This volume is the second report on the excavations at Khor Rori (ancient Sumhuram) carried out by the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO) since 1997 and directed by the editor A. Avanzini. It covers the investigations from 2000 to the first campaign of 2004 and a geo-archaeological survey in February 2006 additionally to other reports such as on landscape reconstruction.
Commonly identified as the port of Moscha Limén described by the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Khor Rori represents one of the most important sites related to the Indian Ocean trade and is a UNESCO world heritage site. First excavations by an American team in the fifties led to the affirmation of a Roman foundation, a forward trading post in relation to the Roman frankincense trade linked to the port of Qana. IMTO resumed excavations to get a better understanding of the site and its periphery as well as an unbiased verification of the city's foundation phase; a preliminary assessment was published in 2005 (A. Avanzini and A. V. Sedov, ‘The stratigraphy of Sumhuram: new evidence’, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 35, 11–17).
This volume confirms that the site was founded much earlier than previously thought and took part in the ‘formative years’ (Avanzini) of the maritime trade networks of the Indian Ocean. The site appears then to have been abandoned in the fifth century a.d. as the port silted up. A resumption of trade at a different location is evidenced at least from the tenth century onwards.
The book starts with reports on different excavation areas. Area A is described by V. Buffa and A. V. Sedov. In three separate articles Sedov describes the excavations at Area 13, at Area B, and at Area F, where an intra muros temple was discovered. Each article is compiled in the order of occupational phases and describes the excavated structures. Corresponding small finds are listed according to their archaeological context with reference to their catalogue numbers in another chapter. An illustrated but uncommented catalogue of pottery is attached to each part. Detailed plans, axonometric views of reconstruction for some structures and section plans allow an understanding of the stratigraphical situation. A fold-out near the back cover contains a general plan.
A small excavation had investigated isolated ruins on the east bank of the wadi. Long considered as unrelated to Sumhuram, the remains proved to be an extra muros temple (A. Pavan/Sedov). A detailed discussion explains the excavated structures and some of the finds. The temple is different to the one in the city but a chronological development of religious architecture of the Hadramawt is not yet known. The style is familiar to the region although lacking the typical monumental entrance. It is assumed that the temple belongs to the early occupational phase of the Khor Rori settlement. The next article classifies the coins excavated in 2001–2004, a catalogue with photos is attached and lists of weights and provenances (Sedov). Besides two Eastern Arabian coins, they belong to coinage of the kingdoms of Hadramawt and Himyar. The range of dating from the second century b.c. to the third–fourth century a.d. depends largely on archaeological results from various sites in Arabia: a rather long circulation is assigned to most of them.
The small finds are comprehensively discussed in a long chapter; they are presented in separate categories such as ‘Stone objects’ (A. Lombardini); ‘Soft-stone vessels’ (Buffa); ‘Metal objects’ (Pavan); and ‘Shell, bone and ivory objects’, ‘Glass objects’ and ‘Clay objects’ by Lombardini. A catalogue with drawings or photos is attached to each. Food patterns, methods of slaughtering, fishing and hunting are described in ‘Terrestrial fauna and marine produce’, with comparison to the settlement and the temple (G. Carenti/B. Wilkens).
‘Archaeopalynology at Sumhuram’ (M. Lippi/R. Becattini/T. Gonnelli) shows that the settlement was founded near an open estuary which had silted up (as it is today) already in ancient times. The samples have been taken from the city area only. ‘Patterns of land use and settlements in the surroundings of Sumhuram’ presents the results of a geo-archaeological survey carried out in February 2006 (M. Cramaschi/A. Perego). Besides possible prehistoric structures, traces of medieval activity have been found. The article provides detailed maps and lists on the findings with some photos. Avanzini's ‘Notes for a history of Sumhuram and a new inscription of Yashhur–il’ explores the difficulties that underlie the interpretation of the archaeological evidence.
Rougelle's chapter, ‘A medieval trade entrepôt at Khor Rori? The study of the Islamic ceramics from Hamr al-Sharqiya’ is very important for the question of continuity, offering a short introduction to the archaeological contexts of a fortress opposite to Khor Rori, including a detailed commentary on the pottery with catalogue and drawings. As a whole, this suggests that Khor Rori resumed maritime trade at least in the tenth century a.d. The volume is completed by a chapter on ‘Scientific surveys’ consisting of short articles. They consider the analysis of frankincense and resinous materials and of mortars used to coat the masonry structures and outline investigations on the constructional technique of a mud-brick structure in Sumhuram. Two articles deal with a survey on recent vegetation. At the end follow contributions on a survey on the prehistory of Dhofar and on a project to preserve and restore the frankincense tree. Radiocarbon dates and a list on the stratigraphical features and abbreviations are given in two appendices.
The volume presents manifold information for understanding the ancient history of Khor Rori. The only omission is of a descriptive catalogue of the pottery from the main excavation. For instance, it needs a lot of expert knowledge to discover that two sherds of Indian Black-and-Red ware have apparently been found in strata of the first occupational phase of Area A. Yet Avanzini writes in her foreword, although some studies are preliminary, the ‘first and foremost’ aim was to provide ‘knowledge about the materials in order to make it possible not only for Italian scholars but other scholars too to study them in the future’. Overall, the necessary information of actual archaeological context can be extracted from the well-organized catalogues and stratigraphical descriptions, though the book is voluminous: the layout is rather unwieldy, especially given the intent to provide a quick but preliminary compilation of basic results and finds catalogue.
This volume is essential for all scholars researching on the maritime network within the Indian Ocean. Connected to its eastern regions as the main source of spices, this network is linked to the economic area of the Mediterranean Sea and therefore of broader interest to classicists and historians. The excavations at Khor Rori are an important means to a better understanding of time ranges and inter-relations of this early maritime globalization, extending as they do well-beyond the Roman period, and it is unfortunate that the high price is likely to deter libraries from acquiring the volume.
