Independent Researcher

About

Research:

My interest is quite broad and deals with the Bronze Age 'World System' from the perspective of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. On the Arabian littoral two major cultural spheres can be identified, known from cuneiform sources as Dilmun and Magan. My main focus is on Dilmun during the second millennium BC: the Early Dilmun and Middle Dilmun periods. During this time, Dilmun's economic and political centre was located on the island of Bahrain; additional territories included the adjacent coastal area of Saudi Arabia and the island of Failaka in Kuwait.

The economic and cultural florescence of the Early Dilmun period dates to City IIa-c (ca. 2050–1800 BC), when Dilmun was an independent trading emporium firmly controlling the maritime Gulf trade, linking the urban societies in Southern Mesopotamia with the mineral rich Oman Peninsula — ancient Magan — and the Indus Civilisation — ancient Meluhha. This generated a 'Golden Age' with an economic and cultural boom and a significant growth of the population, resulting in an intensification of land use and an increased socio-political complexity. The end of the Early Dilmun period is poorly understood as little physical evidence has been recovered that can unequivocally be attributed to this phase. The general consensus is that Dilmun's prosperity ended when the international southern maritime trade-network collapsed, triggering a widespread economic, socio-political and cultural upheaval in Dilmun. By the early Middle Dilmun period (City IIIa), Dilmun had lost its independence and was dominated first by the Sealand and later by Kassite Babylonia.

I am particularly interested in this transitional period (in all its facets), i.e. the post-IIc to City IIIa periods, which coincides with a historical/archaeological 'Dark Age' in Mesopotamia and a chronological controversy that dominate and dictate attitudes towards the materials that are available.

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I am involved in the study and publication of the following materials:

* Middle Dilmun sealings from a palace complex at Qal'at al-Bahrain (Bahrain), French Mission led by Pierre Lombard, excavated in 1995-2004.
http://www.archeorient.mom.fr/

* late Early Dilmun and early Middle Dilmun pottery from the West Wall (Excavation 420) at Qal'at al-Bahrain (Bahrain), Danish Expedition led by P.V. Glob, excavated in 1960. [This material is kept at the Forhistorisk Museum at Moesgaard; curated by Flemming Højlund]
http://www.moesmus.dk/page.asp?sideid=421&zcs=6

* subterranean Early Dilmun cemetery preserved underneath Karranah Mound 2 (Bahrain), French Mission led by Jean-François Salles, excavated in 1986-1987.