RT Article
T1 Banqueting in a Northern Arabian Oasis: A Nabataean Triclinium at Dûmat al-Jandal, Saudi Arabia
JF Bulletin of ASOR
IS 375
SP 13
OP 34
A1 Charloux, Guillaume 1976-
A1 Durand, Caroline
A1 Thomas, Ariane 1983-
A1 Bouchaud, Charlène
A1 Monchot, Hervé
LA English
PB The University of Chicago Press
YR 2016
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1577301331
AB A large U-shaped building made of stones discovered in 2011 at the top of a promontory in Dümat al-Jandal (modern Dumat, Saudi Arabia) is interpreted as a vast freestanding open-air Nabataean triclinium. Radiocarbon dating and pottery readings set the main occupation of this triclinium during a relatively short period, between the late first century b.c. and the late first century/early second century a.d. Excavation of the structure reveals pottery dishes and fireplaces regularly distributed throughout the occupation surface. Multidisciplinary studies of the archaeological material (pottery, bone, and plant remains) provide an opportunity to focus on the activities carried out within this type of cultic structure. By comparing the data with that of other studies undertaken in similar Nabataean triclinia found in Petra, Jordan, and Hegra, Saudi Arabia, in particular, this article seeks to give new insights into the question of "ritual meals". Moreover, this discovery of a first typical Nabataean building in Dümat al-Jandal confirms Nabataean control over trade routes north of the Arabian Peninsula at the turn of the Christian era.
K1 Arabia
K1 DINNERS & dining
K1 Dumat
K1 INTERDISCIPLINARY research
K1 Nabataeans
K1 Nabataean period
K1 Pottery
K1 Radiocarbon dating
K1 Saudi Arabia
K1 fauna
K1 Flora
K1 radiocarbon datings
K1 ritual meal
K1 Triclinium
DO 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.375.0013