Bibliographical notes (1984-1988) ; n°1 ; vol.18, pg 11-22

Jean-François Salles, Yves Calvet

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Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient - Année 1990 - Volume 18 - Numéro 1 - Pages 11-22
12 pages

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• Publié par: TRAVAUX_DE_LA_MAISON_DE_L-ORIENT
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1990
• Nombre de lectures: 147
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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Yves Calvet
Jean-Francois Salles
Bibliographical notes (1984-1988)
In: Failaka, fouilles françaises 1986-1988. Sous la direction de Yves Calvet et Jeacqueline Gachet. Lyon : Maison de
l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 1990. pp. 11-22. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient)
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Calvet Yves, Salles Jean-Francois. Bibliographical notes (1984-1988). In: Failaka, fouilles françaises 1986-1988. Sous la
direction de Yves Calvet et Jeacqueline Gachet. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 1990. pp. 11-
22. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient)
http://www.persee.fr/web/ouvrages/home/prescript/article/mom_0766-0510_1990_rpm_18_1_1746:
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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
(1984-1988)
Yves CALVET
Jean-François SALLES
When the first volume of Failaka. Fouilles Françaises was published in 1984, we attempted
there to clarify the available bibliography of previous scholarly works dealing with the
various periods of Failaka archaeology and history. Five years later, and because of the
increasing number of articles and books about recent archaeology in the Gulf, it may
appear useful to issue an updated similar assessment of bibliographical references on
Failaka which, though certainly not exhaustive, will include : a) publications of archaeological
or historical studies concerning Failaka as a major subject, and b) more general studies
on the Gulf area which contribute in a large part to the knowledge of the island. A few
papers which are now in press and we know of extensively, since they were written by
members of the French mission, will be added as well. Various subjects will be treated
in a chronological order1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND GENERALITIES
A comprehensive bibliography on the Gulf area, including more than 600 titles, was
published in 1985 by E. HAERINCK and K.G. STEVENS, Pre- Islamic archaeology of Kuwait,
Northeastern Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman : a bibliography, Gent ;
the sections on Kuwait detail the articles in FFF 1983 and AÖMIM (1984) as latest references.
1. The following abbreviations will be used:
AMB I: L'Arabie et ses mers bordières. I. Itinéraires et voisinages, J.-F. Salles ed., TMO n° 16, Maison de
l'Orient, Lyon, 1988.
AOMIM Arabie orientale, Mésopotamie et Iran méridional de l'Age du Fer au début de la période islamique,
Rencontre de Lyon, 1982, R. Boucharlat et J.-F. Salles eds., Édition Recherche sur les Civilisations, 37, Paris, 1984.
L'Arabie pré-islamique L'Arabie pré-islamique et son environnement culturel et historique, Colloque Strasbourg
1987, T. Fahd ed., Travaux du Centre de Recherche sur le Proche-Orient et la Grèce antiques, 10, Université
des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg, 1989.
BBVO 2 Dilmun. New studies in the archaeology and early history of Bahrain, D. Potts ed., Berliner Beiträge
zum Vorderen Orient, 2, D. Reimler Verlag, Berlin, 1983. A long and controversial review-article was
published by T. HOWARD-CARTER, « Dilmun at Sea or not at Sea ? A review-article », Journal of Cuneiform
Studies, 39, 1987, p. 54-115.
BTA Bahrain through the Ages. The Archaeology, Conference of Manama 1983, M. Rice and Shaykha Haya
A. al-Khalifa eds., KPI, London, 1986.
FFF 1983: Failaka. Fouilles françaises 1983, J.-F. Salles ed., TMO n° 9, Maison de l'Orient, Lyon, 1984.
FFF 1984-1985: Failaka. Fouilles françaises 1984-1985, Y. Calvet and J.-F. Salles eds., TMO n° 12, Maison de
l'Orient, Lyon, 1986. Reviews of the first two volumes of the FFF series have already appeared in Syria,
64, 1987, p. 362-364 (P. Amiet) others will appear in a forthcoming issue of Archiv für Orientforschung (D. Potts).
Golf Archäologie Cultural change and exchange in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,
Kuwait, Mesopotamia and Iran from the 2"^ mill. B.C. until the rise of Islam, Symposium Göttingen 1987,
Κ. Schippmann ed., in press.
PSAS Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Institute of Archaeology, University of London.
Failaka: 1986-1988
TMO 18, Lyon, 1990 12 Y. CALVET et J.-F. SALLES
Numerous bibliographical references on Failaka will be found in S. PATITUCCI and
G. UGGERI, Failakah. Insediamenti medievali islamici. Ricerche e scavi nel Kuwait, « L'Erma »
di Bretschneider, Roma, 1984. This first volume of the publication of the Italian expedition
to Failaka (1975-1976) is concerned primarily with excavations on the Islamic site at al-
Qusur, in the centre of the island ; despite the small size of the soundings, the site
emerges as an outstanding reference for the Early Islamic period (7-10th cent. A.D.), and
an accurate and relevant investigation on pottery is offered to scholars
who will acknowledge this first comprehensive study on a long-ignored problem in the
Gulf area. The first part of the volume presents a survey of archaeological sites on
Failaka and previous excavation and research, including all periods. The true value of
this prospect is weakened by several blunders which are partly mentioned by J.-F.
SALLES, review of the book, in Syria, LXV, 1988, 253-258.
A short introduction to Failaka archaeology could be found in J.-F. SALLES, « Failaka,
une île des dieux au large de Koweït », Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et
Belles- Lettres, Paris, de Boccard, 1985, 572-593. An entirely renewed entry « Ikaros » (by
Κ. JEPPESEN and J.-F. SALLES) will appear in the forthcoming second Supplementary
volume of L'Enciclopedia dell' Arte Antica Classica e Orientale.
The Ministry of Information of Kuwait, Department of Antiquities and Museums, issued
two booklets in Arabic, the first one on the occasion of the 1st Exhibition of Archaeology
by the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (1987), the second on the occasion of
the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Kuwait (1988), both displaying the main
results of various archaeological and museum activities of the Kuwait National Museum.
GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT
The main elements of the natural setting of the Gulf area, including Failaka, were
keenly summarized by P. SANLA VILLE, « Des mers au milieu du désert : Mer Rouge et
Golfe Arabo-Persique », AMB I, p. 9-26 ; this paper sets up an essential introduction to
the geography of the region, to be completed soon by R. DALONGEVILLE, « L'homme
et l'environnement littoral. L'exemple de la façade méridionale du Golfe », to appear in
L'Arabie et ses mers bordières, vol. II.
Results of preliminary research on the variations of the coastline of Failaka are
presented in P. SANLAVILLE, R. DALONGEVILLE, J. EVIN and R. PASKOFF, « Modification
du tracé littoral sur la côte du golfe Persique en relation avec l'archéologie », Déplacements
des lignes de rivage en Méditerranée, Colloques Internationaux CNRS, Éditions du CNRS,
Paris, 1987, p. 211-222; and R. DALONGEVILLE & P. SANLAVILLE, «Confrontation des
dates isotopiques aux données géomorphologiques et archéologiques à propos des
variations relatives du niveau marin sur la rive arabe du golfe Arabo -persique », Relative
Chronologies and Absolute Chronology, 16 000-4 000 B.P., Coll. Inter. Lyon 1986, edited
by Ο. Aurenche, J. Evin and F. Hours t, Maison de l'Orient/BAR International Series,
1987, p. 567-583; an important complement to these studies is to be found in the parallel
research on Bahrain coastline variations, by R. PASKOFF & P. SANLAVILLE, « Shoreline
changes in Bahrain since the beginning of human occupation », BTA, p. 15-24.
As far as Failaka is concerned, it is clear now that a high sea-level prevented any
settlement in the south-western part of the island before the mid-3rd millennium B.C.,
when the island was hardly emerged. The earliest human occupation at the end of the
3rd millennium took place along a rather young shoreline, and by this time, the small
maritime cove extending between tells F 3 and F 6 was already almost completely filled.
The following recession of the sea-level, then high level which are attested in Bahrain
are less manifest on Failaka. In the second half of the 1st millennium B.C., the sea-level
was certainly lower than nowadays, although it is not possible yet to draw the contemporary
shoreline, definitely under the present sea-level. A more detailed analysis of the sea
variations in the Shatt al-Arab and northern Gulf by P. SANLAVILLE will appear soon
in the next volume of Larsa-Oueili, J.-L. Huot ed., Edition Recherche sur les Civilisations,
Paris {in press). :
:
NOTES 13 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL
All the elements of Failaka environmental history are brightly exposed in R. DALON-
GEVILLE's contribution, in this volume.
Although Failaka does not appear as its chief concern (and is often neglected), we
must mention a beautiful and outstanding book on Kuwait's geographical environment :
Kuwait's Natural History. An Introduction, D. Clayton & C. Pilcher eds., Kuwait Oil
Company,