aae12037 (1) diiba an ancient port

Dibba: an ancient port on the Gulf of Oman in theearly Roman era

In this paper recent archaeological evidence from the port city of Dibba in the UnitedArab Emirates is presented. Finds of both ceramics and elite objects detail the exten-sive maritime trade network that connected this part of Arabia with the broader IndianOcean World.

Keywords: Dibba, Namord, amphorae, intaglio, bitumen, Roman Empire, Sharjah,Oman, Perseus, Isis, Serapis, Charax

Sabah Jasim, Eisa YousifDirectorate of Antiquities,Sharjah Government, PO Box1741, Sharjah, UAE

e-mail: [email protected];

[email protected]

Dibba is located on the east coast of the United ArabEmirates, directly overlooking the Gulf of Oman (Fig. 1).The town comprises three districts, one of which belongsto the Sultanate of Oman, another to the Emirate of Fujai-rah and the third, known formally as ‘Dibba al-Hisn’, tothe Emirate of Sharjah.

Dibba al-Hisn (Dibba) is a small port town whoseinhabitants have been reliant on the sea since antiquity.Excavations in the area are relatively recent, perhapsbecause of large-scale urban development during the twen-tieth century, which resulted in widespread—and in placesalmost total—destruction of the underlying archaeological

landscape. The chance discovery of a richly furnishedcollective tomb in the town in 2004 (Jasim 2006) led to acritical re-evaluation of Dibba’s historical and strategicsignificance and consequently to further explorationswhich unearthed a new site consisting of a small, raisedmound in close proximity to the shore (Fig. 2).

Excavation of the mound has unearthed part of alarge settlement comprised of four successive buildinglevels, the most significant of which is Level III.Although only partially excavated to date, Level III hasalready given us an invaluable insight into the periodbetween the late first century BCE and the end of thefirst century AD. The artefacts and architectural featuresyielded by this excavation, together with evidence fromthe nearby collective tomb, provide compelling evidenceof Dibba’s involvement in a global trading network dur-ing this period.

The excavationsExcavations started on 9 January 2007 in an east–west ori-ented square (14 x 14 m) on top of the central section ofthe mound (Fig. 3). The initial aim was to dig a widetrench in order to explore the layers within the mound, butdigging was subsequently expanded beyond the limits ofthe trench to reveal four successive building layers.

Stratigraphy and associated findsLEVEL IStones debris on the top of the mound was removed toreveal a series of walls belonging to a badly damaged

Fig. 1.A map of the United Arab Emirates showing the location of Dibba.

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Arab. arch. epig. 2014: 25: 50–79 (2014)Printed in Singapore. All rights reserved

structure (Fig. 4). The walls were approximately 0.6 mwide and constructed of local sea stones covered with gyp-sum plaster (Fig. 5). Regular openings serving as internaldoors were observed and rectangular or almost squarerooms seem to have been well planned. The inhabitants ofLevel I altered the layout of the underlying Level IIthrough the construction of walls that ran parallel to or

overlapped existing walls. No floors were found in Level Iand no objects belonging to this layer were encountered.

LEVEL IILevel II lies immediately below Level I and contains at itscentre a large, rectangular room flanked by smaller rooms.All walls were well constructed using stones similar to

Fig. 2.An aerial view showing the location of both the settlement (indicated by encircled red spot) and the nearby tomb (indicated by red spot).

Fig. 3.The site before excavations.

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THE ANCIENT PORT OF DIBBA

those used in Level I (Fig. 6). Floors were found at a depthof 0.9–1.1 m (Fig. 7). The floor of the large central roomyielded a variety of materials. The south-west corner con-

tained a large piece of shell and large pottery jars includingone that had been placed upside down (Fig. 8). An oval-shaped stone with a central perforation, apparently used as

Fig. 4.The upper level (Level I) at the start of excavations.

Fig. 5.The walls of Level II superimposed by the wall of Level I.

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S. JASIM AND E. YOUSIF

a sinker for fishing, was also found and traces of burningwere noted nearby. A significant quantity of glass frag-ments was found on the north-eastern side of the large cen-tral room and scattered on the floor of an adjacent room.

Other finds on the floor of Level II include ironarrowheads, an iron peg and a small ceramic incense

burner (see (Fig. 26/1). Of special importance is abronze tetradrachm depicting the head of Heracles onthe obverse and the image of Zeus seated on a throneon the reverse, almost identical to examples fromMleiha and ed-Dur (second century BCE–secondcentury AD).

Fig. 6.A plan of Level II superimposed on Level III.

Fig. 7.A general view showing the three successive Levels I–III.

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LEVEL IIILevel III lies beneath the walls of level II (Figs. 6 & 9)and contained fifty-two small rooms. In general the

rooms were small (c.2–3 x 1.5–2 m) and constructed ofmud bricks measuring c.45 x 30 x 7 cm. Of specialinterest in this level is Room 2 on the western side of

Fig. 8.Finds inside a room in Level II.

Fig. 9.Series of adjacent rooms in Level III.

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the mound, which contained a significant number of pot-tery vessels, most of which were filled with bitumen(Fig. 10). Among the vessels encountered in this room

were sizeable Mesopotamian jars and amphorae togetherwith a variety of bowls. Large pieces of shell and stonewere also found.

Fig. 10.A storage room (Room 2) in Level III, containing a large number of pottery vessels.

Fig. 11.Room 14 in Level III, littered with shells and containing a large jar filled with bitumen.

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Room 14 was littered with shells and might have been aworkshop for pearl extraction (Fig. 11), while Room 21was filled with large concentrations of glass waste, broken

glass vessels and glass ingots and seems to have been aglass workshop (Figs. 12 & 13). The floor of Room 16was covered with a layer of stones mixed with a large

Fig. 12.Concentration of broken glass, glass waste and glass ingots on the floor of Room 2 in Level III.

Fig. 13.A close-up view of the glass materials in Room 2.

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quantity of shells (Fig. 14). A large jar filled with bitumenwas found on the floor of Room 9 (Fig. 15), while Room10 contained flat pieces of bitumen bearing mat impres-

sions (Fig. 16). Two large storage jars containing bitumen,together with pieces of stone and shell, were found on thefloor of Room 15 (Fig. 17). Other vessels encountered

Fig. 14.Concentration of pebbles and shells on the floor of Room 16 in Level III.

Fig. 15.A large storage jar filled with bitumen inside Room 9 in Level III.

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include a large, long-necked amphora found in Room 12(see Fig. 36/1). A box-shaped object found in anotherroom on this level was probably used for storing smallitems.

LEVEL IVLevel IV, the earliest level, was built directly on virgin soiland contained the remains of two rooms measuring 4 x10 m (oriented north-west–south-east) and 9 x 4.5 m (ori-

Fig. 16.A layer of bitumen bearing matt impressions found in Room 10 of Level III.

Fig. 17.A large storage jar filled with bitumen inside Room 15 in Level III.

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ented north-east–south-west) in an L-shaped layout. Thewalls of each room were constructed with sea stones andexceed 1 m in width (Fig. 18).

Remnants of large storage jars, shells and stones werefound on the floor together with pieces of broken glass.The base of an oven or tanoor, together with remains ofsheep/goat, fish, crab and oyster were found below Room3, suggesting the possibility of a kitchen (Fig. 19). A verylarge ceramic storage jar was also found below the floor ofRoom 3. No other objects or artefacts belonging to LevelIV were encountered in this part of the site.

Material from Level IIIAwide variety of materials were unearthed throughout thefour excavated levels, but the majority came from LevelIII. Each room in this level contained a variety of objectsmade of a number of different materials.

PotteryCeramics included both local and imported wares. Thoseof local origin comprised coarse black and buff to orangeware, probably manufactured in the northern Emirates

(Fig. 20). The small quantity of fine- and coarse-temperedorange ware recovered probably originated in the Mleiharegion (Fig. 21). Much of the imported pottery consistedof Mesopotamian examples of orange sandy ware andcoarse, vegetal-tempered ware (Fig. 22). A variety ofalkali-glazed items such as tableware, amphora and cook-ing vessels were uncovered, as were two particularly fineglazed vessels that were found on the floors of Rooms 46and 20. The former (Figs. 23, 24/9) is a jar that is palegreen to yellow in colour and made with well-levigatedclay. It has a flat base and a pear-shaped, ridged bodytapering to a long, ridged neck with a ring rim and twolooped handles on the shoulder. The jar bears impresseddecoration consisting of a row of six small, slightly diago-nal, short impressions running between the two handlesand an impressed palmette set vertically in the middle ofthe body on one side, with two long, parallel grooves justbelow one of the handles. The body of this vessel is remi-niscent of examples from the Hellenistic occupation atNimrud (Oates & Oates 1958: pl. 26.1–3) and Qala’at al-Bahrain (Andersen 2007: figs. 413, 415, 418). The vesselfound in Room 20 is a small, open bowl with thick, out-turned sides, a ring base and a simple, flat rim (Fig. 26/9).

Fig. 18.A plan of Levels III and IV.

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Other notable pottery finds include a plain, ovalshaped juglet with a trefoil lip and a single handle(Figs. 24/1 & 25) made of well-levigated, buff claywith a buff slip and clear rotation marks on the rim andbody. Comparable examples are known at sites insouth-eastern Iran, ed-Dur (Haenrick 2012) and Nimrud(Oates & Oates 1958: pl. 26.20–21) and a closely com-parable example is on display in the ArchaeologicalMuseum of Eretria in central Greece (Diffendale 2010).Also worth highlighting among the pottery is a wide-mouthed bowl (Figs. 28/4 & 29) with a high ring baseand out-flared sides that curve inwards at the top. Thebowl is made of well-levigated, gritty buff clay andbears a buff wash adorned with carelessly paintedbrown decoration on both the interior and exterior. Theexterior decoration consists of thin, parallel verticalbands that encircle the rim and extend to the shoulderwhere they are terminated by cross-hatching. Internallythe painted decoration covers the entire vessel and con-sists of short vertical strokes around the inner rim fol-lowed by cross-hatching. The majority of the interior

surface is decorated with painted vertical and horizontallines arranged in such a way as to create triangularspaces, each of which is decorated with panels of dots.Although there is no exact parallel for this bowl, thebody and base are similar to examples from HellenisticNimrud (Oates & Oates 1958: 12, 14–16, 18, 22–25,pls. 23–24, 28). The base is almost identical to exam-ples of ‘Indian’ ware from Qeshm Island (Hojabri-Nobari et al. 2011: fig. 6) while the body and base canbe compared to glazed examples from Qala’at al-Bahrain (Andersen 2007: figs. 453–458) and Mleiha(Mouton 2008: figs. 62 and 71.11). Other examples ofpottery bearing simple painted decoration were alsofound (Fig. 28/1–3, 5–8), as was a considerable quantityof plain pottery in a wide range of shapes and withvarying handles (Figs. 24/2–8, 26/2, 10; 27). Buff warefrom Bahrain was also encountered.

PAINTED WARE/NAMORD WARE

A large collection of fine, thin-walled orange ware bear-ing black-painted decoration was found on the floors of

Fig. 19.The base of an oven and animal remains inside Room 3 in Level III.

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different rooms in Level III (Figs. 30–32). Most of thiscan be classified as Early Namord Ware, so named afterthe type site of Tom-e-Namord in Baluchistan (Stein

1937; Sajjadi 1989), which appears in the archaeologi-cal record from the late third/second century BCE tothe second century AD, and is followed by Late Nam-

Fig. 21.A selection of coarse vegetal-tempered yellow ware (vessel interior).

Fig. 20.A selection of coarse buff orange ware from south-east Arabia.

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ord Ware. Late Namord Ware has a wide geographicaldistribution throughout the Gulf region and has beenfound at Mleiha, ed-Dur, Tell Abraq, Kush, Jaziratal-Ghanam, Bahrain, Qana, Qeshm Island and TepeYahya in south-eastern Iran (Hojabri-Nobari et al. 2011:92–93; Potts 1998: figs. 2–3). A single painted sherd ofLate Namord Ware found at Dibba is likely to be intru-sive. The Early Namord Ware found at Dibba is closelycomparable to examples from ed-Dur (Haerinck et al.1993: fig. 5; Potts 1998: figs. 4–5) and Mleiha, PeriodsB (150 BCE–first century BCE) and C (first–secondcentury AD) (Mouton 2008: figs. 35; 64) and includes

three sherds which are of special interest because oftheir spiral decoration (Fig. 32/1–3). Apart from twoPeriod B sherds found at Mleiha (Mouton 2008: 15–16,fig. 35), spiral decoration has not previously been seenon Early Namord Ware. At ed-Dur the spiral motif isknown from the first century AD onwards (E. Haerinck,personal communication). The Dibba examples thereforerepresent firm evidence that spiral decoration does occurin Early Namord Ware. These three pieces are also rem-iniscent of examples of Londo Ware found in Pakistan(de Cardi 1951) and at Tepe Yahya in Iran (Lamberg-Karlovsky 1970: fig. 4).

Fig. 22.Mesopotamian orange sandy ware (vessel interior).

Fig. 23.A glazed jar bearing impressed decoration and a palmetto motif.

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INDIAN POTTERY

Both fine and coarse red slipped Indian ware was present,together with a considerable amount of other Indian pot-tery sherds with mica inclusions. Indian cooking ware(Figs. 33 & 34), believed to have originated in the Gujaratregion (Tomber, Cartwright & Gupta 2011), was also pres-ent. Indian cooking pots have also been found at Mleiha(Mouton 2013: 60) and ed-Dur (De Paepe et al. 2003: fig.4.14–18) while other examples of Indian pottery havebeen reported from the sites of Bir Ali and Khor Rori, inassociation with Roman and Parthian wares (Gupta 2007:fig. 5.2).

A single red-slipped lamp is to be added to the reper-toire of Indian wares encountered at Dibba. This kind oflamp was common between the third and fifth centuries

Fig. 24.Avariety of pottery vessels from Level III.

Fig. 25.A pottery juglet with a trefoil lip from Room 45, Level III.

Fig. 26.Avariety of pottery vessels from Level III.

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AD and, like the single Late Namord pottery sherd men-tioned above, may be intrusive (Rutten 2010). Alsounearthed were examples of Indian rouletted ware,which is believed to have been imported from the southIndian coastal site of Arikamedu. Among these finds isa fine, wheel-made, brown-slipped plate with sharply in-turned sides, decorated with a rouletted circular patternon the interior of the base (see Fig. 26/4). Although thistype of pottery is thought to have been manufacturedlocally in South India (Begley 1983; Tomber 2009) ithas been argued that the technique of rouletting was notindigenous to South Indian cultures but was insteadintroduced from the West (Begley 1983: 461). Seleucidor Roman origins have been suggested (Salles 2002;Ford et al. 2005: 911) but it has also been observed that‘the rouletting found on the Indian Rouletted Ware doesindeed betray Mediterranean, but not necessarily Romaninfluence’ (Magee 2010: 1044). The rouletted platefound from Dibba is reminiscent of Type 1 at Arikame-du (Wheeler, Ghosh & Deva 1946: fig. 12a), but mayalso be an example of terra sigillata because of itsglossy surface slip (Magee, personal communication).Moreover, the piece was found in the same level as

examples of Arretine ware and Roman amphorae. A rimfragment from the incurving, upper part of a bowl withfine greyish clay and flaky red paint (see Fig. 26/5),found in Room 29, may also be an example of Indianrouletted ware.

ROMAN WARE

Imported pottery found at Dibba includes Mediterraneanwares, among which are three fragments of Roman Camp-anian wine amphorae that may have originated in theregion of Pompeii and/or Pozzuoli in Italy. Also presentwere a few terra sigillata sherds of Italian manufactureincluding part of a small drinking cup with a shape sug-gestive of Ritterling 5 Type C (Rutten 2010). This typewas produced in Arezzo from 10 BCE to around AD 40and became very popular during the reigns of Augustusand Tiberius. It is also possible that the drinking cup fromDibba came from further south in Campania where theproduction of terra sigillata flourished between AD 10

Fig. 27.Avariety of pottery vessels and handles from Level III.

Fig. 28.Various pottery vessels from Level III.

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and 50 (Rutten 2010). Two very fine, red-varnishedRoman sherds found in Room 12 come from the ribbedupper part and rim of a small cup and the bottom of a plate(see Fig. 26/6, 7).

AMPHORAE

The earliest level (Level III) yielded a number ofamphora fragments. These include cylindrical necks,handles, body sherds and bases (Figs. 35 & 36). Of par-

ticular interest are the large jar necks (Fig. 35/1–4, 6–9),which can be classified as Dressel 2/4 (Dressel 1899;Moore 1995). To this type can be added pieces(Fig. 35/5–9) that belong to types that originated in thelate first century BCE but were common from the firstto the mid-second century AD.1 Several pieces fromdouble or bifid handles were encountered (Fig. 36/6–9).A considerable number of fragments of double handleswere reported at ed-Dur (De Paepe et al. 2003: 213–215). Of interest is part of a greenish glazed handle thatcould well belong to a Parthian vessel (Fig. 36/10). Twolarge body sherds with a buff paste and cream slip, pos-sibly belonging to a Roman amphora, were found. Onesherd is clearly engraved with the south Arabian letter‘L’ (Fig. 36/2) and South Arabian writing is discernibleon the second piece (Fig. 36/1). Also found were theupper parts of two large jars, which may be of Romanorigin (Fig. 35/5, 10). The sigillata and Roman wineamphorae are thought to have reached Dibba inRomano-Egyptian ships along with other goods fromIndia and South Arabian ports such as Qana in the Gulf(Rutten 2010).

BitumenSince the fifth millennium BCE bitumen was an importantcommodity that was widely used by the ancient populationof the Middle East for caulking ships, to waterproof theinterior of large jars and in basket linings and roof matting.A significant quantity of dried bitumen was found within anumber of large storage jars in Level III (Room 2,Figs. 10, 37; Room 15, Fig. 17; Room 39, Fig. 38; andRoom 14, Fig. 39). Bitumen was also found in Rooms 44and 45 alongside broken pottery jars.

Fig. 29.Awide-mouthed pottery bowl with a high ring base bearing painted decoration (interior and exterior).

Fig. 30.A selection of Early Namord Ware from Level III.

1 Samples of Dibba ware are currently undergoing petrographicanalysis.

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In addition to its application to the interior of vessels,bitumen was also used for external decoration on someof the large jars (see Fig. 10) and to waterproof roof mat-ting (see Fig. 16). Dibba’s proximity to the sea meansthat the use of bitumen for caulking seafaring vesselsmust also be considered. Analyses of two samples haverevealed that the bitumen in Dibba was imported fromtwo different sources (Connan 2009). Traces of oleananein Sample 1 indicate an Iranian origin, while Sample 2 isbelieved to have originated at Hit in Iraq. Moreover Sam-ple 2 was found in a Mesopotamian jar, thus ‘We have

here probably one of the most representative examples ofa cargo of bituminous mixture imported, unloaded fromthe boat and stored. Consequently we may expect somerelationship between pots and bitumen and such a situa-tion is rare, for jars with remains at the bottom may bepristine jars but also reused jars’ (J. Connan, personalcommunication).

Soft-stone vesselsLevel III yielded a dozen complete or almost completesoft-stone vessels and some thirteen fragments in both

Fig. 31.Avariety of Early Namord sherds from Level III.

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greyish and dark soft stone. A variety of body shapesand incised decoration is present (Fig. 40). Of particularinterest among the soft-stone vessels are two distinctiveIron Age examples including a complete, hole-mouthedvessel with sharp carination in the middle of the bodyand a flat, accentuated base (Fig. 40/13). The entirebody bears incised decoration consisting of two horizon-tal grooves just below the outer rim, followed by afrieze of criss-crossed lines above a broad frieze com-posed of diagonal gadroons. At the carination is afeather-shaped design below which is a set of sevenlarge triangles filled with corrugated lines that runhorizontally to create a star-shaped pattern around thebase.

The other noteworthy Iron Age vessel (Fig. 40/11) isa small, hemispherical bowl with a bevelled rim and anaccentuated flat base. The bowl bears incised decora-tion reminiscent of contemporary examples fromJebel al-Buhais (Jasim 2012: fig. 293.2). Part of a thick-walled, flat-based, compartmented jewellery box wasalso found; this Iron Age vessel bears simple incised

decoration consisting of a herringbone pattern on itsexterior (Fig. 40/14).

The rest of the soft-stone vessels and fragments aredark greyish-brown to blackish in colour and are datedto a post-Iron Age period. Also present are a numberof very well polished, deep hemispherical bowls bearingrotation marks consistent with production on a lathe.These are simply decorated with horizontal incised linesalternating with raised ridges below the rim or at themiddle of the body (Fig. 40/1–9, 16–24). Close paral-lels for these examples can be found at ed-Dur (Haer-inck 1994: fig. 9: 1–7; Zutterman 2003: fig. 2), andMleiha (Jasim 1999: fig. 7.1–4; Mouton 2008: figs. 93–94). Incised cross patterns were also encountered onother examples found at Dibba (Fig. 40/12, 15). Othersoft-stone vessels found include an out-flaring bowlwith a raised ridge across the middle of the body and aflat, broad rim (Fig. 40/3). Of particular interest is a

Fig. 32.Early Namord samples from Level III, some bearing spiral motif decora-tion.

Fig. 33.Indian pottery from Level III.

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small cylindrical cup of dark, greyish-brown stone witha very thick (2.5 cm), flat base (Fig. 40/10). Cleartraces of rotation appear on the thickest part of the basewhile multiple, parallel horizontal lines are incisedaround the body. The base of the cup has a squaregroove at its centre, which reaches a depth roughlyequal to halfway down the vessel exterior. The perfora-tion is fitted with a small bronze bar, square incross-section, which is probably a repair. This vesselresembles an example from Samad Ash-Shan (Yule &Weisgerber 1988: fig. 7.7).

Glass objectsA thick layer comprised entirely of broken glass vesselsand ingots was found in Level III, Room 2 (see Figs. 12& 13). The total absence of complete vessels or ingotssuggests that this fragmentary collection was used asresource for remelting. The ingot glass is pure and presentin a variety of distinct colours—green, pale turquoise,cobalt blue and dark blue/green. Many of the broken ingotfragments were found in situ suggesting they had shatteredwhen they fell and had not been disturbed since. The glassfrom shattered vessels, although very poorly preserved,was mainly cobalt blue/green and appeared to come fromvessels of a similar form with heavy, concave bases, slop-

ing walls and straight shoulders, slight constrictions at thebase of the neck, long straight necks and wide, out-turnedrims (Fig. 41/14). Very similar examples were found inthe nearby collective tomb (Jasim 2006). The sheeramount of glass found in Room 2 suggests that this was aglass workshop.

Most interesting among the other glass vessels foundin this level are the pillar-moulded bowls (Fig. 41/1, 3–5). Comparable examples have been found in Romancontexts throughout the Roman world and are com-monly dated to the reign of Augustus (27 BCE–AD14). The pillar-moulded bowls found at Dibba are verysimilar to examples from a collective tomb at Mleiha(Jasim 1999: fig. 20.2–3; Mouton 2008: fig. 96.1–3)and from graves at ed-Dur (Whitehouse 2000: 93) andBahrain (Andersen 2007: 25). Of special interest amongthe glass vessels found at Dibba is a hemisphericalbowl with incurving sides, concave base and asmall hole; the purpose of this perforation is unclear(Fig. 41/2).

MetalworkOf the small number of metal items found in Level III,most are made of iron and copper alloy. Among the copperalloy items is a large bowl with out-flaring sides, a bev-

Fig. 34.Indian cooking jar from Level III.

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elled rim and a high ring-base; apart from a single incisedline just below the outer rim and a similar second line justabove the base, it is undecorated (Fig. 42). Copper alloyobjects include finger rings (Fig. 43/17, 20–21, 24–25,31), bracelets (Fig. 43/22–23), bells (Fig. 43/33–34) andan unidentified object (Fig. 43/35). An iron ring (Fig. 43/19) was also found.

Iron arrowheads were either of trilobate (Fig. 43/5–6,8–9) or normal type (Fig. 43/7, 10, 11–12). Trilobateexamples are also known from the nearby tomb at Dibba(Jasim 2006: 226; fig. 55), ed-Dur (Haerinck 1994:fig. 2), Rumeilah (Boucharlat & Lombard 1985: pl. 62.9–11) and Jebel al-Buhais (Jasim 2012: fig. 95). Amongthe metal tools found were a copper alloy awl with ablunt, flattened end and a circular eye perforation(Fig. 43/13) and some wide-headed iron nails (Fig. 43/37–38, 41–43). Iron was also used to make knives(Fig. 43/32, 39) and a tool with a pointed head and a

perforated rounded end bearing a rivet for attaching to ahandle (Fig. 43/40).

Precious metal finds were limited to one gold earring(Figs. 43/27), one small gold bead (Fig. 43/29) and onesilver earring (Fig. 43/28). A small piece of lead was alsofound (Fig. 43/36).

CoinsThree copper alloy tetradrachms were found, one inLevel II and two in Level III. These are very similar tocoins found at Mleiha and ed-Dur and might indeed havebeen have minted at Mleiha using a coin mould that wasdiscovered at the site. All are debased imitations of thecoinage of Alexander the Great and show the head ofHeracles on the obverse and a seated ‘Zeus’ on thereverse (Potts 1991, 1994, 2012; Callot 2004). Fourmore badly preserved bronze coins were also found inLevel III (Fig. 43/1–4).

Fig. 35.Amphorae from Level III.

Fig. 36.Amphorae fragments bearing South Arabian letters (1–2), includingbases (3–4) and handles (6–9).

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Ivory/bone objectsA fine collection of objects made of ivory/bone was foundthroughout Level III. Of particular interest is a plaque

engraved with a standing human form over which a humanface is superimposed (Figs. 44/2, 45/1). Found in Room14, this piece is reminiscent of one from the nearby tomb

Fig. 37.A large pottery jar stuffed with bitumen from Room 2, Level III.

Fig. 38.A large pottery jar stuffed with bitumen from Room 39, Level III.

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at Dibba (Jasim 2006: fig. 40.26) and of another from ed-Dur, which has more or less identical facial features(Haenrick 2003: fig. 7). Room 4 yielded a smaller plaque,also engraved with a human image with a triangular-shaped face and a body represented by wavy lines(Figs. 44/3, 45/7). Another plaque found in Room 15 hasdotted-circle decoration on the face and a triangular-shaped top pierced by a large hole, presumably for suspen-sion (Figs. 44.1, 45.8).

Room 33 yielded a long (c.10 cm), four-faced ivorydie, square in cross-section (Figs. 44/4, 45/5). Each ofthe four faces is engraved with a variable number ofconcentric circles and grooves. Identical dice have beenfound in India (Joshi 1993: 72, pl. 34A). Further ivory/bone artefacts include the upper part of a hair or clothespin (Fig. 44/5), a bracelet (Fig. 44/8), an unidentifiedobject (Fig. 44/9), a disc-shaped, bifacial stamp sealbearing undefined decoration on both faces (Fig. 44/6)and a fragment with two longitudinal piercings on oneedge that lead to a single hole at the other edge(Fig. 44/7).

IntagliosTwo carnelian intaglios, meticulously engraved withRoman images, were found. These intaglios must havebeen originally mounted in gold, silver or bronze rings.

Fig. 39.A large storage jar filled with bitumen, and shells on the floor of Room 14, Level III.

Fig. 40.Soft-stone vessels from Level III.

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Although the oval-shaped one appears to bear theimages of Perseus and Medusa (Figs. 46, 48/1) it shouldbe noted that the depiction of these two particular myth-ological figures has only rarely been seen on intagliosfound outside the Greek and Roman worlds. To dateonly one such example is known from the site of KlongTom in southern Thailand (Lapteff 2011: fig. 13). TheKlong Tom intaglio is very similar to the one found atDibba. The second intaglio is round and is engravedwith the image of Silenus in profile. With his bald head,long flowing beard and ponytail (Figs. 47, 48/2) Silenusis the Greek god of drunkenness and the faithful com-panion of Dionysus. Depictions of Silenus on intaglioswere particularly popular in the first century AD (Hac-kens & Winkes 1983: 126). Carnelian intaglios withRoman portraits representing images of Isis and Serapiswere also found inside the nearby collective tomb atDibba (Jasim 2006: figs. 58–61), at ed-Dur (Haerinck2003: fig. 2.5–6) and at Mleiha (Haerinck & Overlaet2013: 31).

Miscellaneous findsOf special interest is a small pottery jar from Room 53(Level III). This is a coarse, greyish vessel with a flat base,globular body and slightly out-turned neck. It has twosmall, diagonally upright, vertically pierced lugs on theshoulder. The jar was found to contain twenty small irreg-ular pieces of dark stone, which may represent a child’sgame (Figs. 26/2, 49).

Fragmentary terracotta figurines were found in Room11 (Level III). Among the most interesting was onedepicting a standing figure with hands clasped to thechest (Fig. 50/1) and another representing a man astridean animal (horse/camel?) with two black painted diago-nal bands on his back, perhaps denoting clothing, and adagger/knife in the middle of his belt (Fig. 50/2). Thispiece is reminiscent of a fragment of a terracotta camel-and-rider figurine from ed-Dur (Haerinck 1996: fig. 11).An incomplete figure of a rider bearing a dagger wasfound among a number of human and animal shapedterracotta figurines at ed-Dur (Haerinck 1994: fig. 5,118; Daems 2004). Room 23 (Level III) yielded twopieces of animal-shaped figurines (Fig. 50/3–4) and

Fig. 41.Avariety of glass vessels from Level III.

Fig. 42.A bronze bowl from Room 16 in Level III.

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some terracotta trinkets (Fig. 53/11–12), including onethat is similar to an example from Tell Khazneh on Fail-aka (Salles 1986: figs. 83.365, 89.362).

Further miscellaneous finds include a number of whatare believed to be spindle whorls (Fig. 51/1–8), all ofwhich are made of soft stone and one of which is deco-rated with four dotted circles just below its flat face(Fig. 51/1). Similar objects were found at ed-Dur (Haer-inck 1994: fig. 9.9–11). A very small ceramic incenseburner (3 cm in diameter) with a flat base, hemispheri-cal body and three upright handles on the rim was also

found (see Fig. 26/1). Flat geometric pieces of shell thatwere probably used to decorate clothes or furniture werealso encountered. These include one hexagonal piecebearing two large round holes (Figs. 45/3, 52/3), andtwo triangular-shaped pieces with large central perfora-tions (Figs. 45/2, 4; 52/4–5). Also found were circularpieces of shell that had been pierced in the middle, per-haps for use as buttons (Fig. 52/7–14). Other pieces ofshell perforated at the top may be pendants (Fig. 52/1–2, 6). Also found were a number of almost round piecesof stone bearing a large hole in either the middle or the

Fig. 43.Avariety of metal artefacts from Level III.

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top. These were probably used as net sinkers or loomweights (Fig. 53/1–3, 7–8, 10, 13). An oval stone witha groove around its middle may also be a net sinker(Fig. 53/9). A small, convex, highly polished stone frag-ment was also found (Fig. 53/4).

The excavated rooms in Level III yielded a large collec-tion of beads (Fig. 54), most of which were made of car-nelian with just one small pearl present (Fig. 54/17). Theetched carnelian beads (Fig. 54/59–60, 71–76) arebelieved to have been imported from India (Aruz 2003;De Waele & Haerinck 2006). Two long, tubular beadsmade of highly polished, white stone with black veins arealso of special interest (Fig. 54/78–79) as is a tiny carne-lian pendant in the shape of a bird (Figs. 45/6, 54/20). Asmall carnelian pendant was also found (Fig. 54/61).

ConclusionThe Indian Ocean, which is the third largest of theworld’s oceans, has played a significant role in commer-cial history. Ships loaded with a variety of goods sailedbetween and from its ancient ports to the shores of theRed Sea, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Sea and theGulf of Oman, as far north as Mesopotamia. Much ofwhat we know about these ancient maritime trade routesis derived from archaeological excavations. The historicrole of Dibba, which occupies a strategic position onthe eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates directlyoverlooking the Gulf of Oman, in ancient global andregional trade networks, has only lately been revealedby the recent excavations in the area. While importedgoods found at Dibba derive from different, far-flunglocales, the series of small, adjacent rooms found inLevel III contained such significant volumes of glass,bitumen, matting and pearl as to suggest that they wereused as workshops to manufacture and store materialsfor sale and export. These finds, coupled with the strate-gic location of the town, strongly suggests the signifi-cance of the port as a major emporium in easternArabia, probably equivalent to that of ancient Oman asmentioned by Pliny the Elder (Jasim 2006).

Pottery both imported and of local origin, was foundin abundance throughout the site and in Level III in par-ticular. The presence of Early Namord type wares,together with other finds from the nearby collective tombat Dibba ‘clearly demonstrate the existence of commer-cial and economic relations between Dibba and distantregions’ (2006: 243), namely Mesopotamia, north-easternArabia, Bahrain, south-eastern Iran and India. Mesopota-mia appears to have been a major source of the potteryimported at Dibba, including the large storage jars filledwith bitumen. Trade links between Dibba and India werealso highlighted by the presence of Indian pottery, etchedcarnelian beads and ivory/bone artefacts, especially thelong ivory dice.

Amphorae, terra sigillata, glass and intaglios are clearindicators of trade connections between Dibba and variousparts of the Roman Empire. Of particular interest is thepresence of two intaglios engraved with images derivedfrom Greek mythology. As noted above, the intaglioshowing the figures of Perseus and Medusa is similar toone found in southern Thailand, further suggesting anextensive and wide-ranging network that extended fromsouth-east Asia to south-west Asia and to the provinces ofthe Roman Empire.

Fig. 44.Selected samples of ivory/bone artefacts from Level III.

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Fig. 45.Ivory/bone artefacts from Level III.

Fig. 46.Carnelian intaglio engraved with images of Peruses and Medusa fromRoom 34, Level III.

Fig. 47.Carnelian intaglio depicting a Roman portrait of Silenus from Room 34,Level III.

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Dibba also maintained close contact with the inland cityof Mleiha and with ed-Dur on the southern coast of theArabian Gulf. This is clearly attested by the closely com-parable assemblages found at these three sites. Pottery,glass, soft-stone vessels and coins certainly circulated

Fig. 48.Drawings of Figures 46 and 47.

Fig. 49.A pottery jar containing twenty small stone pieces from Room 53, Level III.

Fig. 50.Fragmentary human and animal-shaped terracotta figurines from LevelIII.

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between these sites, thus indicating the existence of traderoutes between them.

It seems that the ancient port of Dibba provided com-fortable anchorage for commodity-laden ships from theRoman world that would sail down from the kingdom ofCharax through the Arabian Gulf, cross the Strait of Hor-muz and then head eastwards to the Indian Ocean.

Fig. 51.A selection of stone spindle whorls from Room 21 (1–2), Room 28 (3–5) and Room 51 (6–8).

Fig. 52.Miscellaneous items from Level III.

Fig. 53.Avariety of stone and terracotta artefacts from Level III.

Fig. 54.A collection of various beads.

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Between the first century BCE and second century AD theport at Dibba was probably equivalent in significance tothe ports of Qana (Sedov 1992) and Khor Rori (Comfort1960) on the South Arabian coast, and the Roman ports ofQaseir al-Qadim and Benerike on the Red Sea (Peacock &Blue 2006). These, together with Indian ports such as Bar-barikon, Barygaza, Kamrej and Pattanam, were amongthose actively involved in an international maritime com-mercial network (Gupta 2007; Tomber, Cartwright & Gup-ta 2011; Shajan, Tobler & Cherian 2004; Shajan,Selvakumar & Tomber 2005; Cherian, Selvakumar & Sha-jan 2009; Abraham 2009) which traded in a wide range ofcommodities from Rome, Egypt, India, Iran and Mesopo-tamia in exchange for frankincense, the main commodityfrom southern Arabia (Periplus 32, Casson 1989) andprobably pearls from the region of Dibba. Excavations atDibba are ongoing and we anticipate the emergence of fur-

ther architectural features and associated finds within thissettlement and at other sites within the area.

AcknowledgementsI am indebted to a number of distinguished archaeologistsand renowned scholars for their professional input withthe varied pottery finds yielded from Dibba. Specialthanks and gratitude are due to Professor Ernie Haerinck,Dr Katrien Rutten and Dr Patrick Monsieur from GhentUniversity in Belgium, and to Professor Peter Magee ofBryn Mawr College, USA. Thanks also to Professor Jac-ques Connan of the Universit�e Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg,for arranging the analysis of the bitumen samples. Grati-tude is also due to Sony Rivera for preparing the plans andsections of the excavated area, and to Mr Khalil Darwishfor his illustrations of the excavated objects.

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aae12037 (1) diiba an ancient port

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