Settlement & ceramics in Southern Iran: An analysis of the Sasanian & Islamic periods in the Williamson collection

Between 1968 and 1971, Andrew George Williamson carried out one of the most extensive and ambitious archaeological surveys undertaken in the Near East. Williamson’s survey of over 1,200 archaeological sites distributed widely through southern Iran represents the most detailed archaeological study of the region. Williamson's untimely death in Oman in 1975 prevented the work from being completed or published, and as a result, the information from his pioneering study have remained generally obscure. A sizable portion of the finds that Williamson collected during the survey (17,000 sherds) were exported to the UK and deposited at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, along with much of the documentation associated with the project. A full synthesis of this material has not until now been attempted. Recognising the important scientific value of Williamson's survey, a detailed study of the Collection was initiated with the aim of: 1) providing a complete catalogue of the Collection; 2) creating a list and map of all sites that Williamson visited and 3) analysing the resulting dataset. The discussion presented below, which describes the results of the research on the Collection, has been broken into two sections. The first section describes Williamson’s work and the contents of the Collection (Chapter 1), and explains the methodology and approach that has been taken during this study (Chapter 2). The second section uses the data generated from the study to analyse regional settlement trends (Chapter 3) and the changing distribution of a selection of key ceramic wares (Chapter 4). Together these themes contribute towards a model for the long-term economic development along the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, ๒ an area that has previously suffered from a major lack of primary archaeological research. Drawing on this study and the more detailed now be possible, for the first time, to set out a scheme that covers the Persian Gulf region as a whole

Ceramic Exchange and the Indian Ocean Economy (AD 400–1275) Volume I: Analysis

From AD 500–1000, the Indian Ocean emerged as a global commercial centre, and by around 750–800 a sophisticated trade network had been established involving the movement of goods from Japan and China in the east, to southern Africa and Spain in the west. However, the Indian Ocean’s commercial system has been relatively understudied, with many of the key assumptions regarding its development based on narrative textual sources and selective archaeological evidence. Volume I sets out the case for the unique significance of quantified ceramic finds as an indicator of long-term changes in the scale and volume of maritime exchange in a period for which few other sources of systematic economic history survive. The publication presents archaeological data from thirteen sites distributed across the western Indian Ocean, including Siraf (Iran), Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) and Manda (Kenya). The ceramic assemblages are considered in terms of their general compositional characteristics and the distinctions between local, regional and long-distance exchange. The volume concludes with a discussion of how this data can be used to address the broader issues of long-term economic change and the relationship between state power in the Middle East and the commercial networks of the Indian Ocean operating via the Persian Gulf. Volume I (https://doi.org/10.48582/ceramicexchange_vol1) is supplemented by Volume II: Indian Ocean Pottery Classification, available online as a freely downloadable pdf (https://doi.org/10.48582/CERAMICEXCHANGE_VOL2

Ceramic Exchange and Indian Ocean Economy (AD 400–1275). Volume II: Indian Ocean Pottery Classification

From AD 500–1000, the Indian Ocean emerged as a global commercial centre, and by around 750–800 a sophisticated trade network had been established involving the movement of goods from Japan and China in the east, to southern Africa and Spain in the west. However, the Indian Ocean’s commercial system has been relatively understudied, with many of the key assumptions regarding its development based on narrative textual sources and selective archaeological evidence. Volume I sets out the case for the unique significance of quantified ceramic finds as an indicator of long-term changes in the scale and volume of maritime exchange in a period for which few other sources of systematic economic history survive. The publication presents archaeological data from thirteen sites distributed across the western Indian Ocean, including Siraf (Iran), Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) and Manda (Kenya). The ceramic assemblages are considered in terms of their general compositional characteristics and the distinctions between local, regional and long-distance exchange. The volume concludes with a discussion of how this data can be used to address the broader issues of long-term economic change and the relationship between state power in the Middle East and the commercial networks of the Indian Ocean operating via the Persian Gulf. Volume I is supplemented by Volume II: Indian Ocean Pottery Classification which is available online as a freely downloadable pdf (https://doi.org/10.48582/CERAMICEXCHANGE_VOL2)

Dariali: the 'Caspian Gates' in the Caucasus from antiquity to the age of the Huns and the middle ages: the joint Georgian-British Dariali Gorge excavations and surveys of 2013-2016

The Huns, invading through Dariali Gorge on the modern-day border between Russia and Georgia in AD 395 and 515, spread terror across the late antique world. Was this the prelude to the apocalypse? Prophecies foresaw a future Hunnic onslaught, via the same mountain pass, bringing about the end of the world. Humanity’s fate depended on a gated barrier deep in Europe’s highest and most forbidding mountain chain. Centuries before the emergence of such apocalyptic beliefs, the gorge had reached world fame. It was the target of a planned military expedition by the Emperor Nero. Chained to the dramatic sheer cliffs, framing the narrow passage, the mythical fire-thief Prometheus suffered severe punishment, his liver devoured by an eagle. It was known under multiple names, most commonly the Caspian or Alan Gates. Featuring in the works of literary giants, no other mountain pass in the ancient and medieval world matches Dariali’s fame. Yet little was known about the materiality of this mythical place. A team of archaeologists has now shed much new light on the major gorge-blocking fort and a barrier wall on a steep rocky ridge further north. The walls still standing today were built around the time of the first major Hunnic invasion in the late fourth century – when the Caucasus defences feature increasingly prominently in negotiations between the Great Powers of Persia and Rome. In its endeavour to strongly fortify the strategic mountain pass through the Central Caucasus, the workforce erased most traces of earlier occupation. The Persian-built bastion saw heavy occupation for 600 years. Its multi-faith medieval garrison controlled Trans-Caucasian traffic. Everyday objects and human remains reveal harsh living conditions and close connections to the Muslim South, as well as the steppe world of the north. The Caspian Gates explains how a highly strategic rock has played a pivotal role in world history from Classical Antiquity into the twentieth century

Dariali: the 'Caspian Gates' in the Caucasus from antiquity to the age of the Huns and the middle ages: the joint Georgian-British Dariali Gorge excavations and surveys of 2013-2016

The Huns, invading through Dariali Gorge on the modern-day border between Russia and Georgia in AD 395 and 515, spread terror across the late antique world. Was this the prelude to the apocalypse? Prophecies foresaw a future Hunnic onslaught, via the same mountain pass, bringing about the end of the world. Humanity’s fate depended on a gated barrier deep in Europe’s highest and most forbidding mountain chain. Centuries before the emergence of such apocalyptic beliefs, the gorge had reached world fame. It was the target of a planned military expedition by the Emperor Nero. Chained to the dramatic sheer cliffs, framing the narrow passage, the mythical fire-thief Prometheus suffered severe punishment, his liver devoured by an eagle. It was known under multiple names, most commonly the Caspian or Alan Gates. Featuring in the works of literary giants, no other mountain pass in the ancient and medieval world matches Dariali’s fame. Yet little was known about the materiality of this mythical place. A team of archaeologists has now shed much new light on the major gorge-blocking fort and a barrier wall on a steep rocky ridge further north. The walls still standing today were built around the time of the first major Hunnic invasion in the late fourth century – when the Caucasus defences feature increasingly prominently in negotiations between the Great Powers of Persia and Rome. In its endeavour to strongly fortify the strategic mountain pass through the Central Caucasus, the workforce erased most traces of earlier occupation. The Persian-built bastion saw heavy occupation for 600 years. Its multi-faith medieval garrison controlled Trans-Caucasian traffic. Everyday objects and human remains reveal harsh living conditions and close connections to the Muslim South, as well as the steppe world of the north. The Caspian Gates explains how a highly strategic rock has played a pivotal role in world history from Classical Antiquity into the twentieth century