Essouk - Tadmekka

An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town

Series: 

Volume Editor: Sam Nixon
Essouk-Tadmekka presents the first archaeological exploration of one of the most important market towns on the trans-Saharan camel-caravan routes in the early Islamic period, supplying West African gold, slaves, and ivory to the Mediterranean world. Excavation of Essouk-Tadmekka’s ruins – in Saharan West Africa – has enabled Sam Nixon and a team of scholars to better understand this town described by early Arabic geographers, therein providing insights into such wider questions as the origins of trans-Saharan trade, the commerce in gold, and the arrival of Islamic culture in West Africa. This window into the earliest period of trans-Saharan exchange includes illustration of some of the best-preserved ruins along the camel-caravan routes, the earliest-known Arabic writing in West Africa, and rare gold-working remains.

Contributors are: Stephanie Black, Sophie Desrosiers, Laure Dussubieux, Thomas Fenn, Dorian Fuller, James Lankton, Kevin MacDonald, Paulo de Moraes Farias, Mary-Anne Murray, Sam Nixon, Thilo Rehren, Peter Robertshaw, Jane Sidell, and Benoit Suzanne.
Copyright Year:
2017
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-34899-8
Publication date:
20 Nov 2017
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-34614-7
Publication date:
14 Nov 2017
Cover Essouk - Tadmekka

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Sam Nixon (Ph.D. 2008, UCL) is a Senior Research Associate at the University of East Anglia. He has produced various publications on African archaeology and history and is currently writing a monograph on early trans-Saharan trade with Thames & Hudson, entitled The Gold Route.
'In the last few years, there have been a series of major studies on centres across the Sahara and this volume sits comfortably alongside these. It is exemplary of a modern excavation with lavish illustration in colour and discussion throughout. It is to be hoped that the opportunities for new directions in studying the archaeology of the Sahara during the historic periods will now be realised'. - Martin Sterry, University of Durham, in: Libyan Studies 49 (2018)
'In summary, the book is a great success. Although essentially an archaeological monograph, its compelling argument transcends the presentation of results and even the reconstruction of the cultural history of Essouk-Tadmekka itself to offer important and often revealing reflections on trans-Saharan commerce (including the gold trade), Islam in West Africa, Tuareg culture and history, and the tramission of technologies and ideas. It is therefore highly recommended to scholars and students interested in the history and archaeology of West Africa and of the Islamic world system in the Middle Ages'. - José C. Carvajal López, University of Leicester, in: Medieval Archaeology 62/2 (2018)
Preface
Acknowledgements

Part 1: Introduction


1 Overview
 Sam Nixon

2 An Unexplored Market Town of the Early Trans-Saharan Trade
 Sam Nixon

3 The Essouk-Tadmekka Locality: Environment and Human Geography
 Sam Nixon

Part 2: Site Overview and Surface Remains


4 The Essouk-Tadmekka Ruins and Their Prospection
 Sam Nixon

5 Arabic and Tifinagh Inscriptions
 Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias

Part 3: Excavations and Architecture


6 Excavation Programme and Methods
 Sam Nixon

7 Excavations in the Mosque Quarter (Unit Ek-A)
 Sam Nixon

8 Excavations Near the Eastern Cliffs (Unit Ek-B)
 Sam Nixon

9 Excavations on the Island (Unit Ek-C)
 Sam Nixon

10 Chronology
 Sam Nixon

11 Architecture
 Sam Nixon and Benoit Suzanne

Part 4: Finds


12 Pottery
 Sam Nixon and Kevin MacDonald

13 Glass Vessels
 Sam Nixon, James Lankton and Laure Dussubieux

14 Beads
 James Lankton, Sam Nixon, Peter Robertshaw, and Laure Dussubieux

15 Gold Processing Remains
 Sam Nixon and Thilo Rehren

16 Crucible-Steel Making and Other Metalworking Remains
 Thilo Rehren and Sam Nixon

17 Coins and Other Metal Artefacts
 Sam Nixon

18 Miscellaneous Material Culture
 Sam Nixon

19 Eggshell
 Jane Sidell

20 Faunal Remains
 Kevin MacDonald

21 Plant Remains
 Dorian Fuller, Mary-Anne Murray and Sam Nixon

Part 5: Synthesis and Discussion


22 Excavated Sequence
 Sam Nixon

23 A New Cultural History of Essouk-Tadmekka
 Sam Nixon

24 Debating trans-Saharan Commerce and Culture
 Sam Nixon

Conclusion

Appendices


A Early Arabic Documentary Records of Tadmekka
 Sam Nixon

B Plans of Essouk-Tadmekka Town Ruins and Cemeteries
 Benoit Suzanne

C Essouk Arabic Non-Funerary Inscriptions, New (Previously Unpublished) Series
 Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias

D Context Descriptions for Excavation Units
 Sam Nixon

E Pottery Analysis Tables And Additional Illustrative Materials
 Sam Nixon and Kevin MacDonald

F Glass Vessels Tables
 Sam Nixon and James Lankton

G Glass Bead Tables
 Sam Nixon and James Lankton

H Vessel and Bead Glass Chemical Compositional Analysis
 James Lankton, Peter Robertshaw, Laure Dussubieux, and Sam Nixon

I Archaeometallurgical Waste
 Thilo Rehren

J Digital X-ray Imaging and Conservation Treatment of Silver Coins and Related Finds
 Stephanie Black

K Preliminary Chemical and Technical Analyses of Essouk Metal Artefacts
 Tom Fenn, Thilo Rehren and Laure Dussubieux

L Note sur le damas et sur le «voile» de soie d’Essouk-Tadmekka
 Sophie Desrosiers

M Faunal Remains Tables
 Kevin MacDonald

N Species Counts of Plant Remains
 Dorian Fuller, Mary-Anne Murray and Sam Nixon
Bibliography
Index
All interested in early trans-Saharan trade, medieval West Africa, and the early Islamic cultures of West Africa, as well as those more broadly interested in pre-colonial African history and archaeology.