Trilith Stone Monuments of South-Eastern Arabia: assessment in space, time and cultural context

0557380 - ÚJF 2023 RIV IT eng D - Dizertace
Garba, Roman
Trilith Stone Monuments of South-Eastern Arabia: assessment in space, time and cultural context.
Ústav jaderné fyziky AV ČR. Obhájeno: Naples. 18. 5. 2021. - Naples: University of Naples, 2021. 326 s.
Grant CEP: GA MŠMT EF16_019/0000728
Institucionální podpora: RVO:61389005
Klíčová slova: triliths * south-eastern Arabia * Oman * radiocarbon dating * Iron Age
Obor OECD: Archaeology

Triliths are stone monuments distributed in coastal flatlands and piedmonts of southeastern Arabia, spreading from Ḥaḍramawt in Yemen eastwards to Raʾs al-Ḥadd in Oman. Three flat stones standing on a low stone platform form a pyramid complemented by rows of parallelly arranged square-shaped boulders and large hearths. Trilith stone structures mark a space—a space where rituals, still little understood, were performed. The lack of epigraphical sources and a material record within the monuments themselves challenge us to conceptualise a spiritual meaning that could explain their origin. This foregoing study investigates trilith monuments over space and time with the goal to understand more about the population who built and used them. In the years 2018-2020, the author collected research data in the four archaeological expeditions of the TSMO (Trilith Stone Monuments of Oman) research project. The expedition sampled trilith hearths for C-14 dating to re-evaluate the trilith chronology. The new radiocarbon dataset of thirty C-14 dates revises the chronology in much greater detail than previously possible. A major find was the existence of ‘two-phased’ trilith sites where the radiocarbon dates raised the earliest use of the triliths to the late 5th century BCE of the Early Iron Age/Iron Age A period. The revised range of trilith use span from 410 BCE to 158 CE (2), 200 years earlier than previously anticipated. A combination of author’s satellite remote sensing and external data sources yield the most comprehensive dataset of trilith monuments yet, counting 921 trilith sites of 3880 trilith clusters—more than fourteen-times any previously recorded list. It shows an extended area of trilith distribution with four trilith density hotspots: one in eastern Yemen (al-Mahra), two in southern Oman (Mudday, Wādī Dhahban) and another in south-central Oman (Duqm). The results of the spatiotemporal analyses showed the use of the trilith monuments in southern and south-central Oman in the 5th to 2nd century BCE, followed by the expansion to central and eastern Oman in the 1st century BCE, reaching the largest area occupied by the population using triliths. In the 1st and 2nd century CE, a pull back to south-central and then southern Oman was identified. The 14425 measured values (distance, size, orientation) enabled statistical analyses of relationships between trilith monuments and natural and cultural features suggesting preferences of the trilith builders. The results reveal an increased propensity on trails (mobility) and sources of water. The statistical analyses of the relationship between trilith monuments and funerary architecture suggest a propensity to a combination of predominant ancestor cult practice and occasional funerary rituals. The tentative interpretation of triliths consists of the three main interpretation attributes - mobility, water, and ancestor cult. The observations of typological variations of the trilith monuments in Oman show a trajectory of architectural change in the construction of the trilith platforms, from the more robust in the south-west to a subtle in the north-east. The interesting typological anomalies, such as the ‘sacred hill’ or the cap stone resembling a frankincense burner, are highlighted. The lack of material culture or written records associated with trilith monuments left us no other resource than to focus on where the trilith monuments are located and when they were used. To be able to further interpret their function, we must understand the relationships between the pastoral/nomadic/semi-nomadic communities and the landscape elements (natural and cultural). Therefore, the study of the Early and Late Iron Age, trilith-rich cultural landscape in Nafūn (north of Duqm) was initiated. The first investigations showed engagement in exchange with inland settlements in central Oman and a possible long-distance trade network with neighbouring regions. The extensive dissemination of triliths formed an integral part of this research. During the first TSMO expedition, the team excavated the endangered trilith monument in Duqm and relocated it to the National Museum in Muscat for the permanent exhibit. Apart from being an important source of archaeological data, this rescue operation, widely covered in the press, raised awareness on triliths among the public in Oman. This research provided a secure scientific footing on trilith monuments - a difficult-tointerpret, intriguing witness of the lifeways of Iron Age communities in southern and south-eastern Arabia.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0331420