Umm Dabaghiyah: A Trading Outpost?

Abstract

Prehistoric archaeology, perhaps even more than historic archaeology, constantly poses more problems than it solves, and so gives rise to interpretations that may not be possible to uphold. Such a state of affairs now exists at the late Neolithic site, Umm Dabaghiyah. This is a small site containing four main levels of a single culture and, for this reason, seemed an ideal candidate for total excavation. It is high time we knew the component parts of at least one village for every early period and culture, but our present preoccupation with minutiae, allied to vertical stratigraphical digging, while bringing about a knowledge of detail, has also confined our present understanding of early sites to the results of greater or smaller soundings only. However it is possible to combine both stratigraphic digging and reasonable detail with horizontal expansion, the only drawbacks being that it takes longer and so costs more money, than the straight cut to bedrock. Largely owing to the encouragement and advice of Sir Max Mallowan, factors which, I am proud to acknowledge, have accompanied me throughout my archaeological career, as near as possible total excavation is now being carried out at the site.