, to the Spanish development. A journal for medievalarchaeology, Arqueologia Medieval(vol I, 1992), was created by the archaeological centre inMertola, one of the pioneers in Portuguese medieval and certainly Islamic archaeology, underthe directorship of Claudio Torres (for an overview of the evolution of Islamic archaeology inPortugal, see Catarino 1997: 24-31). The universities of Coimbra (see Catarino 1997) and

Lissabon have also delivered very important research programmes for the Islamic period,for example, Rosa Varela Gomess work (Lissabon) on the castle of Silves and its area,and her more recent work on the west coast of the Algarve (Varela Gomes 2002; FerreiraFernandes 2002). A bibliography on Portuguese rural Islamic archaeology canbe consulted inBoisellier (1996); see also the more historical, but for archaeologists important, publicationsof Boisellier (1999) and Picard (2000).

In Morocco, the study has developed from the Colonial period with a strong emphasis onethnological parallels in which the country is exceptionally rich. Since the beginning of thecolonial period, French scholars (and Spanish in the north) have studied Moroccan historythrough ethnographic research and through studies of material remains and buildings (for

an overview see Hassar-Benslimane 2001a). The archaeologists of the Institut National desSciences de lArcheologie et du Patrimoine continue this tradition.

In Morocco, research is often more directly linked to survey (e.g. Bazzana et al. 1984;Redman 1984; El Boudjay 2002; Bokbot et al. 2002; Carbonero Gamundi et al. 2002)and excavations of historical sites, such as Belyounech (Hassan-Benslimane 2001b), al-Basra (Benco 2002), Sijilmassa (Messier & Mackenzie 1998, 2002), Rabat (Erbati pers.comm. 2003) and Qsar Es-Seghir (Redman 1986; Meyers 1989; see also Bokbot et al.2002; Benhima 2002). Ethno-archaeological investigations using contemporary or recentevidence are important, for example, studies of potters and ceramic production (Bazzanaet al. 2001; El Hraki & Montmessin 1998; El Hraki et al. 2001).

Important articles can be consulted in the Bulletin dArcheologie Marocaine (vol XIXpublished in 2002). Research programmes have been carried through in collaboration with

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Johnny De Meulemeester

Table 1. Themes of the Castrum conferences

Castrum 1, Lyon 1982 (1983): Habitats fortifies et organisation de lespace en

Mediterranee medievale; Castrum 2, Paris 1984 (1988): Structures de lhabitat et occupation du sol dans les pays

mediterraneens. Les methodes et lapport de larcheologie extensive; Castrum 3, Madrid 1985 (1988): Guerre, fortification et habitat dans le monde

mediterranen au Moyen Age; Castrum 4, Erice & Trapani 1988 (1992): Frontiere et peuplement dans le monde

mediterraneen au Moyen Age; Castrum 5, Murcia 1992 (1999): Archeologie des espaces agraires mediterraneens au Moyen Age; Castrum 6, Erice 1993 (2000): Maisons et espace domestiques dans le monde mediterraneen

au Moyen Age; Castrum 7, Rome 1996 (2001): Zones cotieres littorales dans le monde mediterraneen au

Moyen Age: defense, peuplement, mise en valeur; Castrum 8, Baeza 2002 (in preparation): Chateaux et fortifications urbains.

French, Spanish and American researchers, often in the framework of the Unite Mixtede Recherche 5648 du CNRS in Lyon. Articles about new work in Islamic period Spain,Portugal and Morocco can also be found since 1990 in the periodical Archeologie islamique.

Themes

Medieval archaeology, and Islamic in particular, has been heavily influenced by Frenchresearchers working in collaboration with the Casa de Velazques, the French School in

Madrid and the UMR 5648 (Lyon II/EHESS). Their influence at international conferencesofCastrum and in the meetings on medieval ceramics (including Islamic ceramics) of the

western Mediterranean, often guided further research (Table 1). Andre Bazzana, PatriceCressier, Philippe Senac (archaeologists) and Pierre Guichard (historian) for Spain andChristophe Picard and Stephane Boisselier (both historians) for Portugal have deliveredimportant study programmes in Islamic archaeology and history.

The subjects treated in Islamic archaeology differ little between Portugal and Spain,where in several autonomous regions rescue excavations take priority over thematic researchbased on the definition of archaeo-historical problems, something which is apparently apan-European policy, or at least a pan-European feature of archaeology. Apart from general

studies in landscape archaeology, the main themes addressed on the peninsula have beenfortified settlements and castles, in particular. A basic synthesis is Bazzana et al. (1988), andfor a more recent overview, the publication of the recent Pamela conference held in 2000:Mil anos de fortificacoes na Pennsula iberica e no Magreb (a thousand years of fortification inthe Iberian peninsula and the Maghreb) (Ferreira Fernandes 2002). The village with its ruralhouses and way of life (Bermudez Lopez & Bazzana 1990) was considered in the conferenceon Formas de habitar e alimentac ao na Idade media (way of life and food consumption in themiddle ages) held in Mertola in 1996 and published as the Portuguese Arqueologia medieval4(see also Bazzana & Poisson 1996; Bazzana 1998, 2002). A basic bibliography of research onirrigation and hydraulic systems will be found in Barcelo (1989), Bazzana (1994), Bazzana

et al. (1997), Cara Barrionuevo & Malpica Cuello (1995), Collective (1995), Kirchner &Navarro (1994), Bazzana & De Meulemeester (1998) and Malpica Cuello & Trillo San Jose

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Figure 2. Medina Saltes (Island of Saltes, Huelva). The Almohad fortress and the excavations of the town.

(2002). Studies of building and construction materials include the important publicationon earth building in Mediterranean areas by Hammam (1999).

Urban archaeology has, of course, a special place, bound as it is to rescue excavations. Ingeneral, medieval towns continued to be occupied up to the present day, so that medievalfeatures are covered and/or disturbed by later structures. Urban archaeology, through theagency of several urban archaeology departments and institutions, saw an important growthexemplified in a series of papers presented at symposia and conferences (Espalza 1991;Macas 1996; Cara Barrionuevo 2000; Mazzoli-Guintard 2000; Passini 2001; MartnezEnamorado & Torremocha Silva 2002; see also the urban chapter in the Archaeologa yterritorio medieval volumes). Some Spanish sites were not re-occupied after the Christian

conquest and present exceptional opportunities for excavations. An example is provided bythe Saltes project (Huelva/Andalucia, Spain).

The Muslim town of Shaltish is located on Saltes island situated near the confluence of theRio Tinto and the Rio Odiel, where the latter flows into the Atlantic (Figure 2). The townoccupies an area of about 6 ha. Before the arrival of the Muslims the site had been occupiedin protohistoric Tartessian times, and Strabo mentions a Roman presence. Arab chroniclesdescribe Saltes as an open town without a defensive wall. There was a harbour and, amongstits industrial activities, iron production was of the greatest importance. Agriculture andanimal breeding completed the resources of the inhabitants. The Vikings attacked the towntwice. But it flourished during the Almohad period in the second half of the twelfth and

the beginning of the thirteenth century, when a rectangular castle also protected the town.In about AD 1250, Castillian troops conquered Saltes, and the town was abandoned. As

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the site was never re-occupied, its thirteenth-century urban layout remains well preservedbeneath the topsoil.

Systematic excavations began in 1988 and have lasted for 10 years under the directionof Andre Bazzana. Apart from some trial trenches opened for stratigraphic reconnaissance,the main object of the excavations was to get a better understanding of the apparentlyorthogonal plan of the town obtained through geophysical mapping. In general, the houseshave a classical layout with rooms around a central or lateral patio; they have a latrine onthe street side and the entrance hall is placed in a way that it blocks an inside view fromthe street. Apart from the patio and the entrance hall, a kitchen, water supply systems,and sleeping and living rooms are present in almost every house. The internal organisationdepends mostly on the size of the house and on the wealth of its owners. The results showthat the original orthogonal layout became less ordered from the twelfth/thirteenth century

onwards, due to overbuilding of public spaces and streets and reorganisation and partitionof the original buildings.

Conclusion

The Iberian peninsula and Morocco offer exceptional opportunities for archaeologicalresearch into the material culture of Islamic periods and cultures. The presence of largenumbers of Berber clans and tribes in the Iberian peninsula since the eighth century and thedomination of parts of the peninsula by Almoravid and Almohad dynasties of Moroccanorigin provide direct links between the history and archaeology of both areas. Often,

archaeological features excavated in Spain or Portugal can best be understood by looking atthem through ethno-archaeological studies of features in the Moroccan landscape and itsliving traditions (see De Meulemeester 2005).

The conferences on ceramics of the western Mediterranean were held at Valbonne in1978 (1980); Toledo 1982 (1986); Siena & Faenza 1984 (1986); Lisboa 1987 (1991);Rabat 1991 (1995); Aix-en-Provence 1995 (1997).

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