Late Islamic water collection systems on Failaka Island: Preliminary results of the Kuwait–Georgian Archaeological Mission in 2018–2019

Abstract

Archaeological investigations on Failaka Island, conducted by the Kuwait-Georgian Archeological Mission, have recorded a variety of sites dating from different time periods, from the Bronze Age to the late Islamic/modern period. The largest proportion of recorded sites consist of late Islamic seasonal settlement structures found in the north-eastern part of the island. It is possible that they were connected to fishing and associated activities such as stock-farming and agriculture, which is confirmed by the results of palynological analysis. These sites are divided into two chronological phases: one from the seventeenth to eighteenth century and the second from the nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century. In 2018, excavations at the water collection systems within these settlements began. The results gathered so far indicate that there were two kinds of well structures. The first are interpreted as shallow filtration well pits; the second are deep wells used for collecting water from deep underground. Both systems were used to collect rainwater, which was then filtered and stored. Marine and freshwater forms of algae were found in the basal sediments of the pits, which offers evidence for the accumulation and filtration of water.

A detailed perspective of water resource management in a dry and water scarce country: The case in Kuwait

“…The rainwater or stormwater runoff is gathered in open inlets from streets and open areas, and the surface runoff is routed through pipes and box culverts to various outfall locations on the gulf. One of the rainwater/ stormwater drainage systems is located in the south Al-Doha area, 26 km west of the city, typically comprised of circular concrete pipes using which water flows exclusively by gravity to the outlet (Al-Hurban et al, 2021;Chkhvimiani et al, 2021). Due to the exceptionally low rainfall and very high evaporation rates, the runoff occasionally happens as a result of rare heavy rains.…”

Fishing at the Late Islamic settlement in Kharā’ib al-Dasht, Failaka Island, Kuwait

“…Early twentieth century texts state that the primary occupations of Failaka's inhabitants were fishing and, to a lesser extent, farming. Although the presence of freshwater sources is mentioned in some textual evidence (Persian Gulf Gazetteer 1904, p. 56;Lorimer 1908, p. 513), including sixteenth century Portuguese maps that label Failaka as Ilha de Aguada, meaning 'island of the water well' (Slot 1991, p. 59), recent discoveries by the Kuwaiti-Georgian Archaeological Mission indicate that by the Late Islamic period, the island's inhabitants also collected rainwater (Chkhvimiani et al 2021).…”

Guest editors’ foreword

“…Once again, Failaka Island seemed to be uninhabited from the ninth century CE to the re-occupation of the island at the late Islamic period, from the seventeenth century CE. Recent excavations revealed two kinds of settlements: villages, such as al-Qurainiyah (Grassigli & Di Miceli, 2018), Kharaib al-Dasht (in this volume: Pieńkowska & Truszkowski, 2021) and Sa'ida (in this volume: Almutairi, 2021); and seasonal occupations (in this volume: Chkhvimiani et al, 2021), where the inhabitants were mainly living from fishing and farming.…”

“…This Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy special issue provides a new insight into the history of Failaka and offers the opportunity to begin filling in some gaps, in particular concerning the geomorphology of the island (Arhan et al, 2021;Chagelishvili et al, 2021), the late Islamic period (Chkhvimiani et al, 2021;Almutairi, 2021;Pieńkowska & Truszkowski, 2021), long-distance trade (Mahfouz et al, 2021;Durand, 2021), and on pottery studies (Ashkanani & Kovár, 2021;Durand, 2021;Mierzejewska, 2021;Perrogon & Bonnéric, 2021). In parallel, many questions approached in theses articles still have to be solved.…”