Essouk - Tadmekka

An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town

Series:

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.
Publication Date:
20 November 2017
ISBN:
978-90-04-34899-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004348998
Cover Essouk - Tadmekka
Restricted Access

E-Book:

EUR €114.00USD $132.00
More Options
(Prices excl.Tax )
  • E-Book

  • E-Book:

    EUR €114.00USD $132.00
  • Hardback

  • Hardback:

    EUR €125.00USD $144.00

Biographical Note

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.

Review Quotes

'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 vol 49, 2018, pp. 209-210

Table of contents

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

Readership

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.

Index Card

Publication Date:
20 November 2017
Subjects:
Archaeology, Art & Architecture, African Studies, Global History, History, Archaeology, Art & Architecture, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Art History, African Studies, Social Sciences
Status:
Published
Publisher:
BRILL
Pages Arabic:
424
Extent:
xxiv, 422 pp.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004348998

Collection Information