Essouk – Tadmekka. An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town
par Fabrice Melka ·
Edited by Sam Nixon, University of East Anglia.
Essouk-Tadmekka presents the first archaeological exploration of one of the most important market towns on the trans-Saharan camel-caravan routes in the early Islamic period, supplying West African gold, slaves, and ivory to the Mediterranean world. Excavation of Essouk-Tadmekka’s ruins – in Saharan West Africa – has enabled Sam Nixon and a team of scholars to better understand this town described by early Arabic geographers, therein providing insights into such wider questions as the origins of trans-Saharan trade, the commerce in gold, and the arrival of Islamic culture in West Africa. This window into the earliest period of trans-Saharan exchange includes illustration of some of the best-preserved ruins along the camel-caravan routes, the earliest-known Arabic writing in West Africa, and rare gold-working remains.
Contributors are: Stephanie Black, Sophie Desrosiers, Laure Dussubieux, Thomas Fenn, Dorian Fuller, James Lankton, Kevin MacDonald, Paulo de Moraes Farias, Mary-Anne Murray, Sam Nixon, Thilo Rehren, Peter Robertshaw, Jane Sidell, and Benoit Suzanne.
Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Part 1: Introduction
1 Overview
Sam Nixon
2 An Unexplored Market Town of the Early Trans-Saharan Trade
Sam Nixon
3 The Essouk-Tadmekka Locality: Environment and Human Geography
Sam Nixon
Part 2: Site Overview and Surface Remains
4 The Essouk-Tadmekka Ruins and Their Prospection
Sam Nixon
5 Arabic and Tifinagh Inscriptions
Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias
Part 3: Excavations and Architecture
6 Excavation Programme and Methods
Sam Nixon
7 Excavations in the Mosque Quarter (Unit Ek-A)
Sam Nixon
8 Excavations Near the Eastern Cliffs (Unit Ek-B)
Sam Nixon
9 Excavations on the Island (Unit Ek-C)
Sam Nixon
10 Chronology
Sam Nixon
11 Architecture
Sam Nixon and Benoit Suzanne
Part 4: Finds
12 Pottery
Sam Nixon and Kevin MacDonald
13 Glass Vessels
Sam Nixon, James Lankton and Laure Dussubieux
14 Beads
James Lankton, Sam Nixon, Peter Robertshaw, and Laure Dussubieux
15 Gold Processing Remains
Sam Nixon and Thilo Rehren
16 Crucible-Steel Making and Other Metalworking Remains
Thilo Rehren and Sam Nixon
17 Coins and Other Metal Artefacts
Sam Nixon
18 Miscellaneous Material Culture
Sam Nixon
19 Eggshell
Jane Sidell
20 Faunal Remains
Kevin MacDonald
21 Plant Remains
Dorian Fuller, Mary-Anne Murray and Sam Nixon
Part 5: Synthesis and Discussion
22 Excavated Sequence
Sam Nixon
23 A New Cultural History of Essouk-Tadmekka
Sam Nixon
24 Debating trans-Saharan Commerce and Culture
Sam Nixon
Conclusion
Appendices
A Early Arabic Documentary Records of Tadmekka
Sam Nixon
B Plans of Essouk-Tadmekka Town Ruins and Cemeteries
Benoit Suzanne
C Essouk Arabic Non-Funerary Inscriptions, New (Previously Unpublished) Series
Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias
D Context Descriptions for Excavation Units
Sam Nixon
E Pottery Analysis Tables And Additional Illustrative Materials
Sam Nixon and Kevin MacDonald
F Glass Vessels Tables
Sam Nixon and James Lankton
G Glass Bead Tables
Sam Nixon and James Lankton
H Vessel and Bead Glass Chemical Compositional Analysis
James Lankton, Peter Robertshaw, Laure Dussubieux, and Sam Nixon
I Archaeometallurgical Waste
Thilo Rehren
J Digital X-ray Imaging and Conservation Treatment of Silver Coins and Related Finds
Stephanie Black
K Preliminary Chemical and Technical Analyses of Essouk Metal Artefacts
Tom Fenn, Thilo Rehren and Laure Dussubieux
L Note sur le damas et sur le «voile» de soie d’Essouk-Tadmekka
Sophie Desrosiers
M Faunal Remains Tables
Kevin MacDonald
N Species Counts of Plant Remains
Dorian Fuller, Mary-Anne Murray and Sam Nixon
Index
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Fabrice Melka (16 novembre 2017). Essouk – Tadmekka. An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town. Carnet d’Afriques, revue d’histoire. Consulté le 13 juin 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/at3d