540 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1963 



ISLAMIC PERIOD 



While the expedition focused its fieldwork on the Prehistoric and 

 pre-Islamic periods, it seemed worthwhile to record and to make 

 collections at a few sites of the Islamic period, from the seventh cen- 

 tury A.D. to the present. It was hoped that such an investigation 

 would (1) provide the later material necessary to complete the devel- 

 opment of a ceramic sequence for Hadhramaut, (2) determine whether 

 a number of sites described in the literature and marked on maps 

 as "ancient" and "pre-Islamic" are as represented or are Islamic and 

 of comparatively recent date, and (3) yield evidence that could be 

 used to distinguish pre-Islamic from Islamic irrigation installations. 



A total of 27 Islamic sites were selected for study from hundreds 

 in the wadi. Three types of sites are represented among those re- 

 corded: Guard posts or fortresses, isolated villas, and townsites. 

 Guard posts abound in the main wadi and tributaries. In general, 

 they consist of one or two very small rooms, and are constructed of 

 dry laid slabs or midressed stones. They are always strategically 

 located near a camel or foot track and in a good defensive position 

 whether on the plateau, the lower cliff-forming limestone ledge, or 

 the benches and outliers. As might be expected, artifacts are scarce 

 at such sites, but enough are found to enable us to distinguish between 

 early and late Islamic posts. 



Also occupying benches and outliers are a number of large isolated 

 houses or villas. These structures presumably were built on high 

 ground to provide better defense against attack, and this, together 

 with the many remains of guard posts, suggest that much of the 

 Islamic period was characterized by strife and insecurity. Some of 

 the early villas were constructed entirely of well-dressed stone (pi. 

 8:1), others of roughly dressed stone with mud-brick superstructures. 

 Later houses are invariably built of mud brick on a foundation of 

 only a few courses of undressed stone. A house plan common in more 

 recent ruins consists of a virtually square building with a roughly 

 cylindrical tower attached to each corner. A few buildings of this 

 type are still occupied — the best example is the Sultan's palace in 

 Seiyun — but no new buildings using this plan are being constructed 

 now. This style of building is a good time marker for the Islamic 

 period ; it was not used in the early Islamic period, but was common 

 in late Islamic times, and has only recently been abandoned. 



Most Islamic towns, including present-day towns and cities, are 

 built of mud brick on the talus near the base of the cliff and sometimes 

 incorporate natural features such as benches or outliers in their built- 

 up area (pi. 8 :2) ; a few small villages and clusters of houses are 

 located on the silt in the middle of the wadi, but these quickly dis- 

 solve when flash floods fill the wadi, leaving only a course or two of 



