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ByDR. SYED ANIS HASHIM

Directorate General of Antiquities and MuseumsMinistry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

1991

It is with pleasure that we welcome the present contribution of Dr. Anis Hashim inthe form of an occasional paper published by the Department of Antiquities.

The subject is a fascinating one. The focus of analysis and comparison is on theabundant remains of clay figurines excavated from the Hellenistic influencedsettlement of Thaj in eastern Saudi Arabia. It is dated to the second half of the ptmillenium B.C., and later.

Naturally, a study of this sort of small finds will be of great significance to theoverall picture of interpretation for the settlement of Thaj. There will, hopefully, befurther contributions from Dr. Hashim to complement this important site. Weencourage him and other colleagues in the Department to enrich the record bybringing more analytical studies of Arabian archaeology into publication.

Dr. Abdullah H. MasryAsst. Dep. Minister for Antiquities

and Museum Affairs and Editor in Chief,Atlal Ihe Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology

Thaj is one of the most important and well known 1st mill.B.C archaeological sitein Saudi Arabia. It is located (latitude 26°52.5' north, longitude 48°42.9' east) in theEastern Province of the Kingdom, and has attracted the attention of scholars from thevery beginning of this century, (Lorimer, 1908 ) , ( Dickson, 1954 ) ( Mandiville ,1963) (Lapp, 1963) and Parr, 1964) .

This site is 95 km. due east from the coastal, now identified, city of Jubail. It lies onthe traditional route of Yemen via Wadi Dawasir and Qaryat al - Faw. The site isbounded by the remains of ancient walls with several building complexes and burials ofarchaeological importance lying outside the perimeters. The Department of Anti-quities and Museums carried out a series of excavations at the site of ancient Thajwhich included areas of city walls, towers and the so called iron mound. Theexcavation exposed occupation deposits of nearly 2m. deep showing five occupationalphases. From the excavations many types of remains were recovered including coins,pottery, iron slag, shells and terracotta figurines, ( Atlal , vol.8, 1984, p. 41ft. and vol.9, 1985, p.55ff)

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia there are not many sites which have providedterracotta figurines in large number. Some of the figurines have been recovered fromal - Faw ( Ansari, 1982 ) and some from Marib, Najran, Tayma, Madain Saleh and itssurroundings. Therefore, it was thought that Thaj was one of the biggest centers whereterracotta figurines were produced and used. Due to this reason special interest wastaken to study these figurines, critically and comparatively, in their technical ,typological and iconographical aspects.

Typological Studyof the Figurines

This aspect of study has been carried out onthe basis of two diagnostic features - form andstyle. On the basis of form these figurines havebeen divided into two main groups- animalfigurines and human figurines. Human figurinesare represented in both male and female forms.A total number of six heads and five busts ofmale human figurines have been discovered.These figurines have been classified into twosubforms - gracile and robust.

The gracile category of figurines usually repre-sents short and light bust with a small moutheither with flat nose or with sharp one, andsometimes with brachycephalic head. Two of thefigurines of this category represent a physicaldisability on the person. On one of the figurines,the right side of the face shows effect ofparalysis. The severe effect of this disease isrepresented very effectively by turning themouth and eyes obliquely (fig.3). Another one,which also belong to this category, is representedby a damaged eye. One of the eyes is normal andthe other one is deeply sunk inside the socket ofthe eye (fig.2). Probably these figurines wereamong the items of votive offerings to theirdeities in desire to seek remedy from thosediseases. This type of offerings were not a newphenomenon in the ancient cultures, however itis the first time to be noted in Saudi Arabianantiquities.

The robust form is represented with broadchest, muscular body, narrow waist and tall bust.One of the busts of this form represents a

powerful male, probably a deity of some sort(fig.8) This bust may be compared with the bustof Marduk of the Babylonian pantheon, Zeus ofthe Greek's or Hadad of the Nabataean's.

Other figurine of this group represents a manwith locked hair on the middle of the head. Halfof the hair part is broken. Locking of the hair onthe head is often found on Hellenistic sculptures,but this style is quite different (fig.7). The kindof hair style which has been represented on thisfigurine, could be compared with the terracottasculptures of ancient India Produced between3rd cent. B.C. and 3rd Cent. A.D. Locked hairon the middle of the head on a male statuettealso has been discovered from al-Faw (Ansari,1982). Another head of a figurine represents aman with Assyrian / Neo-Babylonian features(fig. 5) .

The head is represented with a long beard andmoustache, large facial features, fluffy noses,sharp eyes and thick eyebrows. It is covered inbell-shaped style from which two tresses of hairhang down to the neck (Gazdar 1984). Probablythis was a representation of a priest. In some ofthe figurines of this category garlands in the formof incised dots also have been shown.

Female Figurines

A total number of 20 pieces of female figurineshave been discovered. Most of them have beenrepresented in seated form. The main features ofthese figurines are prominent breasts, attachedseparately to body, heavy and protruding but-tocks, narrow waists, thick and fleshy thighs,streched legs and feet with finger marks on them.(fig.9) to (29).

These figurines are generally disproportionateto relative sizes of their bodies. Most of thefigurines have been represented with outdraperies but are adorned with ornaments on theneck waist and wrist. Pubic hair is clearly shownon the figurines either by short strokes or dots.Some of the figurines bear a small triangularmark with few dots on the abdomen, probablysymbolising early pregnancy in the form of acluster of cells and some bear semi-crescentmark filled with short notches, probably symbo-Iising late stages of pregnancy. (fig's 24.25) .

Two types of hair style have been representedby the figurines. First, plaited design in threetreses, one in the middle and two on either sideof the back. (fig 26). The same style of hair canbe noticed from a figurine of al-Faw (Ansari.1982). In the second style, a whole bunch of hairis woven in one single strip and lying on theshoulder. (fig. 27). This style is comparable tothe lock of hair reaching down over the shoulderof the Ma-in' relief representing a Nabataeandiety (Gleuck «1965» p. 223). This evidence mayindicates the practice of growing hair among thewomen folk.

In most of the female figurines, the lower partof the body is very heavy. It shows that obesitywas quite common among the women and wassymbol of social status.

Representation of female figurines adornedwith ornaments and with out drapery, seated in agraceful form with heavy personality and prom-inently exposed private parts of the body indi-cates that they were not the representation ofordinary women or toys but of super-humanbeings in the form of mother goddesses, andhence, there was no need for them to wear

wordly clothes. They were the mothers of allliving objects including plants and creatures anda symbol of prosperity, fertility and hope ofbetter eternal life after the death. Obesity,heavyness of their breasts, sitting in a gracefulform, all these aspects represent their greatnessand respect.

If we compare these figurines with Hellenisticterracottas of the Medittaranean world, we findthat Hellenistic goddesses were always depictedwith draperies. Representation of mother god-dess with out drapery was a phenomenon of theMycananean period in Greece and Harappanperiod of the Indus Valley. During classical andHellenistic Greece this pattern was changed butwas continued in the Indian sub continent tillvery late. Evidence of that tradition can be foundin the sculptures of Khajuraho in central India,which was produced in the 10th cent. A.D.

Saudi Arabian ancient art does not provideany evidence of mother goddess in this form. Inthe rock art of the peninsula human figurines arealways schematized and idoliform representa-tions marked with facial features. However, ithas provided an evidence of a typical form ofmother goddess with tall slim body and flyinghair. The tradition of worshipping mothher god-dess of this form named Alia was prevalentamong the Bedouins few decade before theadvent of Islam (Majeed Khan «1988» P. 37).Few figures of mother goddess have beennoticed from the southern part of Saudi Arabia,which can not be dated earlier than the Iron Agec. 1000 B.C. Female figures belonging to rockarts of Chalco lithic period have not beennoticed. Only male figures are depicted with ahighly exagerated reproductive organs (MajeedKhan «1988» p.191), probably showing the

importance of the genital parts as a symbol offertility and progeny. In the Iron Age of theregion this form of art was simplified and in theNeolithic period these were never shown onhuman figures.

A close look of the rock art of the Chalco lithicand Bronze Ages of the Kingdom indicates maledomination over the society, specially in the caseof religion where male deities were mostlydepicted probably as creator of the world, as itwas Marduk in Babylonia, Zeus in Greece, Shivaas creator of the world in India and Hadad inPetra.

In later period, it seems that, gradually theimportance of male deities were declining andfemale deities in the form of mother goddesses of3rd millenium B.c., from the ancient civiliza-tions of the East and the West were againemerging in the region. Probably, it was due tothe influence of Babylon from the East andHellenistic world from the West.

At Thaj, this influence was felt due to itscosmopolitan nature at that time, where peoplesfrom many parts of the world with diversecultural and religious back grounds were meetingbeing a big commercial center not far from theshores of the Gulf .

Another group of figurines recovered fromThaj are animals and birds. These. includescamel, bull, lion, horse, cobra, dolphin, eagleand owl.

One of the most common animals representedin terracotta figurines is the camel (fig. 29, 35).This animal has been represented in variousstyles and decorations. Sometimes, ownership

mark known as' wusum' in Arabic, also wereshown either on the neck or thigh of the camel.

It is curious to note that those animals andbirds which were having some mythologicalbackgrounds either in Sumerian, Babylonian,Indus Valley, Greek, Palmyrene or in Naba-taean were only represented in figurine form.For example, the camel was a very importantanimal in the pre-Islamic society of Mesopota-mia and other parts of Arabia. It was consideredas the desert -ship as well as symbol of prosperity.Even after death, camels were sacrificed andburried along with the deceased as meal1l' fortravelling to the outer world. Such evidence havebeen discovered from the excavations of burialmounds of Dhahran where camel skeletons havebeen recovered along with human skeletons. theimportance of the camels was continued even inthe later periods. The - Nabataeans felt evenimportance for this animal same as the otheranimals which represented in the figurines.

Bull :There was a high sign~ficance of bull in the

Sumerian, Babylonian and Indus Valley religion.Bull was also represented in the cult of Zeus as afertilizing power. This theme was borrowed bythe Nabataeans. In their iconography bull breedusually shown is the Indian hump or zebu. Twofigurine heads which have been discovered fromThaj excavations are Indian humped bull. (fig.35)

Lion:It is represented in a crude form but in a very

furious attitude. Lion and tiger both are gener-ally associated with the deities of the ancientEast. In the Mesopotamian religion it wasrepresented as a power and Hindu religionattached to goddess «Durga» as her vehicle. In

the Nabataean religion lion is usually repre-sented as animal in waiting to goddess, «Atarga-tis» consort of Hadad (Glueck 1965). (fig. 36).

This animal had the same importance as thecamel, and was associated with faciliated travelin the darkness after death. Horses and camels,both animals were added to the commemorativerelief of the Nabataeans (Brian Doe «1971»P.242). (fig. 37).

This animal is represented in the form of acobra. The serpent in general was considered toas an old agent of healing and fertility (BrianDoe «1971» pp.907-908), and was connectedwith the promise of immortality of life afterdeath. It was of a high reputation in Mesopota-mia, Egypt, Syria, and in Asia Minor. In Greeceit was associated with Zeus and in India as curl oflord Shiva. Due to Egyptian and Parthianinfluences it was adopted in the Nabataeanreligion. The sancutury of the serpent at MadainSaleh in northern Saudi Arabia is a strikingexample of its cult. (fig. 38).

Only a head portion of this animal has beenfound from the excavations. (fig. 39). An imageof Sya creature, probably a seal, which bears aninscription of the Assyrian King Ashurbel Kalawas found, (now kept in the Istanbul Museum),which he erected in the gate way of his newpalace built in the city of Ashur in Iraq (Gadd,c.J. «1948» p23). We do not know much about

its importance in that society. However, theNabataeans had very intimate relation with seaanimals especially with the dolphins, with theirdesire to secure survival and safety for them-selves along the unknown route they would haveto travel after death (Glueck «1965». p.359).This was attached to almost all the deities of theNabataean cult. (fig. 39).

A complete bronze statue of a dolphin hasbeen discovered from AI-Faw (Ansari, 1982),suggesting association with dolphins in theirreligious cult. The same possibility cannot beruled out for Thaj also.

Among the birds two terracotta heads, onerepresenting the eagle (fig. 40) and the other anowl have been discovered. The eagle was one ofthe most important birds in Babylonian religion,and generally shown with double heads. It wasalso the most important bird in the Nabataeanreligion, representing Zeus-Hadad and associ-ated with Atargatis, consort of Hadad (BrianDoe «1971» p.473). At Madain Saleh the eagle isgenerally represented along with a serpent.

Other interesting figurine in the bird series isan owl's head (fig.41). This bird was also havinga considerable place in Babylonian religion andvery much importance in Hellenistic religionsymbolising knowledge and wisdom and usuallyassociated with the goddess Athena of the Greekpantheon. One of the Egyptian pharaohsTachos, struck the coins bearing owl in 361 B.C.(Minerva, vol. 1 «1990»). Probably the idea ofrepresenting this bird was due to the influence ofHellinism in the region.

Classificationof Figurines on the Basis

of StratigraphicalSequences and theirCorresponding Styles

Under this aspect the figurines have beenclassified into two phases.

Early phase: and later phase. Early phase:- Inthe early phase there is a crude representation offigurines, specially on human figurines whereshoulder and waist are hardly distinguishable. Inmost of the figurines there is no harmonybetween heads and legs (Gazdar «1984»), andfew of them are cylindrical in shape. The base ofthe figurines are big and slightly hallow. Decora-tions are usually below the belly and on someparts of the body e.g. breast and hair were addedwith separate piece of clay. Eyes are slanted andmore frequently rounded. Animal figurines ofthis period are mostly represented by camelswith conical legs, high neck and up-raised tailwhich could be compared with rock art repre-sentation throughout the Kingdom .

Later Phase: In the later phase there are betterrepresentations of figurines than the earlierphase. During this phase we find a variety ofanimals and human figurines showing variousfeatures. Animal figurines of this period areproduced in the forms of camel, horse,lion, bull,eagle and owl. Human figurines are made withclear differences between shoulder and legs, butbases are generally smaller, legs are out ofproportion to the feet with decorations on thebelly directly below the breast. One of the

important figurines of this phase is representedby a head portion of a Assyrian! Neo-Babylonianpriest as it ,has been discussed earlier.

Some of the human figurines represent abnor-malities e.g. in two of the figurines one breast islarge and another one very small representingsome anamoly in the breast. Male human figur-ines representing paralysis and eye disease alsobelong to this phase.

In some of the camel figurines of this phaseindented decorations and etched marks as well asowner's mark known as 'wusum' are also showneither on thigh or neck of the animals. Camelsare represented either in rest or in movementwith open mouth and sometimes with erect ears.On some of the camels, back saddles are alsoshown by etched marks.

Some of the features are common on thefigurines of both phases. For example, femalefigurines are always represented with heavybreast, thick thighs, protruded buttocks, broadhips and pubic hairs. Obesity is a very commonfeature in female figurines. Most of the femalefigurines are represented with curved arms,supporting or touching their breasts with bothhands. Most of these figurines are in seatedposture with spread legs. Ornamentation on theneck, breast and wrist is also a common feature.

Animal figurines, especially camels are gener-ally represented with conical legs, long necks andturned tails in both phases. Other animals arerepresented in a quiet position without move-ment.

Motifs and Patternson Terracotta Figurines

A total number of fifteen incised decorationmotifs have been depicted on the figurines.These include:

i. Dots arranged in lines;11. Dots arranged to form a cross;iii. Dots arranged in semi - circular form;IV. A band of oblique lines (right to left);v. A band of oblique lines (left to right);VI. A group of three concave lines;vii. A vertical line with dots on the left;viii. Dots between two oblique/vertical lines;ix. Dots between two horizontal lines;x. Bands of double horizontal lines with dots;Xl. A convex line with dots;xii. Triangle with dots;xiii. Arrangement of crescent in oblique form;xiv. Notching in semi- circular form; andxv. Amoebic structure with dots on the outer

wall (chart 3).

All these motifs and patterns are very simplewhich are generally found on pottery. One of themost common motifs is the line and dots decora-tion. A line is a very simple form of decorationand dots perhaps represent beads which was avery common type of decoration at that time,probably due to influence of the pearling indus-try in the Gulf. This motif was also commonamong the Nabataeans. The motif of trianglewith few dots and etching in half circular shapeare shown on the abdomen of mother goddesses.Patterns like cross dots and amoebic structureswith dots are found mostly on necks and thighs

of camel figurines representing 'wusum' own-ership mark. The 'wusum' marks also have beendiscovered on the rock art camels scenes in theKingdom. This type of marks are still used toindicate ownership of the animals among theBedouins. Motifs of line and dots, double linesand dots etc. were used to represent ornamentson the neck, breast and waist of mother god-desses.

Types of Eyeson the Figurines

A total number of eight types of eyes havebeen represented on the figurines (chart 3).These includes double crescent, oval shape inhorizontal position, pointed eyes, eyes pointedtowards nose, round eyes, oval shape in slantingposition-, slanting upwards and slanting down-wards. In most of the cases bulging irises havebeen shown. First four types of eyes are shownon human figurines and last four, which are verycommon, found on all types of figurines includ-ing human, animal and bird.

Iron SlagsRepresenting Figurines

Along with the terracotta figurines manypieces of iron slags have been discovered fromthe site. Most of these pieces look like figurinesrepresenting humans and birds. One of thesepieces resembles a girl in a dancing pose (fig.41)lifting one of her legs. The second piece resem-bles a bust of man (fig.43) and third resembles asitting bird (duck) (fig.45). All these pieces wereprobably collected as natural representations of

their deities. Most of them were discovered froma place which was assumed to be an iron moundby the excavators, (Gazdar (1984). These ironslag pieces were accompanied with broken piecesof ceramic incense burners, mostly in squareshape, engraved in semi-circular form, on thelegs and the front rim, and painted with whiteslip. All of these incense burners were used onlyonce as we find very little burning marks insidethem.

Technical Aspectsof the Figurines

Macroscopic study shows that th.ree types ofclay have been used for producing figurines.

a. Fine levigated clay without tampering mate-rial;

b. Medium grained clay tampered with smallpieces of chert;

c. Coarse sandy type of clay tampered with chertpieces.

All the figurines are hand made, wheels andmoulds have not been used at all. This studysuggests that most of the figurines were preparedinto two stages. At the first stage, a small lumpof clay was given a desirable shape with roughfeatures. On the second stage, when the figurinewas still leather hard, a second thick layer of fineclay was applied. When the second layer becameleather hard, a desirable shape was given andornaments and other features were depicted onthe figurines by a sharp instrument, either ofwood or iron. Some ot the figurines wereprepared directly with coarse and sandy type ofclay. Such figurines are generally very crude inshape, and in deteriorating condition due to salt

deposit on the surface. In most of the figurines,hands, legs and necks were separately attachedto the torso with a thin wooden stick. Atransverse section of a neck piece of a camelfigurine, which was attached to the torso with astick, shows four rings. The first ring shows avery thin layer of white clay, which was used asslip to whitewash the figurine, second ring whichis about 2mm. thick, shows a fine levigated clay,third ring which is quite thick, shows coarsegrained clay and the fourth ring is a burnt stickwood in charcoal form. It seems that green twigswere mostly used to attach the joints, becausedue to smokes from the twigs, while firing, thewhole inside area of figurine is blackened,inspite of a laterite clay which turns red afterfiring.

When the figurines were sun dried, they weregiven a slip of either white colour consisting ofthick liquid of calcium carbonate (cac03) or ironoxide (Fe 0) which turn, after firing, white or redrespectively.

FiringIt seems that only oxidation technique was

used in firing. In most of the firing a hightemperature of more than 6000 c. was given andthe oxidation process was usually complete,because figurines mostly turned red below theslip. Some of the figurines, at certain places,have turned partly black and in few cases totallyblack. It was due to reduction of air while firingand smoking fuel e.g. camel dung, goat drop-pings and green vegetations. Black smoky spotson the figurines indicate that open type of kilnswere used where the temperature was notcontrolled. An excavation, outside of the city

wall at Thaj indicates the presence of a kiln ofAkkadian or Aramaic type. The area excavatedcomprises three rooms, a courtyard with a kilnand deposit of ash and pieces of pottery in largequantity, but the detail about the kiln is notavailable (Eskoubi, 1985). Probably, that wasthe place where pottery was made and fired.Therefore, it is quite possible that in the laterperiod, a permanent type of kiln for firing, wasin use and hence showing improvements over theearlier periods.

Babylonian and NabataeanInfluences on the Figurines

A close study of the figurines show that mostof them were produced representing animals andbirds connected either to Babylonian religion orto Nabataean. These animals were camel, horse,bull, lion, sea animal - dolphin, snake, vultureand owl. Common animals like dogs, cats, cow,goat fish, birds and lizards were not produced. Itis interesting to note that some of the animalssuch as snake and owl were also associated withHellinism.

The terracottas of Thaj, which belong to thefirst phase of figurines and has been dated, onthe presence of Attic Greek pottery, 3rd cen.B.C., include human figurines, camel, lion,snake, and sea animal figurines identified asdolphin. If we accept this date, it means thatthese figurines were produced when the Failakaisland was coming under the influence of Hellin-ism and just after the Celucid period at Thaj asthe excavation of earlier layers indicate . Thesefigurines were certainly not produced due toHellenistic influence, as there is no place forsuch animals like lion, camel and dolphin in the

Hellenistic religion. It clearly indicates thatBabylonian influence was already there at Thaj.The figurine of a priest with typical Assyrianfeatures also confirms this fact. Female figurinesfrom the first phase, which are very crude inform also testify some of the typical Babylonianfeatures like heavy hips, protruded buttocks,sitting position with out drapery and holding thebreasts with both hands; plaiting of hair andbead motifs are also of a typical Babyloniancharacter.

In the second phase of Thaj when the figurinesare more developed in style, representation anddecorations, show Nabataean influence. Some ofthe figurines representing bulging forehead,flatttened nose, deeply sunk eye sockets, prot-ruding irisis, rounded cheeks, slightly openmouth, full lip and pronounced chin are typicallyNabataean in features. The only difference isthat these features are well executed on the rockpanels at Petra and on the other Nabataean sites,but on terracottas those features are rendered inmore crude forms. In most of the Nabataeanstatuettes necks were intentionally made unusual-ly long and were inserted into heads (Glueck«1965» P. 222). At Thaj also the same methodhas been used to produce human and animalfigurines in the later stage.

In the Nabataean iconography bull breedusually shown is the Indian humped bull or zebu.Two of the figurines which have been discoveredfrom Thaj represent Indian humped bulls only.

The ceramic incense burners which werediscovered by Lapp (Lapp, 1963) from thesurface of the Thaj site, also, seem related to theNabataeans type. Many more incense burner of

similar type have been recovered from theexcavations at Thaj, bearing the same features,which also confirms the Nabataean influence onthe ceramic religious art. Some of the attributesof religious iconography, which are found onrepresentational art of Babylonian religion, arevery prominent in the Nabataean art at Petra an?are represented in the terracotta form at ThaJ.e.g. seated masculine figures representing gods,mother goddesses without draperies, and in mostcases holding their breasts, plaiting and braidingof hairs with particular style, bead motifs etc.

According to some ancient sources, it seemsthat idolatory was not a common practice inmany parts of Arabia. It was introduced inMakkah by Amr bin Lahi from Syria, only ashort time before the advent of Islam (IbnHisham Sira Egyptian Edit 27). Here, thoughreference is made for makkah, it is also possiblethat in the other parts of Arabia, within theterritory of modern Saudi Arabia, this traditionof worship was not prevalent and was broughtthrough foreign influences. Hence the possibilityof idol worship from Babylonia, through somenew settlers, cannot be ruled out at Thaj before3rd cen B.C. Probably, later on, this traditionwas inspired and continued at Thaj throughinfluence of Hellenism from the Failaka islandand the Nabataeans from Petra. After thedownfall of the Nabataeans at the end of 3rdcent. A.D. this tradition of idol worship waswiped out from the region and was probablyrevived by Amr bin Lahi, as our reference says.

The most interesting fact that emerges fromthis study is that all the terracottas, which wereproduced at Thaj, were religious objects and nottoys as speculated by the excavators (Gazdar1984) One of the reasons for this is that verycommon animals like goats and sheeps, cats anddogs, foxes and jackals, gazelles, ibexes, lizardsetc., which are generally found depicted on therock art of the kingdom, were ,not produced.Figurines were produced either to representtheir deities or the animals and birds related totheir mythological legends. Some of the figurineswere also produced as votive offerings represent-ing disabilities and diseases. Animals, whichwere represented, were either related to Babylo-nian religion or Nabataeans. Few animals andbirds e.g. bull, snake and owls, were also relatedto Hellinism. Terracottas of Thaj. from the firstphase of production dated to early 3rd cent.B. C., representing female figurines in the formof mother goddesses and animals like camel,lion, snake, and sea ,animal are certainly ofBabylonian origin, because these figurines donot show Hellenistic influences which had juststarted at Failaka island and the Nabataeanswere not yet evolved in the region. Therefore, itclearly indicates that Babylonian influences werealready there at Thaj. A human figurine repre-senting Assyrian / Neo - Babylonian priest alsoconfirms this fact.

The second, point that emerges from thisstudy is that, almost all the female figurines areshown without draperies, adorned with orna-ments and with plaited hair. Most of them havesome symbolic marks either on their abdomen,

at the first stage of production or on the belly, inthe second stage of production. These featuresindicate that they were the representations ofmother goddesses symbolising fertility and henceprosperity in every aspects of life. A number offemale figurines in comparison to male figurinesindicates that female deities were having adominant part in the society . Male deities wereonly few and probably were produced as con-sorts of goddesses. Votive offering was the mainpart of their religious life. It also seems thatthere was another religious custom in whicheffigies and parts of the bodies e.g. arms, legs ofdisabled and diseased persons, in terracottas,were offered to their deities, naturally, in thehope of getting rid of those diseases.

Most of the camel figurines generally bear akind of mark known as 'wusum', either. on thethighs or on the necks. At present also such typeof marks are used to brand animals among thenomadic Bedouins, to show the ownership.

Adornment of female figurines clearly indi-cates that jewellery was very common amongwomen folk, but the men were not fond ofjewellery. Among women two types of hair stylewere popular, in one style hair was plaited intothree treasses which w.ere usually kept on theback, and in other style a thick plaited treass ofhair was made which was usually lying on theright shoulder.

Limited spread of terracotta figurines at thearchaeological sites in the kingdom suggests thatidol worship was not a common practice in thispart of Arabia, and was probably broughtthrough some foreign sources. It seems that inthe beginning their religion was polytheistic andEastern in origin and prone to accept new rituals

and deities of any religion. The result was thatwhen the Hellenistic wave came, they acceptedsome Hellenistic rituals and religious practices.In the later period when the Nabataean influxstarted, they blindly accepted their cult andstarted producing icons and objects which werevery common among the Nabataeans. Probablythe Nabataeans practices more suited to theirtaste as that too were having almost commonlanguage and socio-cultural backgrounds.

In the field of pottery technology, it seems thatthey were well acquainted with ceramic prop-erties, especially in the second phase of produc-tion. Most of the figurines were well baked at ahigh temperature of more than 600°c. Therekilns were of open type and mostly they wereusing oxidation process as their figurines aregenerally red, below the white slip of calciumcarbonate, which was generally applied beforefiring. It is also evident that in the first phasethey had kept pieces of iron slag resemblingfigurines as a natural and undestructive repre-sentations of their deities and related animals.This reflects their faith and respect towards theirdeities. The study of these figurines in generalshows that, though there are stylistic and stratig-raphical differences, they represent almost com-mon features. It suggests that all the phases ofThaj were occupied by a particular ethnic grouphaving a common socio-cultural background;though, there was some external influences fromtime to time at different periods. The last phaseof Thaj is represented by a strong influence ofthe Nabataeans and probably that remainedthere until their uprooting at the end of c. 3rdcent. A.D.

Acknowledgement

I offer my sincere gratitude to Dr. AbdullahH. Masry, Assistant Deputy Minister for Anti-quities & Museum Affairs, for providing me anopportunity and permission to work on terracot-ta figurines from Thaj. I am also very grateful toMr. Abdulrahman A. AI-Zahrani, General su-pervisor of Atlal and Publication Division, for

Finally, I must pay my sincere thanks to Dr.Hamid Abu Duruk, Director Research andExcavation Center and to all members of Thajexcavation teams, on whose academic labor mypresent study is based.

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lazation in Saudi Arabia, University of Riyadh.Brian Doe1971 Southern Arabia, Thames and Hudson1985 Eskoubi K.H et.a\., Excavation at Thaj,

Vol, 9, AlIal, Dept. of Antiquities and Museums,Riyadh.

Gadd C.J.1948 'Iraq' vo\. x part 1. British School of Archaeology,

Iraq.Gazdar M.S.,et. al1984 Excavations at Thaj , AlIal, vo\. 8, Dept. of

Antiquities and Museums, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaGeorge K.M.1986 Archaeology of Kerala, umpublished Ph.D. thesis.

M.S.University, BarodaGlueck Nelson1965 Deities and Dolphins, Farrar Straus and Giroux,

U.S.AHashim S.A.1986-87 Terracottas and Its Relation with Tribal Tradition

of Worship in Gujarat, India, Journal of OrientalInstitute, Baroda, Vo1.36. No.1 - 4.

Ibn Hisham Sira, Egyptian Edit, 27Qouted from Arabia before Mohammed(P.B.U.H.) by Leary 0., Kegan Faul, London,1927

Lorimer, J.G.1908 Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central

Arabia, Calcutta, 11 , P. 1234.Majeed Khan1988 Prehistoric Rock Art of Northern Arabia and in

Wadi Damm, unpublished thesis, University ofSouthampton.

Mandaville J.1963 Thaj, A Pre- Islamic Site in Northeastern Arabia,

Bulletin of American Institute of Oriental Re-search, 172 : 9 - 20

Minerva (An archaeological news Journal)1990 Vol 1 , No.1, LondonLapp W.P.1963 Observations on the Pottery of Thaj, BASOR,

No. 172Potts D., Thaj in the light of Recent Research,1983 AlIal, vol. 7, Dept. of Antiquities, Riyadh, Saudi

Arabia.

PLATES

The sequence of plates accords with the practiceof Arabic language publications.

. -..i1l-1 .) po J..ill J"""J J.J:. ;J.<> _ A

8 - Bust of a camel with turned tail on the back

. rv 4>..,J ,~ J')U,I .) •r; r" - .:>t,...:) ~ - , •10 - Figurine in a snake form Reprinted from Allal vol. 9 . pI. 37

. ...,..;; 4ll>- .) i(;; ..,.:., _ J.,J.>. .:...,> _ \ ~12· Girl in a dancing posture (Iron slag)

. A~ 4>..,J ,A J')U,I .) tAr; r" - il,.! ~ - V

7 - Female figurine Reprinted from Atlal, vol. 8 , pI. 82

. A' 4>..,J ,A J')U,\ .) .r; r" - .>-i ~ - ~9 . Lion figurine Reprinted from AlIal, vol. 8 1 pI. 81

't'\ 4>..,J, ~ J')U,I .) tAr; r" - "'r.I ~ -"II - Figurine in owl's shape Reprinted from Allal. vol. 9 . pI. 31

PLATES

The sequence of plates accords with the practiceof Arabic language publications.

....i.1;l.1 .) p.. j,..iJ1 J';"'J J.J, )-'--'- 1\

8 - Bust of a camel with turned tail on the back

rv l.>} ,~ J')\l,1 .) or r" .. ,,~ ~ - ,.10 - Figurine in a snake form Reprinted from Allal vol. 9 , pI. 37

. ..,...;) 4!1.,- .) il:;; ...,.:., _ J.,J.>. "--:> .. , ~

12 - Girl in a dancing posture (Iron slag)

. I\~ l.>} ,1\ J)IJ,I .) tAr r" - ii.:'! ~ -v7 - Female figurine Reprinted from AlIal, vol. 8 I pI. 82

1\\ l.>} ,1\ J)IJ,I .) or r" _ .•.•1 ~ - ~9 - Lion figurine Reprinted from Alia., vol. 8 , pI. 81

. 'r\ l.>}, ~ J)IJ,I') tAr r" _ •.•."J ~_II

II - Figurine in owl's shape Reprinted from AlIal, vol. 9 . pI. 31

. n <>-} ,~ J~I J Lor; I'" - '~IJ ~ •.••'j J5:.;-~2 - Human figurine with one eye Reprinted from AtJal, vol. 9 • pl. 34

. rv <>-} ,~ J~I J Lor; I'" - '<J.,.;i r:;:'J,.. J; ~ j>J-l

4· Bearded man with Assyrian features Reprinted from Atlal 1 vol. 9 , pI. 37

. ~I ~ .,....:JI J->- J.l.:"J .ifl J5:.; -,6 - Female figurine with hair locks lying on the shoulder

. n <>-} , ~ J~I J Lor; I'" _YLo "'"Yo •.•••'j J5:.; -,I - Human figurine with oblique face Reprinted form Atlal •Vol. 9 , pl. 34

. ~ ..I...> J; •.•••'j J5:.; - r3 . Human figurine with robust body

. ..rA <,.woJ J .if! ~ - 0

5 - Female figurine in seated form

,)r-oJl t'",j ~I (""""I ri)1Types of Eyes Name of Figurines NO.

.laAi c: ~p r J')loo ~ '--.--I ~~~I J~IJI1 - \

Double Crescent with Dots ~ ~ Human Figurines

JaA;J1 -'j' w... ~ G G ~~~I J~~Ic: ..;u ~.J'. ~J " 2· ,-Oval Shaped in Horizontal Position with Dots Human Figurines

JaA;J1 c: ~..I.o ,)r.&' B ~~~~I J~~I 3-'-

Pointed Eyes with Do~ ~ Human Figurines

JaA;J\ c: --4i1J1'~4 ~..I.o ,)r.&' Y <- ~~~I J~~I4· t

Eyes Pointed Towards Nose with Dots Human Figurines

JaA;JI c: ~)b ,)r.&' 0 84,;1r.>J ~~I J~\

Human and Animal 5·0Round Eyes with Dots

Figurines

Js-i J! "';)aJ1 J~ ~\..o ~J J ~J~ ~ G (j 4,;1r.>J ~~I J~I6-'\

Oval Shaped in Oblique Position, Tapering Upwards. Human and AnimalFigurines

j4..-~1 J! "';)aJ1 J~ ,~\..o ~J J ~J~ F 0 z:J4,;1r.>J ~~I J~I

7-VOval Shaped in Oblique Position, Tapering Down Wards. Human and Animal

Figurines

, ' , ,. , .Dots Arranged in Lines J:,p F J .lali . . ~. . . I - ,........

" .Dots Arranged to Form a Cross ..,..,.L..> ~ .lali . . ~..... 2 - y... ".............. ....

" '...

Dots Arranged in Semi - Circular from o)b ~ ~ .lali I, ,. :, .:~~ ":' •.: 3-,.

a Band of Oblique Lines (Right to Left)- (;l..."llJ!~I.r) UllliJ:,Pl.r'" ~ ~ "'" "'" '"'" 4 - t

a Band of Oblique Lines (Left to Right) (~I J!;l..."ll.r)UlIlIJ:,pl.r"'~ ////1// 5 - 0

a group of Three Concave Lines o~ J:,p ~')I.: .r •..~ \:SJ 6-"1

a Vertical Line With Dots on the Left ~I ~I J J.A:JI.r ,p.J""'S' .1a> ..J7-V

Dots Between two Oblique / Vertical Lines ~)Ip ~ ~ .lali IJ 8-'\

Dots Between two Horizontal Lines ~i ~ ~ .lali ~ 9· ~

.lalic:'~p).1~':iIJ:,pl.r"'~---

Bands of Double Horizontal Lines with Dots --- 10 - , •------

a Convex Line with Dots .lali c:' •....~ .1a> ~ II· , ,." '" ..

Triangle with Dots .h.a:... ~~

12 - ,y-,-

Arrangement of Crescent in Oblique form UlLoJ:,P .J" J')\J. F rrrr13-'"

0"Notching in Semi - Circular Form o)l~~ ~ )Jj>'

~y':.v"'v•..,: ~-:'~vv"..:14 - , t- "" .. .,"" .....•

" " ..."

AmoebicStructure With Dotson the outer Wall ..r ;~I ;141~.lali c:'.p"i~ t!'J V" 15 - '0

Dots .1a.....l; .. .1 - ,..

'" J J. .

Notch ).Jj>- . . . 2 - y-Triangle ~ D 3·,-Slightly Curved Horizontal Line )w JI.. ··i.la.> ~ 4 - t. ~

Oblique Lines (Left to Right) (~I J! .;L.."JI .;,0) ll:1.. .1># II/III 5 - Cl

Oblique Lines (Right to Left) (.;L.."JI J! ~I .;,0) ll:1.. .1># ~\\\\\ 6 - ••

Broken Circles WaA;;.. ;I.J~ C) C) 7-Y

Crescents (J')lo.) wi (CCC 8-/\

..••~ "",I; _ t,41 - Owl's head.

. .r' "",I; - t,40 - Eagle's head.

. J:-; ;.J..p J.!.:! ,~-,> ~ - t,.43 . Bust of a man, iron slag.

.~; ;"";'J ..j i\.:.l F ~J.!.:! ,~-,> ~ - t l

42 . Girl in dancing posture, iron slag .

. (~) ..,.J~;u. 4; ,~-,> ~ _ to

45 • A sitting bird (probably duck) , iron slag.

. J':' ~ ~ J.!.:! ,~-,> ~ - t t44 - Camel's neck, iron slag.

.y.4,>;-T'l

32 - Camel's neck .

. ;; "",I; _1"0

3S . Bull's head.

. .;..a.t.. •.,k:' c:"",,,k:- ~J .j J.J:. ..;\- -1"t

34 - Leg of a sitting camel with attached tail.

. ';'\...0.> ~ ;.J..p _ 1"V

37 - Bust of a horse figurine.

...l...I~_1"'\

36 - Lion figurine .

. ~p •..••i;_1",39 - Dolphin's head.

. (1.r..P) ';'L,.: ~ _1"A

38 - Snake (cobra) figurine.

.}>.,JI ~ u,;, .:.>1.')Iw c: iI,..~J~ ~ - yo

25 - Bust of a female figurine with tiny notches on the belly.

. .}>.,JI ~ 4:.c.. ;"')Iw c: ill" ~ J~ ~ - H24 • Bust of a female figurine, with triangle mark on abdomen .

. ';:''J ...J~I ~ JJ..? ~I JlI..\>:- - YV

27 - Treasses of hair on the shoulder of a female figurine .

. •)1$ jJ~ Y "",IJ - Y~29 . Camel's head with incised grooves.

. ';:''J ...J~I ~ JJ..? ~I JlI..\>:- - YA

28 • Treasses of hair on the shoulder female figurine.

.y "",IJ -I"'

30 - Camel's head with incised grooves.

. ..;:..JI ~J' iir~~ - IA18 - Female fiprine with neck ornaments .

. ilA JW JA.. .~ - I~19 - Lower part of a female figurine.

. ..r);:- ~J J ~.f'1 ~ - IV

17 - Female figurine in seated form .

.iir' JI:i ;.r JL. F-YI

21 - Leg of a female fIgUrine with fmger marks.

. ~l..<>~1 ,,",I..o~ ~J ,iir, JI:i ;.r JL. F- Y·

20 - Leg of a female figurine with fmger marks .

. ilrl JI:i t'~ - Yl"23 • An arm of female figurine.

..r?- ~ ~ ilrl JW i~\.i - n22 - Base of a female figurine in hell-shaped form.

,/---{ r--, ,,--_

( ",----.

~,ilA ~ )~-,.

10 - Bust of a female figurine.

.il..r'!~ )~- ••9 - Bust of a female figurine.

. ifr! ~_IT12 - Female figurine.

.w~ iir~J~L"II -Female figurine in seated form.

o. ~,\$ Jf .;r...yJ1 ,il A ~ )~ - It

14 - Bust of a female figurine ;'ith abnormal breasts.

.i!r!~ )~-,,.13 - Bust of a female figurine .

. ilr! ~-,'\16 - female figurine.

.itr!~-'O15 • Female figurine.

•...r- ~I ';.r> JU , •••.••1 ~ •..•.••1) - y

2 - Head of a male figurine, robust form, Terracotta, eye disease.

. ":"'.i+o JU , .••..•1 ~ •..•.••1) - t4 • Head of a male figurine, gracile form .

. ":"'.i+o JU , .••..•1 ~ •..•...1)_,6 • Head of a male figurine, gracile.

. ;.r> , •••.••1 ~ )~ - /I.

8 - Bust of a male figurine, robust.

. ;.r> JU , .••..•1 ~ •..•.••1) - ,1 . Head of a male figurine, robust form, Terracotta.

(

. ..\.o~ ~yl ''7'.i+o JU , •••..•1 ~ •..•..•1) -,.3 • Head of a male figurine, gracile form, paralysed face.

~

1f.1

o QvJ...

.•..•.••1)1 ~ .,....:JI ~ ,;.r> JU , .••..•1 ~ •..•.••1) _ V

7 • Head of a male figurine, robust, locking of hair on head.