The Thaj Archaeological Project: results of the first three field seasons (2016-2018)
Résumé
Located 90 km inland from the Gulf coast, west of modern al-Jubail, Thaj is the largest pre-Islamic site known in East Arabia – a 40 ha fortified city with 12 ha suburbs and a huge necropolis comprising more than 1000 burial mounds. In 2016, an international archaeological project led by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), the CNRS (France) and Leiden University (Netherlands) was launched in order to conduct a comprehensive archaeological exploration of the site, including large-scale excavations and a wide array of specialized studies. Building on the preliminary results presented at the 2017 Seminar, the paper will focus on the following aspects: the layout of the site, as revealed by aerial imagery and geomagnetic mapping (with a dense street network and intra muros gardens); its chronology, which turns out to cover a much longer time span than expected (from the 3rd c. BC to the eve of Islam); its fortifications (particularly the southwestern gate and its massive defensive system); its necropolises (chronological development, tomb typology, funerary rituals); and its material culture (architecture, pottery).