Djap Article p117 - 6

Darah Journal of Arabian Peninsula Studies
1 (2023) 117–135
brill.com/djap
A New Pottery Collection from Jabal Dādān

(al-Khurayba) in al-ʿUlā
Dr. Abdulaziz S. Alghazzi

Department of Archeology, College of Tourism and Antiquities, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
alghazzi22@gmail.com
Abstract
This article discusses a group of outstanding pottery fragments from the summit of
Jabal Dādān (al-Khurayba) at al-ʿUlā in Saudi Arabia. The importance of these frag-
ments comes from the absence of published material from the Dādān site, the lack of
color-decorated ceramic vessels among the published material, and the diversity in the
bases and shapes of the vessels. Comparative studies indicate that this collection falls
within the group of colored pottery from northwestern Saudi Arabia, generally dated
to between the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st millennium bce. The collection
appears similar to the Taymāʾ pottery in a number of decorative elements, such as: the
chessboard element. These collections indicate that al-Khurayba was in contact with
several sites within Saudi Arabia, such as the sites of Taymāʾ and Qurayya in the north-
west, and the sites of al-Sīḥ and al-Banna in the center, as well as sites elsewhere in the
Arabian Peninsula, such as the al-Muwayliḥ site in the United Arab Emirates, and sites
outside the Arabian Peninsula, including Tall al-Khalīfa in the Levant.
Keywords
al-ʿUlā – al-Khurayba – Dādān – pottery
The published ceramic artifacts from the ancient sites in the al-ʿUlā oasis are
from the settlement of Dādān, Khayf al-Zahra, Wādī Muʿtadil, and Biʾr Waṭīf.
They all appear to be part of the Dādān site, except that they are separated by
farms located in the middle of the valley. They consist of 7 fragments published
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118 Alghazzi
by Winnett and Reed,1 40 fragments published by Barr et al.,2 38 fragments

published by Bawden from the Khayf al-Zahra and Wādī Muʿtadil sites,3 and 13
fragments published by al-Ghazzī from the Biʾr Waṭīf site.4
Among the published fragments, 41 display decoration in black and brown,
with an occasional reddish tinge to the latter. The decorated vessels among the
published materials consist of 7 published by Winnett and Reed,5 23 published
by Parr et al.,6 and 14 published by Bawden.7
The material for this study is comprised of 14 outstanding ceramic frag-
ments from the summit of Jabal Dādān (al-Khurayba) resulting from a survey
of the area carried out by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad Naṣīf in 1978. Naṣīf states
that the site had not been surveyed before his visit, and that he was not at first
able to reach the summit, before doing so on his return for a second visit.8
This mountain is located to the east of the site of the settlement of Dādān;
at its summit are a number of architectural structures, Minaean inscriptions,
and ceramic fragments, from which the material for this study has been as-
sembled.9
I have studied these ceramic fragments due to their importance, the absence
of published material from the Dādān site in al-ʿUlā, the lack of color-deco-
rated ceramic vessels among the published material, and the diversity in the
bases and shapes of the vessels: they include six fragments of bodies and bases,
and this number is not found in anything yet published on Dādān; it is there-
fore a new addition. Moreover, all the material is published for the first time
from the site of the summit of Jabal Dādān (al-Khurayba)
1 F. V. Winnett and W. L. Reed, Ancient Records from North Arabia (Toronto: University of To-
ronto Press, 1970), 177.
2 P. J. Parr et al., “Preliminary Survey in Northwest Arabia,” Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeol-
ogy 8-9 (1970): 206.
3 G. Bawden, “Khief al-Zahrah and the Nature of Dedanite Hegemony in the al-Ula Oasis,” Atlal
3 (1979): 71.
4 ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Suʿūd al-Ghazzī, “Simāt mushtaraka bayna fakhkhār wasṭ al-Jazīra al-Arabi-
yya wa-shamālihā al-gharbī,” al-ʿUṣūr 8, part 2 (July 1993): 255-67.
5 Winnett and Reed, Ancient Records, 177, fig. 83, nos. 1-2, 4; fig. 84, nos. 1, 5-6, 9.
6 Parr et al., “Preliminary Survey,” figs. 5-6, and pl. 41.
7 Bawden, “Kheif al-Zahrah,” 68 and pls. 45-47.
8 ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad Naṣīf, al-Ula: an Historical and Archaeological Survey with Special
Reference to Its Irrigation System (Riyadh: King Saud University Press, 1988), 23.
9 Ibid., 22-23.
Darah Journal of Arabian Peninsula Studiesof1 the

(2023) 117–135
CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
A New Pottery Collection from Jabal Dādān (al-Khurayba) in al-ʿUlā 119
The collection
The material under analysis is made of a clay paste [ʿajīna] with a color varying
from brown to sand-colored, to light sand-colored, to dull red. The collection is
characterized by roughness, based on the presence of white stone pieces in the ce-
ramic ware. Traces of straw burnt during the firing process are also visible on the
outer surface of some of the fragments. The fragments are porous, but solid. This
collection can be divided into two types based on the color of the clay paste used:
Type 1: Plate 1: Nos. 1, 4; Plate 2: No. 7; Plate 3: Nos. 10, 13

This type consists of the group of ceramic fragments in a sand-colored to light
brown paste, sometimes reddish and sometimes light sand-colored. The paste
is impure, as it is mixed with small and medium-sized fragments of white, gray,
and honey-colored stone. This group is characterized by its lack of external
finishing, apart from some traces of smoothing, which can occasionally be ob-
served on the interior or exterior of some fragments. On this type, painted deco-
ration in red and black can be observed, sometimes on the interior of the vessel
and sometimes on the exterior. As for the production, all the fragments were
thrown on a wheel, except for fragment No. 4 in Plate 1, which was hand-crafted.
Type 2: Plate 1: Nos. 2-3, 5-6; Plate 2: No. 8; Plate 3: Nos. 11-12, 14
This type is in a light sand-colored to dull brown paste, with many impurities
consisting of stone fragments of various colors: white, brown, grey, and hon-
ey-colored. Most of these fragments, however, are white. The paste appears im-
pure, in addition to the use of stone fragments (generally granite) as a reinforc-
ing material or “temper” in the ceramics of northwestern Saudi Arabia. As for
the exterior finishing, a poorly-prepared slip is used on one fragment (Plate 3:
No. 11), where a thin slip can be seen on the exterior with a greenish-yellow
color. One edge of this type is painted light black, and it appears that the black
paint covered the whole fragment (Plate 3: No. 13). Grey paint appears on the
interior surface of another fragment (Plate 3: No. 14).
Vessel forms
Despite the absence of a complete vessel, the following forms are clear from
what remains of them:
1- Bowls [ṭāsāt] with sides that open outwards (Plate 1: Nos. 1-5).
2- Bowls with semi-straight walls (Plate 2: No. 6).
3- Bowls with semi-straight sides that open outwards (Plate 2: Nos. 7-8).
Darah Journal of via

Arabian Peninsula Studies 1 (2023) 117–135
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120 Alghazzi
4- Bowls with straight walls (Plate 3: Nos. 10-11).

5- Bowls with walls that open from top to bottom (Plate 3: No. 12).
6- Small cups [aqdāḥ] with curved sides (Plate 3: No. 13).
Rim forms
In this collection, there are many vertical plain rims, with some variations in
the treatment, to include:
1- Vertical rims on the body forming a natural extension of the wall; it may
be chamfered on the exterior, with a thickening of the outer part (Plate 2:
No. 8).
2- Vertical rim chamfered on the interior (Plate 3: No. 10).
3- Vertical rim slightly thickened on the interior and exterior (Plate 3: No. 11).
4- Vertical rim chamfered on the interior and somewhat on the exterior
(Plate 3: No. 13).
Base forms
The bases in this group are of four types:
1- Flat round slightly stepped base (Plate 1: Nos. 1-2).
2- Round base tapering to the interior (Plate 1: No. 3).
3- Round base with stepped edge (Plate 1: Nos. 4-5).
4- Slightly high round stepped base (Plate 2: No. 6).
Technique
The vessels from which the fragments in this study derive appear to have been
thrown on a wheel, most probably a slow wheel, except for fragment No. 4 in
Plate 1, which is clearly hand-made. I assume that they were made on a slow
wheel for the following reasons:
1- The crudeness of the manufacture, in view of the asymmetry of the frag-
ments’ surfaces.
2- The presence of traces of manufacture, particularly clear fingerprints on
the fragments’ surfaces.
3- The lack of regular finishing on the exterior and interior surfaces of the
fragments, which show the slowness of the wheel. In general, the man-
ufacture is not of high quality and does not resemble the ceramic arti-
facts of the end of the 2nd millennium and beginning of the 1st known as
“Midianite ware.”

(2023) 117–135
Surface treatment
The only decoration on this collection is executed in color; it is clear that the
potter used paint on this group in two ways: the first is either by painting the
whole of one surface of the vessel (Plate 3: Nos. 13-14), or by painting the two
surfaces together (Plate 3: No. 14). The use of paint may be restricted to the
exterior (Plate 3: No. 10). The second method of using paint was to draw dec-
orative elements that sometimes appear on the interior surface (Plate 1: No. 3;
Plate 2: No. 8; Plate 3: Nos. 10, 13-14) and sometimes on the exterior (Plate 2:
Nos. 7, 9; Plate 3: No. 13). The potter may decorate only the edge with paint, by
painting the whole of it (Plate 3: No. 11).
Decorative elements seem to be numerous on the upper parts of the vessels.
The elements do not compare well to those on the pots at the manufacturing
site at Taymāʾ, for example, or the Qurayya site, both in terms of the method
of execution, which appears to be manual, or the quality of the paint, which
appears to be affected by alterations in its color, from black to dark gray or from
red to light brown. On one fragment, a gray color appears to have been applied
to the entire inner surface, then decorated with black (Fig. 3: No. 14). Another
fragment shows on its upper interior a decoration that could be a letter repeat-
ed horizontally in the form of a grayish-black belt.
Decorative elements
1- Wavy lines drawn vertically, separated by vertical bands in black and dark
brown (Plate 1: No. 3).
2- Vertical lines interrupted by thinner horizontal lines, forming squares
(Plate 2: No. 7).
3- Vertical lines, drawn in red, hanging from the edge to rest on a horizontal
band (Plate 2: No. 8).
4- Grid element, drawn in black, appearing at the top of the vessel between
two horizontal bands (Plate 2: No. 9).
5- Horizontal line in black adorning the rim (Plate 2: No. 8; Plate 3: No. 11).
6- A decorative element consisting of a letter-shaped motif, painted in grey-
ish-black on red, covering the entire fragment (Plate 3: No. 10).
7- Horizontal and vertical bands, at an oblique angle, surrounded by hori-
zontal bands, drawn on the interior of the vessel (Plate 3: No. 14).

122 Alghazzi
Comparative study
The material
The material of these fragments is characterized by coarseness and porosity,
and does not depart from the scope of the pottery vessels discovered in the
sites of Taymāʾ and Qurayya known as Edomite ware, which is dated to the Iron
Age. As for the temper added to the paste, it is similar to the materials used in
published pots from sites in northwestern Saudi Arabia, in which stone frag-
ments predominate; here, however, they appear coarser.10
Surface finish
The exterior finish appears similar to that known to appear on vessels from
sites in northwestern Saudi Arabia. One of the two surfaces of the vessel was
covered with a slip [biṭāna] that may form a thick coloring, especially pink-
ish-red and gray, the latter of which is rare in the colored pottery collections of
northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Forms
As for the Winnett and Reed collection, it contains nothing by which its shape
might be c1ompared, as it has been published in image form only. The collec-
tion of Parr et al. includes forms that can be compared. As for the Bawden col-
lection, all of the fragments are parts of bodies and rims; it contains no bases
or handles, so the comparison will focus on the rims and bodies.
This collection uniquely contains vessel forms that have not been published
before from the ancient sites in al-ʿUlā, such as a jar [jarra] with walls that
open from top to bottom (Plate 3: No. 12). It also uniquely contains high ring
bases (Plate 1: Nos. 4-5) and a stepped base (Plate 2: No. 6).
Despite the presence in this collection of forms that do not resemble any pre-
viously published, there are also vessels with similar forms. The figure shown in
Plate 2: No. 9 is similar to one found in the Parr et al. collection, consisting of a
body and rim fragment, described as being in a gray paste with its surface fired to
a red color, and with stone fragments mixed into the surface, bearing incised dec-
orations similar in shape, and in the rim form, to those of the abovementioned
fragment.11 Another fragment was found in the Bawden collection from the Khayf
al-Zahra site; it is described as being in a brick-red paste with a coarse temper, un-
even firing, smoothed on the exterior, and with black decoration on the exterior.12
10 Parr et al., “Preliminary Survey,” 238.

11 Parr et al., “Preliminary Survey,” fig. 5, no. 19.
12 Bawden, “Kheif al-Zahrah,” pl. 47, no. 34.

(2023) 117–135
Or the form appearing in Plate 3: No. 13, namely a small cup [qadḥ] with
curved walls and a plain rim, slightly thickened at its upper edge and with little
depth. There is one similar to it in terms of the shape of the cup and its rim in
the Bawden collection from the Khayf al-Zahra site. It is described as having
a brick-red paste, mixed with a few small stone fragments. Its firing is even, it
has a red slip on the inside, and its decoration is in two colors: brownish-red
and black.13
As for the base forms, Parr et al. published a flat circular base that they de-
scribed as having a solid red paste with a temper of small stones, painted in
two colors: black and red on a pink slip;14 it resembles the base in this collec-
tion (Plate 1: No. 2). Another base in our collection resembles a vessel with
interior decoration (Plate 1: No. 3).
Decoration
Decorative elements appear on the interior (Plate 1: No. 3), namely a zigzag line
drawn horizontally, resembling the trail of a snake. This type of element is en-
countered for the first time at the Dādān site in al-ʿUlā. Similar finds come from
the Taymāʾ site, where a fragment was found in a garbage dump at Compound
C, one of the architectural structures inside the wall of the ancient settlement
of Taymāʾ.15 It falls under Type 8a, described as having a cream-colored paste
with a soft and sometimes invisible temper, good firing, and thin to very thin
walls; the forms of the vessels consist of bowls [ṭāsāt] with stepped sides,
with an orange or cream slip on their surfaces and decoration in black, pur-
ple-black, or dark brown.16 It also appears on another fragment falling under
Type 3b, which is described as having a pinkish-red clay paste with small and
medium-sized temper, medium hardness, thin walls, shallow bowls, dented
bases and surfaces with a cream slip or light red coating and decoration in red
or black.17 On one fragment is decoration in blackish-brown on a pinkish-pur-
ple slip.18 At the Taymāʾ site, this element is found on the interior of a fragment
in two orientations, horizontal and vertical, overlaid with the form of a grid.19
As for the chessboard motif that appears on one fragment (Plate 2: No. 7),
we find it on vessels published from a village site, including a vessel described

15 G. Bawden et al., “Preliminary Archaeological Investigation at Tayma,” Atlal 4 (ah
1400/1980): pl. 63, no. 1.
16 Bawden et al., “Preliminary Archaeological,” 93.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid., “Preliminary Archaeological,” pl. 63, no. 21.
19 Ṣubḥī Anūr Rashīd, “Dirāsa li-fakhkhār Taymāʾ,” Sūmir 36 (1980): pl. 12, fig. 1 a.

124 Alghazzi
as having a gray clay paste with an oily yellow lining and decorated in black.20
Ingraham dates this type to the Midianite period, namely from the 14th to the
13th centuries bce.21 From the Taymāʾ site, this element is found on a fragment
published by Rashīd, with an element depicting a grid,22 and on another frag-
ment, again with a depiction of a grid.23
As for the device of the hanging cords or vertical lines sandwiched between
two horizontal lines (Plate 2: No. 8), it appears frequently on ceramic vessels.
From al-ʿUlā itself, it has been found at the Khayf al-Zahra site, from which
come: a fragment in reddish-brown paste [ʿajīna] mixed with small pieces of
stone as a reinforcing material, well fired and polished on both sides, with a
red slip [biṭāna] and decoration in black;24 a fragment in peach-colored paste
mixed with a soft temper, the exterior of which is smooth, with a red slip, a red
band, and blackish-brown decoration mixed with red;25 a fragment in rose-
pink paste with a soft temper, well fired and polished on both sides, the exte-
rior of which shows a cream coat [taghshiya] with a red slip and black deco-
ration;26 a fragment in pinkish-red clay-colored paste with a soft temper, well
fired, with a red slip on its interior and brownish-red and black decoration;27
a fragment in dark brown paste with a good temper, well fired and polished
on both sides, with decoration in reddish-purple and black;28 and a fragment
in brown paste with a soft temper, well fired, with a light cream coat on both
surfaces, decorated in reddish-purple and black.29
From the Taymāʾ site, this element appears with the chessboard element
on a fragment falling under Type 8a in the study by Bawden et al. previously
described,30and on another fragment falling under the same type with black
decoration on a dark cream slip.31
From the Qurayya site, the decorative element appears on a fragment in an
orange paste mixed with slate and sand, painted on the exterior in black and
20 M. Ingraham et al., “Preliminary Report on a Reconnaissance Survey of the Northwestern

Province with a Note on a Brief Survey of the Northern Province,” Atlal 5 (1981): pl. 78,
no. 19.
21 Ibid., 74-75.
22 Rashīd, “Dirāsa li-fakhkhār,” pl. 10, fig. 1 b.
23 Ibid., pl. 11, fig. 1.
25 Ibid., pl. 46, no. 17.
26 Ibid., pl. 46, no. 18.
27 Ibid., pl. 46, no. 21.
28 Ibid., pl. 47, no. 31.
29 Ibid., pl. 47, no. 34.
30 Bawden et al., “Preliminary Archaeological,” pl. 63, no. 3.
31 Ibid., pl. 64, no. 1.

(2023) 117–135
on the interior in black and gray;32 it has a slip and is painted on the interior
in black.33
This element appears on ceramic vessels from sites in Palestine, including a
bowl published from the ʿAyn Ghadyān site, located 40 km north of the Gulf of
ʿAqaba, dated to the Midianite period.34
Notably, this decorative element appears frequently on colored vessels from
the Dādān site at al-ʿUlā, but rarely in the collections published from the Tay-
māʾ and Qurayya sites, even though the latter two sites are more abundant in
colored vessels than the Dādān site. It is clear, therefore, that this element is a
common decorative element at the Dādān site in al-ʿUlā.
Regarding the grid element (Plate 2: No. 9), Winnett and Reed have previ-
ously published from the Dādān site a fragment with a medium-coarse pale
yellow paste bearing a grid element with narrow divisions on the interior,
painted in black.35
From the Taymāʾ site, Winnett and Reed published two fragments, one of
them with a medium-soft paste and a reddish slip on the interior and exterior,
and a grid pattern with wide lines and narrow divisions on its exterior.36 As for
the other, narrow symmetrical divisions appear on the exterior of a fragment
with a pure, pale yellow paste. On its exterior is black and dark red paint. On
its side appears an element of horizontally opposed triangles, and on both the
interior and exterior of the rim is a band of black paint.37
Parr et al. published two fragments from Dādān, one of which has a smooth
red paste with a pink slip and a black-brown coating; its rim is painted, and the
grid element appears on its interior with narrow divisions.38 The other has a
soft red paste mixed with small stone fragments, and the decorative element
appears on the interior with wide divisions; it has a thick pink slip and is paint-
ed in black.39
From the Qurayya site, Parr et al. published a fragment on which the grid
element appears on the interior, falling under Type A in their classification,
described as a coarse brown or pale red paste, sometimes with a gray core; the
paste is mixed with large, dense stone fragments, and it has a black or red slip
32 Ingraham et al., “Preliminary Report,” pl. 78, no. 8.

33 Ibid., pl. 79, no. 9.
34 J. Kalsbeek and G. London, “A Late Second Millennium B. C. Potting Puzzle,” Bulletin of
American Schools of Oriental Research 232 (1978): 47, 50, fig. 2b.
35 Winnett and Reed, Ancient Records, 185 and fig. 84, no. 5.
36 Ibid., 184, fig. 84, no. 2.
37 Ibid., 185, fig. 84, no. 7.
39 Ibid., fig. 5, no. 3.

126 Alghazzi
and average firing.40 Ingraham et al. published a fragment from the Qurayya
site with a light orange paste mixed with red iron oxide granules, with an exte-
rior slip and painted in black and red.41
The grid element appears on a number of fragments published by Rashīd
from the Taymāʾ site.42 This element is also found on fragments discovered
at the al-Sīḥ site in al-Aflāj in central Saudi Arabia; they are all decorated in
black.43 Several vessels have been discovered at the al-Banna site in the al-
Kharj Province in central Saudi Arabia with pastes either in brownish-red or
greyish-green.44
From the Yemen, De Maigret published a complete vessel bearing the grid
element with wide divisions, painted in red.45
In Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, this element has been found on two frag-
ments discovered at the al-Muwayliḥ site. They are described as having a pale
red paste, covered in a red slip, with decoration painted in black. Based on the
form and decoration, the two fragments have been dated to the Iron Age.46
As for the Levant, the earliest decorative elements are those that appear on
ceramic vessels attributed to the Edomite period. In the collection published
by Nelson Glueck from the Tall al-Khalīfa site, the grid element appears on an
almost complete jar,47 on two fragments with narrow divisions48 and on four
fragments with wide divisions.49 It appears on Edomite ware attributed to the
end of the Iron Age, but with fine divisions and within rectangles separated
by other decorative elements. It sometimes appears in a vertical position, and
sometimes horizontally.50 We find that the roots of this element in Palestine
40 Ibid., 231, fig. 15, no. 8.

41 Ingraham et al., “Preliminary Report,” pl. 79, no. 11.
42 Rashīd, “Dirāsa li-fakhkhār,” pl. 1, fig. 2; pl. 11, figs. 1-4; pl. 12, figs. 1 a-b and 2 b; pl. 13,
fig. 1; pl. 14, figs. 2-4; pl. 15, figs. 2-3; pl. 17, figs. 2-3; pl. 18, fig. 1; pl. 19, figs. 1-3.
43 Juris Zariņš et al., “al-Taqrīr al-mabdaʾī li-masḥ al-minṭaqa al-wusṭā ah 1398/1978 ce,”
Aṭlāl 3 (1979): pl. 25, nos. 181-183.
44 A. S. al-Ghazzī, “A Comparative Study of Pottery from a Site in the al-Kharj Valley, Central
Arabia.” (PhD dissertation, London: Institute of Archaeology, University College, Univer-
sity of London, 1990), pls. 57-63.
45 Alessandro De Maigret, “La Ceramica Sabea Specificta e Sviluppi da uno Studio delle
forme,” Arabia 1 (2003): pl. 14, no. 3.
46 M. Mouton and R. Boucharlat, Survey and Sounding at Muwailah (Sharjah Airport): a Short
Report (1989), Archaeological Survey in Sharjah Emirate (uae), Fifth Report, 1989, 18.
47 Nelson Glueck, “Some Edomite Pottery from Tell El-Kheleifeh, Part 1,” Bulletin of the
American Schools of Oriental Research 188 (1967): fig. 1, no. 2.
48 Ibid., fig. 2, nos. 1, 3.
49 Glueck, “Some Edomite Pottery,” fig. 2, nos. 6-7, 10, 14.
50 Eilat Mazar, “Edomite Pottery at the End of the Iron Age,” Israel Exploration Journal 35,
no. 4 (1985): fig. 7, nos. 1, 3; fig. 8.

(2023) 117–135
go back to the Second Early Bronze Age, as Amiran published a jar showing the
grid element with narrow divisions.51
It therefore appears that this element had a temporal distribution extend-
ing from ancient times until the Achaemenid Persian period. It rarely appears
in the Greek and then Roman periods. It is also evident that the narrow divi-
sions predominated during the ancient periods, and wide divisions during the
Second Iron Age, that is, the period from 700-500 bce.
Conclusion
Comparative studies indicate that this collection falls within the group of
colored pottery from northwestern Saudi Arabia, generally dated to between
the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st millennium bce. Given the ab-
sence of the characteristic decorative elements that appear on ceramic vessels
dated to the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age—that is,
between the 14th and 13th centuries bce—such as birds, lotus flowers, snakes,
and simple human figures, this collection most probably dates to the Late Iron
Age, that is, between the 8th and 6th centuries bce, perhaps continuing until
the 4th century bce.
The collection appears similar to the Taymāʾ pottery in a number of decora-
tive elements, such as: the chessboard element, one of the predominant motifs
on several of the fragments published by Rashīd from the Taymāʾ settlement,
which suggests the Late Iron Age; the hanging rope element; and the grid ele-
ment, which connects this collection to a number of sites scattered across the
Arabian Peninsula and neighboring regions, as discussed in this study.
These collections indicate that al-Khurayba was in contact with several
sites within Saudi Arabia, such as the sites of Taymāʾ52 and Qurayya in the
northwest, and53 the sites of al-Sīḥ54 and al-Banna in the center,55 as well as
sites elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, such as the al-Muwayliḥ site in the
United Arab Emirates,56 and sites outside the Arabian Peninsula, including
Tall al-Khalīfa in the Levant.57 Furthermore, studies of ancient inscriptions
51 R. Amiran, “The Painted Pottery Style of the Early Bronze ii Period in Palestine,” Levant 6
(1974): pl. 25, A.
52 See Notes 1, 19.
53 See Note 2.
54 See Note 43.
55 See Note 44.
56 See Note 46.
57 See Note 47.

128 Alghazzi
have shown that there was a Minaean community settled in Dādān, directing
Minaean trade. This indicates the existence of strong commercial links with
the Minaean polity in the southern Arabian Peninsula.58 There are a number
of tombs carved into the mountains of Dādān, the façades of which are sur-
mounted by Minaean inscriptions concerning Minaean families.59 The study
by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ṣāliḥ demonstrates an Egyptian influence on the manufacture
of the Lihyanite statues discovered in Dādān.60 This evidence clearly confirms
Dādān’s economic role in receiving goods from the southern caravans and
transporting them to the north or to the Red Sea coast, as well as receiving
goods from the northern caravans and transporting them to the south. Eco-
nomic diffusion often accompanies cultural diffusion; in the case of Dādān this
is underlined by the similarities in archaeological material mentioned above.
Moreover, readers of ʿAwaḍ al-Zahrānī’s recently completed doctoral disserta-
tion will be aware of the wide geographical spread of the various ceramic ves-
sels from Dādān, as well as the presence there of vessels imported from Greece
known as ancient Athenian pottery.61
We note that the ceramic collection that is the subject of this study shares
the following features with the other published collections from northwestern
Saudi Arabia:
1- The appearance of paint on the exterior and interior surfaces.
2- The appearance of paint on the rims of vessels.
3- The occasional appearance of decoration on a layer of paint with which
the entire vessel is covered: either on the interior or the exterior, or on
both surfaces together.
4- Coarseness of the clay paste, especially the significant presence of stone
fragments.
5- Covering of the interior or exterior surfaces (or both) of the vessels with
a layer of paint in the form of a slip [biṭāna].
58 Nasif, al-Ula, 23.

59 Ibid., 22.
60 Abdel-Aziz Saleh, “Some Monuments of North-Western Arabia in Ancient Egyptian Style,”
Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University 28 (1970): 1-26.
61 ʿAwaḍ ibn ʿAlī al-Sabālī al-Zahrānī, “Tall al-Kathīb bi’l-ʿUlā: dirāsa āthāriyya muqārana”
(PhD dissertation, King Saud University, Department of Antiquities and Museums, 2005).

(2023) 117–135
Description of fragments
Plate 1
1- Part of round base and body, soft-to-the-touch clay-dough, light sandy color
(2.5 yr-6/6), mixed with white and honey-colored stones, smoothed on the
interior surface, porous, solid and light; good oxidized firing; wheel-made.
2- Part of round base and body, clay-paste, light sandy color (2.5 yr-6/6),
mixed with white and honey-colored stones; traces of smoothing appear
on the exterior surface, rough texture on the inner surface; good oxidized
firing; wheel-made.
3- Part of round base and body, clay-paste, pale-pinkish light sandy color
(2.5 yr-6/6), mixed with brown and white stones; traces of a milk-colored
slip visible on the exterior surface; smooth to the touch, solid, with dec-
orative black and dark brown lines on the interior; good oxidized firing;
wheel-made.
4- Part of a high round base and body, clay-paste, dark red to light brown
color (2.5 yr-4/8), mixed with large stones, showing on the exterior
surface a reddish-brown slip; its interior surface is rough, and appears
scarred; good oxidized firing; high round base with thread cut marks;
handcrafted.
5- Part of a high round base and body, clay-paste, light sandy-brown color
(2.5 yr-6/4), mixed with white and honey-colored stones, porous; traces
of a milky slip visible on its interior surface; oxidized firing; wheel-made.
Plate 2
6- Part of a high round base and body, clay-paste, brownish-light sandy
color (2.5 yr-6/4), mixed with white and honey-colored stones; porous,
solid and soft to the touch; traces of smoothing visible on its interior sur-
face; oxidized firing; wheel-made.
7- Part of a plain rim and body, clay-paste, pinkish-red color (2.5 yr-6/8),
mixed with medium-sized white stones; whitish-milky slip visible on its
exterior surface, not cohesive but adheres well; remains of a sand-colored
slip visible on its interior surface, and decorative lines in black; porous;
oxidized firing; wheel-made.
8- Part of a plain rim and body, clay-paste, brownish-light sand color (2.5
yr-6/4), containing numerous impurities in the form of medium-sized
white stone fragments; porous; remains of a brownish-light sand-colored
slip visible on its interior surface; remains of a gray slip visible on its ex-
terior surface; remains of decoration in red and simple, unclear lines on
the exterior of the rim; good oxidized firing; wheel-made.

130 Alghazzi
9- Part of a plain rim and body, clay-paste, sandy-light red color (2.5 yr-6/8),
containing a few small white stone fragments; remains of a thin, cohesive
pink slip visible on its exterior surface; remains of a scaly, milk-colored
slip visible on its interior surface; remains on the exterior of intersecting
decorative lines in the form of a black grid enclosed by two parallel hori-
zontal lines, as well as other dark brown lines that have lost some of their
features; light; good oxidized firing; wheel-made.
Plate 3
10- Part of a plain rim and body, clay-paste, red color (2.5 yr-5/8), mixed with
large and small white and honey-colored stone fragments; greyish black
geometrical lines visible on its interior surface; remains of blackish-grey
paint visible on the rim; solid; excellent oxidized firing; wheel-made.
11- Part of body and rim, thickened on the exterior part and tapering; clay-
paste, light sandy color (2.5 yr-6/4), mixed with small honey-colored stone
fragments; thin, yellowish to light-green slip visible on the exterior surface;
black paint visible on the rim; hard; good oxidized firing; wheel-made.
12- Fragment of plain rim and body, light brown clay-paste (2.5 yr-5/4),
mixed with dark brown and honey-colored stone fragments; brown paint
residue visible on the exterior; solid; wheel-made.
13- Part of plain rim and body, red clay-paste (2.5 yr-5/8), mixed with white
and honey-colored stones; non-porous and cohesive; trace of black paint
visible on the interior and exterior surfaces; oxidized firing; wheel-made.
14- Part of body, clay-paste, light sandy color (2.5 yr-6/4), mixed with white
and brown stone fragments; smoothing marks on the exterior surface;
black decoration on the interior surface; solid; oxidized firing; wheel-
made.

(2023) 117–135
Appendix A: Map of al-ʿUlā
figure 1 Map of al-ʿUlā showing the locations of Khayf al-Zahra and Dādān (al-Khurayba),
from Bawden, “Kheif al-Zahrah,” pl. 44A.
Appendix B: Plates
plate 1 Pottery sherds, Nos 1-5, bases and body parts

132 Alghazzi
plate 2 Pottery sherds, No 6, base and part of body, and Nos 7-9, vertical edges
plate 3 Pottery sherds, Nos 10-13, edges, and No 14, part of body

(2023) 117–135
Appendix C: Figures
figure 1 Image of the exterior face of pottery sherds in Plate 1: 1-5 & Plate 2: 6
figure 2 Image of the interior face of pottery sherds in Plate 1: 1-5 & Plate 2: 6

134 Alghazzi
figure 3 Image of the exterior face of pottery sherds in Plate 2: 7-9 & Plate 3: 10
figure 4 Image of the interior face of pottery sherds in Plate 2: 7-9 & Plate 3: 10
figure 5 Image of the interior face of pottery sherd in Plate 3: 10

(2023) 117–135
l
figure 6 Image of the exterior face of pottery sherds in Plate 3: 11-14.
figure 7 Image of the interior face of pottery sherds in Plate 3: 11-14


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Darah Journal of Arabian Peninsula Studies

A New Pottery Collection from Jabal Dādān

Dr. Abdulaziz S. Alghazzi

al-ʿUlā – al-Khurayba – Dādān – pottery

Published with license by Koninklijke Brill NV | doi:10.1163/29501768-2023xx05

by Winnett and Reed,1 40 fragments published by Barr et al.,2 38 fragments

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Type 1: Plate 1: Nos. 1, 4; Plate 2: No. 7; Plate 3: Nos. 10, 13

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4- Bowls with straight walls (Plate 3: Nos. 10-11).

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10 Parr et al., “Preliminary Survey,” 238.

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13 Bawden, “Kheif al-Zahrah,” pl. 46, no. 21.

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20 M. Ingraham et al., “Preliminary Report on a Reconnaissance Survey of the Northwestern

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32 Ingraham et al., “Preliminary Report,” pl. 78, no. 8.

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40 Ibid., 231, fig. 15, no. 8.

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58 Nasif, al-Ula, 23.

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Appendix A: Map of al-ʿUlā

plate 1 Pottery sherds, Nos 1-5, bases and body parts

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figure 5 Image of the interior face of pottery sherd in Plate 3: 10

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figure 7 Image of the interior face of pottery sherds in Plate 3: 11-14

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