Faydhat Nayif Archaeological Site, AsSubbiyah, Kuwait: A Discovery of an Ancient Blacksmith Village along the North Shore of the Kuwait Bay, Kuwait

Abstract

This paper is a report on a discovery of an ancient human settlement next to the Faydhat Nayif pond in the AsSubbiyah area, north of Kuwait Bay, Kuwait. It also presents a description of the site and its artefacts. The settlement, named by the author Faydhat Nayif Archaeological Site, is composed of two parts, the main cluster of gallery remains and a small satellite, the Sonna Village. The main site contains foundations of around fifty galleries. The state of preservation of the foundations varies from excellent to weak. The dominant architectural plan for the galleries is a rectangle. Infrastructural components associated with the foundations are iron smelters and iron tools. Artefacts include fabricated iron tools, fishhooks and fishnets, pottery fragments, glass shards, and animal bones. The craft of the inhabitants revolves around iron smelting and tool fabrication, and hence, the “blacksmith” status. The research method followed in the research is simple classical surveying techniques utilizing a Brunton compass and a measuring tape. Imaging of the galleries used digital cameras. The settlement displays three styles of construction. The first style is that of a faint triangle, seen mostly in the southern and western sides of the site. The second style shows as a rectangle, with most galleries containing two rooms and external bathrooms. The third style of construction is similar to the second style, except for the presence of wood vestiges and the gypsum lining of the gallery walls. These differences between the three styles suggest three episodes of occupancy. One of the occupancies was by the AsSubbah tribe. The site served repeatedly as a center of population and pilgrim rest area, as well as cultural exchanges in the last 1500 years.