Halas

That's it for us this season.  I haven't been able to post anything because we've been trying to wrap everything up.  Most people don't realize that as much work goes into closing a dig as it does opening it.

We have to decide where & when to, literally, stop digging.  The where & when matter for many reasons: What is going to be left exposed? Where will we start up next season? How long can we keep digging and still complete all the mapping & photography that needs to be done?We also need to stop in time for the lab to process the artifacts and get them all packed away for storage.  Time is needed to write up various reports on artifacts & the site in general.  We also had to pack up all the supplies we've used (inside & out.)  A lot goes into the last few days.

Murphy's Law was at play, we found the most awesome stuff on the last two days.  I've included some various photos of where we ended and what we found.  Really cool stuff.  We think we are down to about 1500-1650 give or take.

I hope to do one more wrap up blog on Sunday, from Muscat, but for today, goodbye Salalah!  Enjoy the photos. ;-)

If you look at the first blog pictures you can see how much dirt we moved!

Another one to show how deep the units got.

In the last week several stairs were found, next year we'll have to see where they go.

Also on the next to last day we found some really big bones... no not dinosaur... probably camel.

That is sort of a basin, it was also found the day before we stopped digging.

Top view of basin.

Big shout out to our workers (& Ahmed) we couldn't have done it without them!

A glass jar base, a clay stopper, a coin & a bone that might have been worked.

The top half of a tea pot.

A metal blade, possible a knife or sword piece.

P.S. In case you don't speak Arabic, halas means stop.

P.P.S. We now believe in the Khareef.  It rains almost every morning and it's getting cooler in the evenings.  They say in a month it will be nice and in 2 months it will be paradise.  I say we do a winter season so we can check it out! ;-)

Back to the Sand--literally!

As you know, if you've been following along, Krista & I were here long ago to dig in a place called Shisur.  We were supposedly looking for the lost city of Ubar which is mentioned in the Koran.  Whether we found that specific city or not is debatable but we did indeed find a city.

On Friday, we all trekked back to the lost city to see what it looks like now.  Krista got to see it in October when she visited in preparation for us coming this season but, I haven't been there since 1993. We intentionally left in the afternoon so that we could be in the desert for sunset, but more on that later.

Krista, Kristy, Lamya, Sarah, Anastasia, Brian, and our trusty liaison, leader, friend & tour guide, Ganem, all set out for the two hour journey.  If you go back and look at the map from a previous blog you will see that Shisur is North of Salalah.  What the map doesn't tell you is that you have to go through the mountains, then a scruffy low desert, then into a serious desert to get there.  It's a really cool journey geographically & temperature wise.

The first thing I noticed on the way back is the shiny new four lane highway.  It was barely two lane when we were traveling it, way back when, & pretty scary in some places since there wasn't anything like guard rails, etc.  Once you get over the mountain you head to a city called Thumrait, which is pretty much an air force base.  That place is huge and unrecognizable now (at least to me.)  After that it used to be a dirt road to Shisur, now it's paved all the way--weird.

Once you get close to Shisur, we are talking major desert here, it was 118 degrees, but it's a dry heat. ;-) They have decided to grow crops in the desert around Shisur using irrigation systems.  There are patches of green all along the way--their used to be patches of nothing but sand.  At first I was like this is totally ridiculous why would anyone want to grow crops in a desert---then I remembered I live in Arizona...

The town of Shisur is totally different, it used to only have a few buildings now there are several houses and the site has it's own entrance.  Growth & expansion has come to Shisur for sure.  It was really fun to walk around the site, it some ways it's exactly the same as when we left.  Here are a few before and after photos.  I happened to have some of the old photos with me so you can see the differences.

When we left Shisur in 1993 this is how it looked.

Not exactly the same shot, there are more modern buildings around now so I  couldn't get the same shot but you get the idea.  Also, a major change, they plastered/concreted over the drop off to prevent more rock from falling.

This is Bayheet, he was the sort of Mayor of the town then. (That's Juris Zarins behind him.)

As we were leaving a man walked up, I recognized him right away, yes this is Bayheet!

I took this photo as soon as I finished excavating, way back when.

A slightly different angle but still there!

This is Krista just starting to excavate a tower.  (OMG she's so young & look at those jeans, nice!)

Again, slightly different angle, but this is how the tower (& Krista) turned out. ;-)

This is a plastered well.  A couple of the guys and I worked at the very edge of the drop off.  (The site caved in log ago due to the fact that it sat over a water reservoir and when they used the water the cavern couldn't support itself and collapsed.)

It really doesn't look any worse for wear, impressive.

When we were leaving, in 1993, they were just starting to put up a fence to protect the site.  Now there are informational signs as well.

It's totally different yet totally the same.  I'm really glad we went to see it & I'm even more happy they are doing a nice job of preserving it.

After Shisur we headed out to the Rub al Khali (see previous blog) to watch the sunset over the dunes.  This is one of those amazing places that once you see it you want to go back again and again.  According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, the Rub al Khali is the largest desert in the world--I don't know if that is actually true or not but it is very impressive and awe-inspiring.  Here are some photos.

Krista & Ganem waiting for sunset.

At the end of the day, as we were all heading down the dune.
The little white speck is Ganem & the darker speck is Lamya.

An incredibly impressive place, definitely should be on your must see list.

Where in the World

So maybe I should have started with this but I have my reasons for just bringing it up now.  For those of you who haven't googled it, Oman is in Southern Arabia.  It sits on the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea (which quickly turns into the Indian Ocean.)

If you can tell on the map, there is a tiny bit up there in the Persian Gulf that is also Oman, there is a whole history lesson on that but that is for another day.

You can also see Muscat, the capital, and if you look at the bottom of the map you will see Salalah.  That's where we are now.  If you follow the red road north you will run into Ash Shisar.  Krista & I's first time in Oman was spent there.

Geographically this country is very diverse.  Obviously, there is a lot of ocean & therefore beaches & sand, but there are also deserts, mountains, trees, and a variety of other things.

As you can guess Oman is big in sea trading, they are snuggled in the middle of Persia, India, & Africa.  This makes them a great stopping off point for all those people.  There are also trade routes across the land going north and other sea routes as far China and the Mediterranean.  The biggest ports today are pretty close to where the ancient ports where--if it isn't broken don't fix it.

A few pictures of some of the diversity of the landscape:

This is Mabruk in the Rub al Khali (The Great Empty Quarter) that separates Oman & Saudi Arabia.  You can see it on the map above.  This is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen.  HUGE sand dunes for as far as you can see.  That little dot over his shoulder is a Land Rover, to give you an idea of how high we were.

This is a Dhow, a traditional boat used here.  It was late afternoon but quite misty & foggy.  This was taken in Mirbat (also on the map above.)

This is a common scene; camels wondering about.  There are even camel crossing signs (like watch for deer at home.) This was also taken at Mirbat but on the inland side.

And then there is the misty, green areas.  This too is north of Mirbat, but very north.  We drove up a jebal (mountain) and rain into the clouds.  It's green and lush and full of really cool trees & plants.  We accidentally found a little park here and wandered around for a couple hours looking at all the green stuff. ;-)

Another shot of the same park with Brian standing in front of a weird, but cool, group of trees.

As you can guess, based on the variety of the landscape there is also a variety of temperatures.  The jebal is moderate and can get very chilly & the Rub al Khali is crazy hot & dry.

Here in Salalah (and all the southern coasts) we are experiencing what is called the Khareef.  It is the monsoon that hits Southern Oman, Yemen, & the coast of Africa.  Salalah depends on the Khareef for water and coolness.  (Although I haven't actually felt the cool part yet.)  The Khareef goes from about June to September and it even has its own festival in Salalah.  Tourists wait until the end of it and flock to Salalah to enjoy the cool temperatures and the beauty of the green areas.

When we arrived in late May we asked the locals when the Khareef usually starts and we got a variety of answers.  We were told that it is June 21st every year.  We were told that the newspaper would tell us.  We were told that you would know because you will feel it.  And, my favorite, we were told by an older guy that when you see seven rows of waves it will have started.  We started counting everyday, faithfully but the most we've seen is six... does that mean it's still not really here?

This is from the front of our house.  It was actually pretty calm yesterday.  We've seen it a lot worse.  There has been absolutely no swimming since we got here, the undertow is crazy scary.  Just getting your feet wet in some places is taking your life in your own hands.

I'm still not sure about the exact date but I am sure it's here.  It is about 80-90 degrees and 80% humidity.  It is foggy & misty every morning and afternoon.  If you've ever been to the California coast and seen the morning sea mist (before the sun burns it off) it's kinda like that, but thicker and it lasts longer.  Now I know those of you from the mid-west are thinking, big deal, we have that every summer.  True (I'm from MO) but this is different I tell you.  It's MORE sticky, MORE wet, MORE different.

Here are a few photos that don't due justice to what I'm trying to explain:

This is about 630 AM over the site, the sun is trying to break through but it will take hours before that happens.

Here is a shot out the front door at 700 AM.  I think it's getting worse.

Another interesting thing is due to the fact that its dryer the rest of the year then gets crazy humid things warp and corrode like crazy.  We couldn't get out of front door for a week because the wood expanded and warped itself shut.  It had to be pried open and shaved down so that we can use it.  Now the question is, what happens when the humidity goes down? ;-)

There are already gaps around the edges, in a couple months, when the humidity goes down, I'm guessing you'll be able to use it like a window. ;-)

Ironically, the backdoor is warped open.  It won't close on it's own so if you aren't paying attention it stands open... no one pays attention and it looks like this most of the time.

It wouldn't be a big deal but it lets in mosquito's and the flies from hell.  Every time I see it open I hear my dad's voice in my head... "Where you born in a barn? Shut the door!"  I've started telling it to everyone else, I'm pretty sure they are annoyed. ;-)

They say that at the end of the Khareef and the beginning of the tourist season parts of Salalah will look like this:

I haven't seen this yet, I stole this photo from the interwebs.

We hope to add a short dig season in December or January some day so we can come and experience the cool, calm, green Salalah.  As it is, we are leaving just when things get nice--or so they tell us.

Progress

Things are moving along here at al Baleed.   One thing you may not realize is that we are currently digging in a relatively small area.  There are only 4 of us to supervise workers at any time and most of them were untrained when they started.  The idea was to dig in a backwards L shape to see what we have and go from there.  Well, the L has turned into a T.  Once we started clearing the areas it became obvious that what we needed to know more about was to the south and not to the north.

This is not 100% accurate (don't tell Krista) but you get the idea.  The green was our original idea, we've decide not to do the top and instead go towards the blue.  There is a ton of architecture here and sometimes that directs you more than anything else.  Sometimes you just want to figure out what you are looking at and the only way to do that is to expand certain areas.  In layman's terms its a bunch of rocks, to an archaeologist it's walls, rooms, doorways, etc. and we want to see where they all go.

Here is a photo of what the site looked like at the beginning of the season.

On one hand it is amazing how much dirt can be moved in a few weeks.  On the other hand it is amazing how long it takes to move the dirt. ;-)  We don't just shovel away until we find something good.  Instead each Locus (see previous blogs) is recorded by photo, by hand drawn map, by field notes, and a couple more places.  Also elevations are taken (actual mathematical data using rulers & plumb bobs and such) at various points depending on what is being found.  We need to be able to reconstruct what we destroy and elevations allow us to sort of put it back together later. 

We also record features.  Features are something that will inevitably be destroyed by digging it up.  Think of it this way.  When you build a fire outside you make a pit.  Maybe you surround the area with rocks then build the fire inside.  100 years later, archaeologists come along and see a ring of stones and an ashy deposit inside.  We are pretty quick, so we realize you made a fire here long ago.  Now any bones of critters you ate we can collect in a bag.  We can also collect the stones you used to make the ring.  But what do we do about the ash pit?  The whole reason we know it's an ash pit is because of the color of the soil and how it relates to everything else.  We obviously can't put the soil in a bag so we call this a feature.  A special notation that allows us to record it (again by photo, drawings, etc.) but then move on.  It will never be an ash pit again, once we dig through it, so we have to be very accurate when we initially find it and record it.  Another obvious feature is a wall.  In this case we don't want to destroy it, it gives us valuable data by leaving it alone.  We also need to know where it goes and what it connects to & how deep it is.  Not to mention the fact that some of them are huge and therefore it would be hard work to take it all down.  Each wall gets a feature number so that when you are at home or in the lab you can visualize where the walls are & even where the ash pit was.

Walls that are features and stones that have fallen from the walls.

Here is the progress we've made so far.  This is a view from the mound above Lamya in the first photo. It's hard to see how deep this is but Krista can stand at between those two walls and from the side we don't even know she's there. ;-)  Ok, she is only about 5'3" but still, impressive.

I always tell my students that you can be an archaeologist even if you don't actually like digging in the dirt.  There are so many other things that need to be done that practically every career you can think of can be tied to archaeology in some way.  Cartography, chemistry, accounting, grant writing, even video game designers are of use to archaeologists.  I bet you can't come up with a career that I can't link back to use in archaeology.  That is one of the things that makes this field so cool, you aren't limited by what you do, instead, whatever you are good at can be tied back (or at least helpful) to archaeology.

Speaking of being helpful, for those of you who don't know we are trying to raise funds for some items here on the dig.  Things like computer software, lab supplies, additional iPads, etc.  If you haven't seen our Indiegogo campaign yet take a look.  If you have already contributed, we really appreciate it but... have you seen the new donation level, Frankincense Trader?  It's about the coolest thing ever.  Check it out here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/al-baleed-let-s-save-the-land-of-frankincense/x/3601610

Things that make you go hmmm

Some amazing things are coming to surface here in al Baleed.  Whenever you tell someone you're an archaeologist the first thing they ask is "What is the coolest thing you've ever found?"  What they don't know is that is a loaded question.  What WE think is the coolest and what THEY think is the coolest may not even be close to each other.  In an archaeologist's lifetime the likelihood of finding something gold, or even monetarily valuable, is slim to nil.  Most of those things were never lost or were stolen long ago, or have alraedy been put in a museum somewhere.

BUT we do find things that are cool.  Cool to the site, cool to science, cool because they are weird, cool because they don't belong, cool because there are so many of them... etc, etc, etc.

We also find things that we aren't 100% sure what they are.  Some of those things are too dirty, too stained, to broken to be able to tell.  Some things are from objects that we don't get very often or that we weren't expecting to find so when you see them you go" hmmm what is that again?"  or "hmmm why is that here?"  or even "hmmm that's really pretty."

Base of a green glass jar.  We have found several of these.

Here are some cool things we've found and some things that make you go hmmm.

Somebody's little teeth.

The shell in the middle is a terebralia.  They are found in mangrove 's -- I don't know if you've been to Oman lately but here in Salalah there aren't any mangroves anymore. .  We have found many of these.

This little guy is cuttlefish--not sure about the dots...

Some coins, found nearish the top but still cool.

Glass bracelet, one of many.  Either one girl lost all of them or several girls lost one each. ;-)

Last but not least, this appears to be eggshell with the number  9 on it.  (Arabic 9 & American 9 are the same FYI.) The other object appears to be a bead of some kind.... hmmm