New archaeological and epigraphical material from Qana (South Arabia)

Abstract

Excavations at Qana, the ancient port of the Hadramawt on the Indian Ocean, have been carried out systematically by a Soviet‐Yemeni Expedition since 1985. Several houses, a storeroom, and probably a religious building have been excavated in the “Lower City”. A rich collection of archaeological material has been obtained, including several hundred bronze coins; painted and inscribed fragments of texts in Greek datable to the fourth century AD; African and Mediterranean pottery. For the first time it is possible to reconstruct the history of a large South Arabian port belonging to the kingdom of Hadramawt. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that Qana existed until the beginning of the Islamic era.