Murwab
Archaeological site in Qatar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
مروب | |
  Murwab Shown within Qatar | |
| Location | Northwest Qatar |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 25.859714°N 51.019597°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Abbasid Period |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1984 2009 |
| Archaeologists | C. Hardy-Guilbert Alexandrine Guérin |
Etymology
Location
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
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
Wares
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
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]