
ADVERTISEMENT

Early morning, we were driven in our jeep for an hour to Namib Naukluft Park’s main attraction—Earth’s tallest and reddest sand dunes. Driving west from Sesreim to Sossusvlei, we were flanked on both sides by a panorama of dunes that looked like mountains with peaks. The tallest are around 1,000-feet high. As the sun was low on the horizon at this hour, the sharp ridge-lines that defined the dunes divided them sharply into dark and sit sides. Everywhere, two colours dominated—brick red and black.A shawl of fog surrounded the dunes. This is the only life-giving moisture for miles. Little creatures such as beetles, scorpions, lizards and spiders lick the condensation off their own bodies while the larger animals make the most of the moist grasses and leaves. Dozens of springboks sparred in the pleasant window of time from freezing cold to hot.At the end of our drive was Sossusvlei, a place that sports a miracle lake fed by underground springs. The sun was up and the shadows gone as we climbed the ridge of Big Mama, the second highest dune (after Big Daddy) and we took-in the wind-sculpted sand shapes beyond that seemed to sprawl into infinity. And then we plunged straight down, flinging ourselves on the soft, forgiving sand in giant leaps.The second, is the stylish tented Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in the Palmwag concession in an uninhabited nowhere land. Set in an amphitheatre of hills, it is protected from sandstorms and blistering winds. There is no phone or Wi-Fi connection. A short walk away is a 12-foot drop down to the Hoanib riverbed, along which grow acacia trees and shrubs that attract elephant, giraffe, springbok, oryx, ostrich and the brown hyena. And lions. Without water for miles, we wondered how they survive here. While condensed moisture from the morning fog on the wet leaves is enough for the grazers and browsers, the lions and cheetahs have adapted their ways, carefully pooling their prey’s blood in its skin and lapping it without letting it run into the sand. They have knowledge of the area’s oasis and springs, and are attuned to nature’s rhythms and cycles. Occasionally, when rain falls on the eastern highlands, the ephemeral rivers such as the Hoanib flow suddenly, washing down silt and enough water to keep the hardy vegetation going.
The subject of this year’s prestigious Beatrice de Cardi lectures, held at the Society of Antiquaries of London, was the archaeological discoveries over the past 22 years in Bahrain.In 2001, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, established the Anglo-Bahraini Early Islamic Bahrain Project to understand how Islam travelled across the country that, as an island nation, was a key stepping point between the Arabian peninsula and Persia and East Asia.“The state of archaeology in Bahrain has always been very good, but the Islamic period was neglected,” says Timothy Insoll, the Al-Qasimi professor of African and Islamic Archaeology at the University of Exeter, who delivered the lecture. “I think it was in part to do with the fact that people think [Islam] is what we are now – so why is it important archaeologically?”Islam was also not a preferred subject of study for most European or American teams, who tended to excavate periods they perceived more of a connection to such as early Christianity or Greco-Roman sites – whether in Bahrain or other locations across the Islamic world, such as Afghanistan.Insoll and his teams worked to fill in these missing gaps to try and understand what happened from around 7th to 11th centuries when the inhabitants of Bahrain converted to Islam, largely from Christianity.Timothy Insoll, the Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology at the University of Exeter. Photo: Wikimedia commons In the 2010s, they found the site of Bilad Al Qadeem, which they have shown to be the centre of Islamic settlement in the 11th to 13th century AD. Excavations at the palace there divulged information about what kinds of food the inhabitants then ate, how they kept and stored water and even the environment.The presence of mollusks showed that ground was wetter and danker than the current desert. That might have brought with it its own complications – such as the spread of parasites, which Insoll and his team theorise came along trade routes. The large mangrove trees that were used to support the palace at Bilad Al Qadeem, as for other houses of the time, were imported from Madagascar and East Africa, and the diseases might have come with these beams on the ship.Insoll, working with Rachel MacLean of the University of Exeter, as well as students and other archaeologists, opened a small museum in 2016 to display some of the extraordinary funerary monuments they discovered, with their finely carved calligraphy attesting to the names of the men and women buried there.A small park, which is coming soon, will integrate a canal from the time of Bilad Al Qadeem into the recreational environs, drawing on its 1,000-year-old ability to cool the air and circulate water.Insoll also identified a number of changes over the past two decades of working in the Gulf – most notably, an expansion of who has been involved in the field.Previously “it was all foreigners, parachuting [into the Gulf] and doing their monthly fieldwork, and then publishing in journals like these,” he explained, gesturing at the leather-bound volumes in the Society of Antiquaries’ library. “Archeology wasn’t engaging with the local population or building capacity among local students. And this has been a change throughout the Gulf – and now in Saudi with Vision 2030.”Insoll’s team now includes Salman Almahari of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities – the first Bahraini to achieve a PhD in archaeology.They also discovered another site showing the fertile crossover of religions in Bahrain, such as Samahij, a Nestorian Christian dwelling from the 7th century. Found on the isle of Muharraq, just off the coast of the country, signs in the site heavily suggest Christian habitation, such as the outline of a fish etched into one of the walls and ceramics bearing the sign of the cross.Local Bahrainis helped the archeologists identify some of the food sources, such as the fish that were very similar to those of the present day.“The notion of partnership is extremely important, and that’s pushing archaeology to the next level,” says Insoll. “We are now integrating the local voice – people saying I remember this site 50 years ago, this is what was here then. Why don’t you go and excavate here, or I understand this type of structure or material – like the madbasa, a room that was used for fermenting dates.“The world is changing, and archaeology should reflect that. And archaeology is a lot richer for it.”Updated: September 23, 2023, 7:07 AM
South Africa vs Ireland LIVE Updates: Score, Stream Info, Lineups and How to Watch Rugby World Cup | 09/23/2023 – VAVEL USA
Follow game South Africa vs Ireland updates coverage, stream information, score and result online, prediction, TV channel, lineups and time of the Rugby World Cup. Match will start at 8 am ET on September 23rd 2023SpringboksADVERTISEMENT60 LIVE UPDATES More Sports News
South Africa vs Ireland LIVE Updates: Score, Stream Info, Lineups and How to Watch Rugby World Cup | 09/23/2023 – VAVEL USA
Follow game South Africa vs Ireland updates coverage, stream information, score and result online, prediction, TV channel, lineups and time of the Rugby World Cup. Match will start at 8 am ET on September 23rd 2023SpringboksADVERTISEMENT60 LIVE UPDATES More Sports News
The ‘Cult of David’: More Former Employees of David Adjaye Allege They Were Overworked, Underpaid, and Victims of ‘Emotional Abuse’ – artnet News
Derry City & Strabane – Plumbridge based fashion designer Madge … – Derry City and Strabane District Council
Bahrain’s head of antiquities on why making the World Heritage List … – The National
The “lêkê”, poor man’s shoes that have become a symbol of Ivorian culture – Africanews English
15 Times Meghan Has Flown The Flag For Sustainable Fashion – British Vogue
Pope Francis visits Marseille as anti-migrant views grow in Europe with talk of fences and blockades – ABC News
Integration of Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services yield massive results in Zimbabwe – ZAWYA
The 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists Take New York … – Vogue
One Zimbabwe Classifieds | ZimMarket
www.1zimbabweclassifieds.co.zw
www.1southafricaclassifieds.com
Zimbabwe Market Classifieds | ZimMarket
1 Zimbabwe Market Classifieds | ZimMarket
Linking Buyers To Sellers Is Our Business Tradition