Seeing through the Dunes

Geophysical Investigations at Muweilah, an Iron Age Site in the United Arab Emirates

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11072809
AutoresBlau (0000-0001-6499-7741, autor de correspondencia), Soren Blau, Tim Denham (0000-0002-8164-2990), Peter Magee (0000-0003-2986-426X), Alan Biggins, J Lewis Robinson, Julia Robinson (0000-0003-0719-3995), Sabah Jasim
Año2000
Volumen27
Número2
Páginas117-129
Fecha de publicación2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/jfa.2000.27.2.117
OpenAlexW1964638937
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas15

Geophysical techniques have been developed and used in the investigation of archaeological sites predominantly in temperate climates in northern Europe and North America; relatively little geophysical work has been undertaken on sites in arid environments. This article presents a magnetometry survey of the Iron Age (ca. 1300–300 B.C.) site of Muweilah, United Arab Emirates and examines the problems specific to geophysical investigations in arid environments such as large mobile sand dunes. Initially, a background to the archaeology of the United Arab Emirates is provided with an emphasis on the significance of the site of Muweilah in the context of the Iron Age II (ca. 1100–600 B.C.) period in SE Arabia. This is followed by a discussion of the advantages of employing magnetometry on a site such as Muweilah. Having detailed the methods employed and the practical limitations experienced, the results of the magnetometry survey and subsequent test-excavations are provided. A number of positive and negative anomalies were recorded and investigated through excavation. The results indicate that Muweilah is a settlement of significant size. The methodological and archaeological implications of these results are discussed. In conclusion, we show how the results of the geophysical survey significantly augment the current understanding of the site of Muweilah and provide the foundations for future informed archaeological excavations

Archaeology · Arid · Context (archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Geophysical survey · Iron Age · Magnetometer · Settlement (finance · Temperate climate · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Geology · Geophysics · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Paleontology