I am an independent researcher based in Australia. My primary focus is the pre and proto-historic archaeology and history of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the Iron Age in Dhofar, Yemen, and also pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA) , 2023
An update on recent exploration and historical research in Dhofar that may link two similar stone... more An update on recent exploration and historical research in Dhofar that may link two similar stone towers in nearby wadis, and help resolve their dating and purpose. A link to a full examination of these structures is provided.
Little is yet known about the disparate groups that moved into the fertile coastal areas of Dhofa... more Little is yet known about the disparate groups that moved into the fertile coastal areas of Dhofar province in southern Oman around the end of the first millennium, or ca. AD 1000. Each was undoubtedly attracted by its opportunities and resources, but their settlement histories, and particularly their origins, remain opaque, none more so than the mysterious Minjui or Minju people who rose to prominence during the last millennium. This paper notes the various origin theories but does not add to them or attempt a resolution. Rather, it presents two surviving structures in Dhofar as being of possible Minjui construction and examines what they may tell us about the activities of the group.
The 1999 excavation of the Barʾan complex at Maʾrib in Yemen yielded identical Sabaean inscriptio... more The 1999 excavation of the Barʾan complex at Maʾrib in Yemen yielded identical Sabaean inscriptions on three votive altars. These dedication texts list the donor’s grandfather as a member of the Nihm tribe, definitively establishing the presence of the tribal name to c.2,800 years ago. The name, rare in southern Arabia, can then be traced through a variety of other inscriptional, topographical and historical sources down to the present-day tribe and its lands. While the consonants NHM refer to ‘dressing stone by chipping’, and may appear in a variety of contexts, an etymological examination of its Semitic roots yields interesting pointers to the possible origins of the name. Multiple links in these roots to terminology such as ‘consoling’, ‘comforting’ and ‘complaining’ have led to the name being long associated with death and the processes of mourning. This paper, therefore, suggests the possibility of the name being specifically associated with a place of burial, perhaps a connection in the distant past to the extensive, still poorly understood, desert necropolis at the ʿAlam, Ruwayk and Jidran complex north of Maʾrib. Being able to firmly document, a specific tribal and topographical name for almost three millennia is significant. Such continuity of a tribal name, perhaps unique in Arabia, would have implications for our understanding of the processes of tribal naming, structure, and movements in pre-Islamic southern Arabia generally.
A survey of the extensive human traces at the site was
completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor ... more A survey of the extensive human traces at the site was completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor Kharfot Foundation (www.khor-kharfot- foundation.com), which has had collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and assistance from Dhofar University. Fieldwork will commence in 2016 in collaboration with Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
A brief introduction to Khor Kharfot in Dhofar, the most fertile coastal location in Arabia; its ... more A brief introduction to Khor Kharfot in Dhofar, the most fertile coastal location in Arabia; its abundant flora and fauna and the reasons it has remained little known even now.
A brief introduction to the most fertile coastal location in Arabia, Khor Kharfot, highlighting i... more A brief introduction to the most fertile coastal location in Arabia, Khor Kharfot, highlighting its unusual flora and fauna and the reasons it remains little known even now.
The ancient migrations settling the South Pacific remain poorly understood. This is particularly ... more The ancient migrations settling the South Pacific remain poorly understood. This is particularly so when the New Caledonia sequence is considered and where perhaps the greatest archaeological mystery of the region awaits resolution. Scattered across the Isle of Pines more than 400 tumuli, or mounds, shelter substantial cement blocks, many with a circular shaft running through their centre. The only tumulus fully excavated also revealed a large cone-shaped iron object buried directly beneath the shaft, function unknown. Described by two archaeologists as recently as 2015 as "a kind of archaeological nightmare" 1 the origin and purpose of the tumuli remains enigmatic, the mystery compounded by studies revealing dating thousands of years earlier than settlement models currently allow. The paper outlines various investigations over the last century before arguing that excavation data from two seminal studies (Chevalier 1963 and Lagarde 2017) demonstrate that non-anthropic explanations-notably the long-standing avian theory-fail to address the substantial data indicating a human presence on the island predating the Early Modern Era. A new hypothesis for the original purpose of the tumuli is presented, one based on the accumulated data.
International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA) , 2023
An update on recent exploration and historical research in Dhofar that may link two similar stone... more An update on recent exploration and historical research in Dhofar that may link two similar stone towers in nearby wadis, and help resolve their dating and purpose. A link to a full examination of these structures is provided.
Little is yet known about the disparate groups that moved into the fertile coastal areas of Dhofa... more Little is yet known about the disparate groups that moved into the fertile coastal areas of Dhofar province in southern Oman around the end of the first millennium, or ca. AD 1000. Each was undoubtedly attracted by its opportunities and resources, but their settlement histories, and particularly their origins, remain opaque, none more so than the mysterious Minjui or Minju people who rose to prominence during the last millennium. This paper notes the various origin theories but does not add to them or attempt a resolution. Rather, it presents two surviving structures in Dhofar as being of possible Minjui construction and examines what they may tell us about the activities of the group.
The 1999 excavation of the Barʾan complex at Maʾrib in Yemen yielded identical Sabaean inscriptio... more The 1999 excavation of the Barʾan complex at Maʾrib in Yemen yielded identical Sabaean inscriptions on three votive altars. These dedication texts list the donor’s grandfather as a member of the Nihm tribe, definitively establishing the presence of the tribal name to c.2,800 years ago. The name, rare in southern Arabia, can then be traced through a variety of other inscriptional, topographical and historical sources down to the present-day tribe and its lands. While the consonants NHM refer to ‘dressing stone by chipping’, and may appear in a variety of contexts, an etymological examination of its Semitic roots yields interesting pointers to the possible origins of the name. Multiple links in these roots to terminology such as ‘consoling’, ‘comforting’ and ‘complaining’ have led to the name being long associated with death and the processes of mourning. This paper, therefore, suggests the possibility of the name being specifically associated with a place of burial, perhaps a connection in the distant past to the extensive, still poorly understood, desert necropolis at the ʿAlam, Ruwayk and Jidran complex north of Maʾrib. Being able to firmly document, a specific tribal and topographical name for almost three millennia is significant. Such continuity of a tribal name, perhaps unique in Arabia, would have implications for our understanding of the processes of tribal naming, structure, and movements in pre-Islamic southern Arabia generally.
A survey of the extensive human traces at the site was
completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor ... more A survey of the extensive human traces at the site was completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor Kharfot Foundation (www.khor-kharfot- foundation.com), which has had collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and assistance from Dhofar University. Fieldwork will commence in 2016 in collaboration with Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
A brief introduction to Khor Kharfot in Dhofar, the most fertile coastal location in Arabia; its ... more A brief introduction to Khor Kharfot in Dhofar, the most fertile coastal location in Arabia; its abundant flora and fauna and the reasons it has remained little known even now.
A brief introduction to the most fertile coastal location in Arabia, Khor Kharfot, highlighting i... more A brief introduction to the most fertile coastal location in Arabia, Khor Kharfot, highlighting its unusual flora and fauna and the reasons it remains little known even now.
The ancient migrations settling the South Pacific remain poorly understood. This is particularly ... more The ancient migrations settling the South Pacific remain poorly understood. This is particularly so when the New Caledonia sequence is considered and where perhaps the greatest archaeological mystery of the region awaits resolution. Scattered across the Isle of Pines more than 400 tumuli, or mounds, shelter substantial cement blocks, many with a circular shaft running through their centre. The only tumulus fully excavated also revealed a large cone-shaped iron object buried directly beneath the shaft, function unknown. Described by two archaeologists as recently as 2015 as "a kind of archaeological nightmare" 1 the origin and purpose of the tumuli remains enigmatic, the mystery compounded by studies revealing dating thousands of years earlier than settlement models currently allow. The paper outlines various investigations over the last century before arguing that excavation data from two seminal studies (Chevalier 1963 and Lagarde 2017) demonstrate that non-anthropic explanations-notably the long-standing avian theory-fail to address the substantial data indicating a human presence on the island predating the Early Modern Era. A new hypothesis for the original purpose of the tumuli is presented, one based on the accumulated data.
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Papers by Warren P Aston
Semitic roots yields interesting pointers to the possible origins of the name. Multiple links in these roots to terminology such as ‘consoling’, ‘comforting’ and ‘complaining’ have led to the name being long associated with death and the processes of mourning. This paper, therefore, suggests the possibility of the name being specifically associated with a place of burial, perhaps a connection in the distant past to the extensive, still poorly understood, desert necropolis at the ʿAlam, Ruwayk and Jidran complex north of Maʾrib. Being able to firmly document, a specific tribal and topographical name for almost three millennia is significant. Such continuity of a tribal name, perhaps unique in Arabia, would have implications for our understanding of the processes of tribal naming, structure, and
movements in pre-Islamic southern Arabia generally.
completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor Kharfot
Foundation (www.khor-kharfot- foundation.com), which has
had collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU)
and assistance from Dhofar University. Fieldwork will
commence in 2016 in collaboration with Oman’s Ministry of
Heritage and Culture.
pp. 18-19 of the 2016 BFSA Bulletin.
Semitic roots yields interesting pointers to the possible origins of the name. Multiple links in these roots to terminology such as ‘consoling’, ‘comforting’ and ‘complaining’ have led to the name being long associated with death and the processes of mourning. This paper, therefore, suggests the possibility of the name being specifically associated with a place of burial, perhaps a connection in the distant past to the extensive, still poorly understood, desert necropolis at the ʿAlam, Ruwayk and Jidran complex north of Maʾrib. Being able to firmly document, a specific tribal and topographical name for almost three millennia is significant. Such continuity of a tribal name, perhaps unique in Arabia, would have implications for our understanding of the processes of tribal naming, structure, and
movements in pre-Islamic southern Arabia generally.
completed in 2014 by the Texas-based Khor Kharfot
Foundation (www.khor-kharfot- foundation.com), which has
had collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU)
and assistance from Dhofar University. Fieldwork will
commence in 2016 in collaboration with Oman’s Ministry of
Heritage and Culture.
pp. 18-19 of the 2016 BFSA Bulletin.