Thesis Chapters by Shadi SHABO
Papers by Shadi SHABO
PLOS ONE, 2024
Recent exploration of the Khaybar oasis by the Khaybar Longue Duré e Archaeological Project (AFAL... more Recent exploration of the Khaybar oasis by the Khaybar Longue Duré e Archaeological Project (AFALULA-RCU-CNRS) has led to the discovery of an exceptional Bronze Age fortified site called al-Natah. For the first time in Northwestern Arabia, the characteristics of a third/ second-millennium-BCE settlement can be assessed over a large area. Preliminary archaeological survey and soundings have revealed a fortified 2.6-hectares town built around 2400-2000 BCE which lasted until at least 1500 BCE and possibly 1300 BCE−but with possible interruptions−, functionally subdivided into a residential area, a probable decision-making zone and a necropolis. The nucleated dwellings were constructed following a standard plan and were connected by small streets. By comparison with neighboring oasis centers, we suggest that Northwestern Arabia during the Bronze Age−largely dominated by pastoral nomadic groups and already integrated into long-distance trade networks−was dotted with interconnected monumental walled oases centered around small fortified towns. And by comparison with the contemporary situation in the Southern Levant, we also envisage that the archaeological record bears witness to a 'low urbanization' (or 'slow urbanism'), indigenous to North Arabia, evidencing weak but increasing social complexity through the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.
IASA Seminar for Arabian Studies, Paris, 27th-29th June, 2024
This poster presents the results of the excavations of an urban district in ancient Dadan, in the... more This poster presents the results of the excavations of an urban district in ancient Dadan, in the al-ʿUlā valley (north-west Arabia), conducted by the team of the Dadan Archaeological Project (CNRS/RCU/ AFALULA) between 2020 and 2023. The excavation data were processed jointly with the ECOSeed archaeobotanical project. This multidisciplinary approach provides critical new insights into the development of one of the major ancient northwest Arabian oases. The excavations revealed the earliest safely dated domestic architectural remains in the oasis. The results also enable a reassessment of the earlier archaeological evidence, suggesting a first peak in the urban development of the oasis during the Bronze Age. This excavation then revealed a virtually continuous urban occupation through the Iron Age until the early 1st millennium AD, in particular with periods of reorganization of the district between the 8th and 5th centuries BC, and again between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Many evolutions in the material culture and lifestyle of the population can also be observed over more than 2,500 years of occupation, such as changes in the diet, agricultural practices, pottery production, and macro-lithic technology. (abstract: Fabien Lesguer)
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2024
The multidisciplinary investigation carried out between 2020 and 2023 by the Khaybar Longue Durée... more The multidisciplinary investigation carried out between 2020 and 2023 by the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project (CNRS-RCU-AFALULA) demonstrates that the Khaybar Oasis was entirely enclosed by a rampart in pre-Islamic times, like several other large regional walled oases in north-western Arabia (Tayma, Qurayyah, Hait, etc.). The cross-referencing of survey and remote sensing data, architectural examinations and the dating of stratified contexts have revealed a rampart initially some 14.5 km long, generally between 1.70 m and 2.40 m thick, reinforced by 180 bastions. Preserved today over just under half of the original route (41 %, 5.9 km and 74 bastions), this rampart dates back to the Bronze Age, between 2250 and 1950 BCE, and had never been detected before due to the profound reworking of the local desert landscape over time. This crucial discovery confirms the rise of a walled oasis complex in northern Arabia during the Bronze Age, a trend that proved to be central to the creation of indigenous social and political complexity.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022
Levant, 2020
The final phase of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) is well known from textual sources, through the docu... more The final phase of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) is well known from textual sources, through the documentation from Ugarit especially, and more recently through the discoveries from many sites in Western Syria, such as Tell Kazel, Tell Afis and Alalakh in the Amuq. Conversely, the evidence from the region of Homs, including Qatna and its surroundings is relatively poorly known. Recent archaeological investigations at Qatna have provided new data concerning the LBA occupation, particularly with regard to architecture and ceramic production. The areas excavated by the Syrian team, the ‘Coupole de Loth’ and Area T, are among the most important at Qatna for this period and show all the features characterizing the LBA II, from its emergence (1400 BC) to the destruction of the city by Suppiluliuma I around 1340 BC. The substantial amount of stratified material discovered there has been the subject of detailed research and allows us to propose a new chronology for the last phase of the LBA in Qatna and the surrounding region. This paper presents initial results of the typological and petrographic analyses conducted on the previously unpublished ceramic assemblage discovered at the ‘Coupole de Loth’ and Area T. As a result we can follow closely the evolution of the various stages of development of the Late Bronze Age ceramics and shed light on the typological and compositional features of LBA ceramic production.
Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2018
The chronology of the Late Bronze Age (second half of the 2nd millennium BC), a key period charac... more The chronology of the Late Bronze Age (second half of the 2nd millennium BC), a key period characterised by a flourishing development of urban civilisation, is well known in western Syria, especially on the coast at Ugarit. However, the Late Bronze Age chronology in inner Syria and in particular in the middle Orontes valley still needs to be clarified. Recent excavations and archaeological surveys conducted at the site of Qatna and its surroundings have revealed new challenging data inducing a review of the Late Bronze Age chronology. This paper presents preliminary results of my PhD research on new ceramic findings from the Late Bronze Age excavations carried out in different operations by the Syrian team at Qatna from 2005 to 2010. An innovative approach is suggested that will allow the revision of chronological issues by establishing a new baseline reference for the stratigraphic sequences from Qatna through the examination of ceramic material. This examination based on traditional pottery studies is enhanced by petrographic analyses of ceramic sherds from Qatna and is accompanied by a comparative study of other Late Bronze Age sites in the Orontes valley region.
in A. Otto, M. Herles et K. Kaniuth, Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Field Reports, 2020
Geoarchaeological fieldwork carried out by the mission “Arid Margins of Northern Syria” has shed... more Geoarchaeological fieldwork carried out by the mission “Arid Margins of Northern Syria” has shed new light on our understanding of the importance of the steppe area for all periods in the history of Syria and the Middle East. The largely unpublished data concerning the Middle Bronze Age period, supplemented by the satellite imagery, provides evidence for a hierarchized fortified network, connected by a light signal communication system. Our findings make it possible to reinterpret the results of the work on the neighboring regions and sites and to consider the whole from a broader and systemic point of view.
Paleorient, 2017
Paléorient REVUE PLURIDISCIPLINAIRE DE PRÉHISTOIRE ET PROTOHISTOIRE DE L'ASIE DU SUD-OUEST ET DE ... more Paléorient REVUE PLURIDISCIPLINAIRE DE PRÉHISTOIRE ET PROTOHISTOIRE DE L'ASIE DU SUD-OUEST ET DE L'ASIE CENTRALE PLURIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF PREHISTORY AND PROTOHISTORY OF SOUTHWESTERN AND CENTRAL ASIA
nb 43.2, 2017, p. 115-163
23rd International Conference on Pattern Recognition, 2016
A workflow is proposed for Cultural Heritage applications in which the fusion of 3D and 2D visual... more A workflow is proposed for Cultural Heritage applications in which the fusion of 3D and 2D visual data is required. Using data acquired by cheap, standard devices, like a 3D scanner having a low quality 2D camera in it, and a high resolution DSLR camera, one can produce high quality color calibrated 3D model for documenting purpose. The proposed processing workflow combines a novel region based calibration method with an ICP alignment used for refining the results. It works on 3D data, that do not necessarily contain intensity information in them, and 2D images of a calibrated camera. These can be acquired with commercial 3D scanners and color cameras without any special constraint. In contrast with the typical solutions, the proposed method is not using any calibration patterns or markers. The efficiency and robustness of the proposed calibration method has been confirmed on both synthetic and real data.
Qatna Studien Supplementa 2, 2015
Reports by Shadi SHABO
The Dadan Archaeological Project (DAP) is a five-year program launched in April 2019 to carry out... more The Dadan Archaeological Project (DAP) is a five-year program launched in April 2019 to carry out a comprehensive archaeological investigation of the heritage site of Dadan, build local capacities in the field of archaeology and heritage, raise awareness about the site among the local population, the global public, and the scientific community, and support the site’s development. The project is carried out by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée) on behalf of the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). It is codirected by Dr Jérôme Rohmer (CNRS) and Dr Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani (RCU).
by Fabien Lesguer, Bigot-Démereau Louise, Paul Cervantes, Chloé Girardi, Brahim M'Barek, Julie Monchamp, Ali Othman, Sasha Peignot, Alexia Rosak, Irene Rossi, Shadi SHABO, and Francelin Tourtet
Conference Presentations by Shadi SHABO
Seminar for Arabian Studies 55, Aug 2022, Berlin, Germany., 2022
Recent archaeological investigations in Khaybar oasis in northwestern Saudi Arabia, carried out i... more Recent archaeological investigations in Khaybar oasis in northwestern Saudi Arabia, carried out in the framework of the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project (Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA), French National Center for Scientific Research) have revealed a considerable amount of pre-Islamic ceramics during the 2020-2021 surveys. This note aims to present the preliminary results of the pottery study, in particular the technological aspects (macrofabrics, fashioning methods), in order to provide a first chronological picture of human activities in Khaybar from the fourth millennium BCE to the second century CE.
Posters/ Blogs by Shadi SHABO
The 57th Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2024
This poster presents the results of the excavations of an urban district in ancient Dadan, in the... more This poster presents the results of the excavations of an urban district in ancient Dadan, in the al-ʿUlā valley (north-west Arabia), conducted by the team of the Dadan Archaeological Project (CNRS/RCU/ AFALULA) between 2020 and 2023. The excavation data were processed jointly with the ECOSeed archaeobotanical project. This multidisciplinary approach provides critical new insights into the development of one of the major ancient northwest Arabian oases. The excavations revealed the earliest safely dated domestic architectural remains in the oasis. The results also enable a reassessment of the earlier archaeological evidence, suggesting a first peak in the urban development of the oasis during the Bronze Age. This excavation then revealed a virtually continuous urban occupation through the Iron Age until the early 1st millennium AD, in particular with periods of reorganization of the district between the 8th and 5th centuries BC, and again between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Many evolutions in the material culture and lifestyle of the population can also be observed over more than 2,500 years of occupation, such as changes in the diet, agricultural practices, pottery production, and macro-lithic technology.
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Thesis Chapters by Shadi SHABO
Papers by Shadi SHABO
nb 43.2, 2017, p. 115-163
Reports by Shadi SHABO
Conference Presentations by Shadi SHABO
Posters/ Blogs by Shadi SHABO
nb 43.2, 2017, p. 115-163