Ancient Masterpiece: 7,700-Year-Old Figurine Unearthed at Gulf’s Oldest Pottery Site
The Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission (KPAM) has discovered a rare figurine (which mirrors statues from the Mesopotamian Ubaid culture) and evidence of local pottery production at Bahra 1. It is a prehistoric site in the Al-Subiyah desert of Northern Kuwait. Bahra 1 dates back to approximately 5500 BCE. It is one of the oldest and largest known settlements in the Arabian Peninsula.
Researchers have been banking on Bahra 1 since 2009 as a research subject. The site covers at least 180 by 50 meters (590 x 164 ft). It includes over ten multi-room buildings near a rocky hill, as per data.
The current excavations showcase Bahra 1 as an important site that helps us understand the cultural exchanges between Arabian Neolithic societies and the Ubaid culture, which spread from Mesopotamia to a vast territory, from Anatolia to the Arabian Peninsula.
Rare figurines and pottery reveal Bahra 1’s cultural significance
According to the experts, the figurine is “remarkable”. It features a crafted clay head, an elongated skull, slanting eyes, and a flat nose. They add that although researchers have discovered figurines like these in Mesopotamia, this is the first in a Gulf region.
Prof Piotr Bieliński, one of the head researchers noted in a press statement that the presence of the figurine raises “intriguing questions about its purpose and the symbolic, or possibly ritualistic, value it held for the people of this ancient community.”
Regarding the evidence of pottery production, the researchers revealed the existence of two different kinds of pottery at the site. These were Ubaid, most likely imported from Mesopotamia, and Coarse Red Ware (CRW). The latter is mostly produced locally in the Gulf area. Additionally, the Bahra 1 site also featured an unfired clay vessel. Similar findings and scientific analysis conducted under the direction of Prof. Anna Smogorzewska identifies Bahra 1 as one of the oldest known pottery sites in the Gulf.
Assistant Secretary-General for the Antiquities and Museums Sector at the NCCAL Mohammed bin Reda “described these findings as a testament to the settlement’s role in early cultural and industrial development”, as per Archaeology News.
Pottery uncovers environmental and cultural links at Bahra 1
Apart from these discoveries, local pottery production site has offered insights into the region’s environmental history too. These can be explored through archaeobotanical analysis. The reason is that chaff (small fragments of the plants) are mostly added to clay during vessel making. The press statement shared that these organic remains were embedded in the clay of Ubaid ware and CRW pottery.
This season, archaeobotany specialists Dr. Roman Hovsepyan and Prof. Aldona Mueller-Bieniek analyzed selected pottery fragments to uncover plant traces.
As per them, it could reveal details about the local flora of the mid-6th millennium BCE.
“Initial studies have identified traces of wild plants, especially reeds, in locally produced pottery, while remains of cultivated plants, such as barley and wheat, have been detected in imported Ubaid ware,” explained Dr. Hovsepyan in the statement.
KPAM’s work at Bahra 1 aims to explore links between Arabian Neolithic and Ubaid cultures. It also plans to strengthen Polish-Kuwaiti heritage cooperation. Bin Reda noted that “these discoveries at Bahra 1 illuminate the complex cultural and economic networks of the Ubaid period”. It also helps highlight the significance of early human settlements in shaping regional history, as per Reda..
Source: Interesting Engineering
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Ancient Masterpiece: 7,700-Year-Old Figurine Unearthed at Gulf’s Oldest Pottery Site/Ancient Masterpiece: 7,700-Year-Old Figurine Unearthed at Gulf’s Oldest Pottery Site