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Jawf/Tabuk Archaeological Project (JTAP) A Brief Report of the Third Field Season, 2013

Sumio Fujii

College of Human and Social Sciences, Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

fujiikun@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp

Research Objective and History

Our research project, JTAP (Jawf/Tabuk Archaeological Project), aims to trace the

process of pastoral nomadization in the northern half of the Arabian Peninsula. A key to

the issue is the socio-cultural movement in the five millennia spanning from the

Pre-Pottery Neolithic (when sheep and goats were first domesticated) to the Early

Bronze Age (when full-fledged nomadic society backed with a tribal system is supposed

to have been established).

Our comprehensive research started in December of 2012 with a reconnaissance

survey in the northern half of the Tabuk Province (Fujii 2012). The survey located

several promising sites, which served as targets for subsequent research (Fig. 1). The

second field season, conducted from 23 September until 9 October in 2013, focused on

the Gurayya Basin ca. 60 km north of Tabuk and attested to the existence of

Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age burial fields along Wadi Ghubai and Wadi Moharek

(Fujii 2013). We test-sounded a tower tomb (Feature 3045) in preparation of future

investigation.

This report summarizes the research outcome of the third field season taken place for

two weeks from December 14 until 28 of the same year. We conducted a limited

excavation of Wadi Sharma 1 along the Red Sea coast, which proved to be a small

settlement dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B.

The Site and Site-setting Wadi Sharma is a small drainage system ca. 70 km in total length that rises in the

western slope of Harrat al Uwayrid, a basalt plateau running in the center of the Tabuk

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Province in the NW-SE direction, and flows westward into the Red Sea. The site of

Wadi Sharma 1 is located ca. 25 km upper of the mouth of the wadi, occupying a

tongue-shaped gentle slope protruding southward toward the sandy wadi bed (Figs.

2-3). This site was first found in 1980 during the Comprehensive Archaeological Survey

Program. The preliminary report refers to it as Site 200-47, one of the two Neolithic

sites located at the foot of Jebel Arrayig al-Yusri (Ingraham et al. 1981: 67). We visited

the site in the course of the first and second survey seasons and confirmed anew its

importance. This is the reason why we embarked on a full-fledged investigation.

The site is covered with stones and sand, and a number of masonry wall alignments

are exposed on the present ground surface. Overall, they develop southwestward along

the rocky ridgeline of the slope, suggesting a site area of ca.1.2 ha (= 60 m NS by 20 m

SE). Given this, it would follow that the site represents a hamlet-size settlement. Our

portable GPS receiver set on the benchmark indicated the coordinates of latitude

28.05.463N, longitude 035.28. 561E, and an elevation of ca. 264 m.

With a background of a chain of rocky foothills, the site faces a wide wadi bed where

acacia and tamarisk trees are dotted (Figs. 4-5). Nowadays no perennial natural water

source is available around the site, but the existence of palm tree gardens along the wadi

bank is suggestive of the abundance of subsoil water. It is highly likely that the

Neolithic local population enjoyed a more favorable condition of water supply.

Another focal point when we discuss the site location of Wadi Sharma 1 is the

convenience for local transportation. The drainage basin of Wadi Sharma is fringed with

steep slopes at both sides, but a small gap exists immediately to the west of the site,

making it possible to traverse the rocky foothills in the north-south direction (Fig. 2). In

this sense, we can argue that the site occupies a strategic point of the local traffic.

Another likely inducement is the availability of various construction material including

sandstone, slate, and granite, all of which are easily procured around the foothill on

which the site is located. The site location of Wadi Sharma 1 can be understood in these

contexts.

Excavation The excavation took place following the standard 5m by 5m grid and locus system.

Since no reliable triangular point was available, a benchmark was set up arbitrarily at

the northern part of the site. Due to time constraints, our operation in this field season

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focused on Area 1 extending over a total of eleven squares around the benchmark (Fig.

6). The excavated area total 245 square meters, and the volume of excavated soil

amounts ca. 20 cubic meters.

We dag down until the middle level of Layer 2 and revealed the top course of wall

alignments of masonry structures (Figs. 7-9). Due to the long spell of strong sandstorm,

the excavation was interrupted at this stage and has not yet reached their foundation

course. The only exception to this is a small trench (Trench I) opened along the northern

edge of Square B8, where we confirmed that the preserved wall segment (ca. 0.4 m

high) was constructed on a bed rock layer underlying ca. 30-40 cm below the present

ground surface (Fig. 10).

Structural Remains

The excavation has revealed a cluster of stone-built structures, most of which were

constructed with a double-faced, dry masonry technique. As for construction material,

sandstone, slate, and granite cobbles ca. 20-30 cm long were used without any

substantial processing. In addition, small rubble was used as adjusters for masonry

walls. In view of the volume of fallen stones around the walls, the original wall height

of the structures is estimated at more than 1 m.

The exposed structural remains fall into two in terms of typology: a large square

structure ca. 8-10 m on a side and several oval or rectangular features ca. 2-3 m in a

longer axis. It appears that the former has a tripartite layout consisting of a central hall

and several side rooms. The location of an entrance to this large structure is still

unknown, but there is a high possibility that it existed at the southeastern part where

illicit digging pits leave their scars. Meanwhile, most of the smaller features clustered

along the northern and eastern walls of the key structure. Both components were

combined to form a large complex, but further scrutiny is required to grasp its overall

picture.

Small Finds The limited excavation yielded a small number of artifacts. Flint artifacts included

single-platform pyramidal cores, a crested blade, unmodified blades and flakes, Amuq

type points, a scraper, a serrated blade with silica sheen, scrapers, a retouched blade,

and a digging tool (Fig. 11). The contents of the tool kit suggest that the inhabitants

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were engaged in both hunting and agriculture. Of significance is the occurrence of the

diagnostic points, which, together with the existence of the large, multi-roomed, square

structure, enables us to tentatively date the settlement to the PPNB (Pre-Pottery

Neolithic B), especially the Late PPNB.

Grinding implements made of slightly reddish sandstone also occurred in a small

number. They contained a basin quern and several palm-size grinding slabs, both of

which attest to the importance of cereal cultivation at the settlement (Fig. 12).

Miscellaneous finds included a snail bead and several unworked snail and shell

fragments, suggesting that the inhabitant was engaged in the exploitation of marine

products of the Red Sea as well.

Concluding Remarks The limited excavation has made it clearer that the site of Wadi Sharma 1 is the second

PPNB settlement in Saudi following al-Aynah (Site 200-104) located again in the

Tabuk Province (Ingraham et al. op. cit.: 67-68, Al-Asmari 2012). This means that the

Neolithic northwestern Arabia was incorporated into the cultural sphere of the southern

Levant, and that the initial stage of pastoral nomadization in the area should be

discussed in this context. However, our excavation still remains halfway and has just

caught a glimpse of the site. The next field season scheduled in September of 2014 is

expected to provide further insights into the archaeological implications of the unique

site.

Acknowlegements:

We would like to appreciate the staff member of the Saudi team organized by Mr.

Abdulrahman al-Mansour (Riayd), Mr. Harifa al-Harifa (Riyad), Mr. Abdulfadi

al-‘Onaize (Duba), Mr. Salem Musa al-‘Oqbi (Tabuk), and Mr. Yarob al-‘Ali (Tabuk).

Their kind cooperation was essential to the success of this field season. It is needless to

say that the careful support of the SCTA main office headed by His Royal Highness

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Adul Aziz lay behind it. Our thanks also go to Dr. Ali I.

al-Ghabban and Mr. Jamar S. Omar, both of whom kindly understood the peculiarity of

our research interest and allowed us to conduct a comprehensive investigation not

confined to a specific site.

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References

Fujii, S.

2012 Jawf/Tabuk Archaeological Project (JTAP), 2012: A brief report of the joint

survey in December, 2102. Field report submitted to the SCTA.

2013a Jawf/Tabuk Archaeological Project (JTAP), 2013: A brief report of the second

field season, 2013. Field report submitted to the SCTA.

2013b Chronology of the Jafr pastoral prehistory and protohistory: A key to the

process of pastoral nomadization in the southern Levant. In: Abu-Azizeh, W.

and Tarawneh, M. (eds.), Syria 90 (Current Research on Protohistoric

Settlement in Desert Areas of Jordan): 47-123.

Al-Asmari, K. F.

2012 Oyaynah Archaeological Site: The Study of Neolithic Period Northwest of

Saudi Arabia. Riyad: King Abdulaziz Publication, University. Thesis Series

No 279.

Ingraham, M. L., Johnson, T. D., Rihani, B., and Shatla, I.

1981 Comprehensive archaeological survey program: Preliminary report on a

reconnaissance survey of the northwestern province (with a note on a brief

survey of the northern province). Atlal 5: 59-84.

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Fig. 1 Wadi Sharma 1: site location.

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Fig. 2 Wadi Shrama 1: surrounding topography.

Fig. 3 Wadi Shrama 1: aerial photo (N above).

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Fig. 4 Wadi Shrama 1: distant view (looking E).

Fig. 5 Wadi Shrama 1: general view (looking S).

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Fig. 6 Wadi Shrama 1: site plan.

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Fig. 7 Wadi Shrama 1: Area 1 (looking N).

Fig. 8 Wadi Shrama 1: Area 1 (looking NW).

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Fig. 9 Wadi Shrama 1: Area 1 (looking NE).

Fig. 10 Wadi Shrama 1: Square B8, Trench I (looking NW).

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Fig. 11 Wadi Shrama 1: flint artifacts.

Fig. 12 Wadi Shrama 1: grinding slabs.