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Murwab

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Murwab
مروب
Murwab is located in Qatar
Murwab
Shown within Qatar
LocationNorthwest Qatar
Coordinates25°51′35″N 51°01′11″E / 25.859714°N 51.019597°E / 25.859714; 51.019597
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsAbbasid Period
Site notes
Excavation dates1984
2009
ArchaeologistsC. Hardy-Guilbert
Alexandrine Guérin

Murwab (Arabic: مروب) is an archaeological site in northwest Qatar. A sizable village at one point, it was occupied from the beginning of the Abbasid Period until being abandoned in the late ninth century at the start of the Qarmatian Revolution.[1] The site consists of 250 ruined houses, a fort and two mosques. Burial sites have been discovered near several of the houses.[2]

Etymology

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Deriving its name from the Arabic term "rhoub", which refers to a milk-based product formed with curds and whey, the area was so named due to rhoub being produced en masse by the shepherds to grazed their goats here.[3]

Location

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Murwab is situated in northwest Qatar; 4 km (2.5 mi) off the coastline and 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the closest city, Dukhan. It is close to the archaeological site of Umm Al Maa.[4]

Discovery and excavations

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Murwab was discovered by a Danish archaeological team headed by Geoffrey Bibby in 1959.[5][6] A French team led by C. Hardy-Guilbert excavated the site in 1984. This was followed by an archaeological team led by Alexandrine Guérin in 2009.[6]

Findings

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Wares

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Excavators discovered 6,948 potsherds at the site.[6] Most of the potsherds dated to 805–885 AD and were divided into groups of glazed wares and common wares.[7] Common wares comprised 4,697 of the sherds and glazed wares accounted for the other 2,251 sherds.[6] A study conducted by Faisal Al-Nuaimi and Alexandrine Guérin hypothesizes that the villagers were sold the wares in exchange for their pearls.[8]

Most common wares are characteristically defined by their round shapes. At least 18% of the common ceramics carried traces of attempted repair.[9] Scattered hearths containing bitumen traces found in ruined houses indicate that they were repaired on site.[10]

Al-Nuaimi and Guerin contrasted the glazed wares –varying in design and color– with those found at the archaeological site of Susa in present-day Iran. They hypothesized that a portion of the glazed wares may have been imported directly from Susa.[11] They further remarked that some of the glazed wares dating to the eighth and ninth centuries may have been derived from Basra and Samarra.[6] The study noted the absence of Chinese wares, which are commonly found in other archaeological sites in Qatar.[9]

Fort

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Murwab fort is the oldest known fort in the country and was built over the ruins of a previous fort which was destroyed by fire.[12] It is rectangular in shape and is thought to have served as a palatial residence. The structure is similar to other palatial residences dating to the Abbasid period elsewhere in the Middle East.[13] A large courtyard with doors leading to twelve different rectangular rooms is in the center of the fort. The entrance, located on the north side, is 1.4 m (4.6 ft) wide. Construction materials used for the wall were rocks and mud.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 19 of 382.
  2. ^ "Qatar's Heritage Sites". Marhaba. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ^ "GIS Portal". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b Jaidah, Ibrahim; Bourennane, Malika (2010). The History of Qatari Architecture 1800-1950. Skira. p. 34. ISBN 978-8861307933.
  5. ^ A. Ghosh (1968). "Report on the protection of cultural heritage and development of a museum" (PDF). UNESCO. p. 6. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 18 of 382.
  7. ^ Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 32 of 382.
  8. ^ Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 29 of 382.
  9. ^ a b Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 27 of 382.
  10. ^ Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 28 of 382.
  11. ^ Faisal Al-Nuaimi; Alexandrine Guérin (2010). "Murwab horizon in progress, ninth century AD, Qatar". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40: 21 of 382.
  12. ^ "History of Qatar" (PDF). Qatar Embassy in Thailand. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar. London: Stacey International. 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Settlements of Qatar". Qatar Museums. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
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