Experiment and innovation: early Islamic industry at al-Raqqa, Syria.

Experiment and innovation: early Islamic industry at al-Raqqa, Syria. Introduction The city of al-Raqqa in north central Syria is located close to theconfluence of the river Euphrates with its tributary the Balikh (Figure1). The origin of settlement at the location occupied by al-Raqqaprobably lies in the third century BC with the foundation of aHellenistic city usually identified as Nikephorion. This city wasenlarged by Seleucus II Seleucus II(Seleucus Callinicus), d. 226 B.C., king of ancient Syria (247–226 B.C.), son of Antiochus II. On his father's death there was a struggle for the throne between Seleucus and his stepmother, Berenice (on behalf of her infant son). Kallinikos (246-226 BC) and renamedKallinikos/Callinicum after him. Destroyed in AD 542, Callinicum wasrebuilt by the emperor Justinian (AD 527-565) and formed part of thefortification fortification,system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily constructed in the field in time of war. of the Byzantine border along the Euphrates. Callinicumwas overcome in AD 639/640 by the Muslim army under 'Iyad b. Ghanmand given the Arabic name Old Arabic names are based on a long naming system: most Arabs do not simply have first/middle/last names, but a full chain of names. This system is in use throughout the Arab world. al-Raqqa. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] In AD 771-772 the caliph caliphArabic khalifah (“deputy” or “successor”)Title given to those who succeeded the Prophet Muhammad as real or nominal ruler of the Muslim world, ostensibly with all his powers except that of prophecy. al-Mansur built a new walled city to thewest of al-Raqqa in order to protect the border with the ByzantineEmpire Byzantine Empire,successor state to the Roman Empire (see under Rome), also called Eastern Empire and East Roman Empire. It was named after Byzantium, which Emperor Constantine I rebuilt (A.D. 330) as Constantinople and made the capital of the entire Roman Empire. . Called al-Rafika ('the companion') this new cityserved as a garrison town, housing troops from Khurasan in eastern Iran.For a brief period (AD 796-808), the 'Abbasid caliph Harunal-Rashid Harun al-Rashid(härn är-räshēd`)[Arab.,=Aaron the Upright], c.764–809, 5th and most famous Abbasid caliph (786–809). lived in al-Rafika and was responsible for the construction ofan extensive imperial city (Meinecke 1996) that served as theadministrative centre Administrative Centre (in Norwegian administrativt senter; in Portuguese centro administrativo) is often used in several countries to refer to a county town, or other seat of regional/local government, or the place where the central administration of a commune is for the Islamic Caliphate--an empire stretchingfrom North Africa to Central Asia. Although Harun al-Rashid returned toBaghdad in AD 808 where he died a year later, al-Raqqa/al-Rafika,remained the capital of the western Islamic provinces. From the'Abbasid period onwards the city was associated with extensiveindustrial activity including the production of fine glass and ceramics.The eponymous al-Raqqa ware, widely distributed Adj. 1. widely distributed - growing or occurring in many parts of the world; "a cosmopolitan herb"; "cosmopolitan in distribution"cosmopolitanbionomics, environmental science, ecology - the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms in the Islamic world wasproduced until shortly before the eventual abandonment of al-Raqqa inthe face of Mongul incursions in the mid-thirteenth century. Followingits abandonment, al-Raqqa experienced a long progressive decline withwritten accounts dating to the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuriesbeing testimony to the city's ruined and deserted nature (Ainsworth1888; Mason 1943; Fedden 1946). Rapid urban development since the 1960smeans that today much of al-Raqqa has been lost with only scatteredremnants of the Byzantine and Islamic cities surviving. The Raqqa Ancient Industry project Since 1994 the Archaeology Department at the University ofSheffield The University of Sheffield is a research university, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. ReputationSheffield was the Sunday Times University of the Year in 2001 and has consistently appeared as their top 20 institutions. , and since 1996 at Nottingham, under the direction of JulianHenderson, has undertaken a programme of excavation and survey at anumber of locations within the early Islamic industrial complex atal-Raqqa. These excavations have revealed extensive stratified stratified/strat��i��fied/ (strat��i-fid) formed or arranged in layers. strat��i��fiedadj.Arranged in the form of layers or strata. industrial deposits with evidence for the manufacture of a variety ofmaterials, including glass, glazed and unglazed pottery and metalwork(Henderson 1996; Tonghini & Henderson 1998). Work has focused onidentifying production sites, the scientific analysis of materialsrecovered from the site (Henderson 1995, 1999, 2000; Henderson et al.2004), reconstructing the spatial organisation of the industrial complexand determining resource exploitation for industrial use. In this paperwe report the findings of the excavation and scientific analyses ofearly Islamic glass and ceramic production at al-Raqqa. Theinvestigations are the most comprehensive of any Islamic productioncomplex. Al-Raqqa/al-Rafika: the cities and their environs Al-Raqqa is situated on an east-west spur of land, rising between 9and 13m above the floodplain floodplain,level land along the course of a river formed by the deposition of sediment during periodic floods. Floodplains contain such features as levees, backswamps, delta plains, and oxbow lakes. of the Euphrates, 5kin west of itsconfluence with the Balikh (Figure 2). A remnant of the middlePleistocene So far, the Pleistocene Series is not subdivided into formal units (i.e., Stages). Several solutions were proposed, and dedicated working groups are presently pursuing an agreed solution. terrace of the Euphrates (Van Liere 1960) is breached by theBalikh where it flows south to join the Euphrates. The spur provideselevated land unaffected by seasonal flooding, and is an ideal site forsettlement, taking advantage of communications along the strategicallyimportant Euphrates and Balikh valleys. A low-lying marsh to the northof the terrace has formed as a result of the backing-up of the Balikhduring periods of high flow in the Euphrates and it is possible that thepresence of this marsh may well be the origin of the name al-Raqqa,which translates as the morass (Le Strange 1966). Islamic cultural sitesin the vicinity of al-Raqqa are confined to the higher Pleistoceneterraces of the Euphrates. Little evidence of Islamic or indeed earlieractivity has been found on the floodplain, although given the highlydynamic nature of the Euphrates river Euphrates RiverTurkish Firat Nehri Arabic Nahr al FuratRiver, Middle East. The largest river in Southwest Asia, it rises in Turkey and flows southeast across Syria and through Iraq. channel at this point (Van Liere1960; Wilkinson 1998, Challis chal��lis?n.A soft, lightweight, usually printed fabric made of wool, cotton, or rayon.[Possibly from the surname Challis.]Noun 1. et al. 2004) it is likely that muchmaterial has been lost. Certainly, close to al-Raqqa there is evidencefor a number of erosive e��ro��siveadj.Causing erosion. contacts between the Euphrates and the southernedge of the Pleistocene terrace. Al Khalaf and Kohlmeyer (1985:137)noted that in places the southern defensive circuit of the earlierByzantine city showed evidence of erosion by the Euphrates. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] Little is known of the character of the Classical and Byzantinecity of Nikephorion/ Callinicum and it is difficult to discern itslayout beneath the wholesale change wrought by later, Islamic activities(for details see al-Khalaf & Kohlmeyer 1985). Historical evidencesuggests that at least two monasteries existed at the time: Dair Zakka,sited at the summit of Tell B'ia about 1 km north-east of theByzantine city and Dera d-estuna of uncertain location, but perhaps tothe west of the Byzantine city (Heidemann 2003). Like the earlierByzantine city the extent and character of the Umayyad city are alsounclear. One major feature of the city, however, was a substantialcongregational (Friday) mosque constructed towards the centre of theByzantine walled area in about AD 641 and renovated and extended in thetenth century. The ruins of the mosque still stood in the earlytwentieth century and were recorded by Ernst Herzfeld Ernst Emil Herzfeld (July 23, 1879–January 20, 1948) was an German archaeologist and Iranologist.Herzfeld was born in Celle, Germany. He studied architecture in Munich and Berlin, while also taking classes in Assyriology, ancient history and art history. in 1907 (Sarre& Herzfeld 1911) and photographed by Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell CBE (July 14, 1868 – July 12, 1926) was a British writer, traveller, political analyst, administrator in Arabia, and an archaeologist who found Mesopotamian ruins. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917. in 1909 (BellArchive J 181), but no trace of the mosque complex has survived thepost-1960s expansion of the city. Considerably more is known about the later 'Abbasid city.Elements of the city and extensive palace complexes to the north-west(Figure 3) have been excavated and surveyed on a number of occasions.Their main features, including the horseshoe-shaped city walls ofal-Rafika (Figures 2 and 3), are well documented (Al Khalaf 1985; Salibi1954, 1955; Meinecke & Heusch 1985; Heusch & Meinecke 1989;Meinecke 1991, 1996). A close examination of remotely sensed imagery, aspart of this investigation, has provided greater detail as to theinternal layout of al-Rafika, allowing streets and property boundaries Ask a Lawyer QuestionCountry: United States of AmericaState: AlabamaLand property House built in 1960's. Her house was built her house was built years late. My and myself own our house. to be identified. The apparent absence of robbing pits from much of theinterior of the city indicates that these areas were never occupied bybuildings, and it is possible that much of the interior of the walledarea may have been given over to widely spaced official buildings,courtyards and gardens, with the main population centre remaining in theold city to the east (for more details see Challis et al. 2004).Moreover, the palace complexes are much more extensive than previouslyreported (Figure 2) and taken as a whole the remains are believed toform the largest early Islamic landscape west of Baghdad. [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] The industrial landscape of early Islamic al-Raqqa/al Rafika The 'Abbasid city included an extensive extramural extramural/ex��tra��mu��ral/ (-mur��il) situated or occurring outside the wall of an organ or structure. extramuralsituated or occurring outside the wall of an organ or structure. industrialand commercial area largely situated on the land between al-Raqqa andal-Rafika: the so-called al-Raqqa al-Mutariqua ('the burningRaqqa'), as it is referred to by contemporary sources (Heidemann2003). Archaeological and documentary evidence A type of written proof that is offered at a trial to establish the existence or nonexistence of a fact that is in dispute.Letters, contracts, deeds, licenses, certificates, tickets, or other writings are documentary evidence. suggests that commercialand industrial activity in this area began in the late 780s, expandedduring Harun al-Rashid's rule in the 790s and continued to flourishinto the ninth century. By AD 815 al-Mutariqua was protected by its ownwall and included, the Suq suq?n.Variant of souk. Hisham, and an enclosed trading centre orcaravanserai, the Funduq al-Qadim. But the city and its associatedindustries appear to have been in decline by the last quarter of theninth century, although there is evidence for continued industrialactivity in the area of al-Raqqa al-Mutariqua as late as the twelfthcentury AD. There were also periods of commercial and industrialrevivals in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries when majorrenovations to the fabric of the city of al-Rafika took place (Creswell1989). Islamic glass production Although now largely submerged beneath modern buildings, surfacetraces of Islamic glass manufacture are widespread, and have beenexamined by excavation at two sites within the extramural area ofal-Raqqa al-Mutariqua: Tel Zuiai and Tell Bellor. The site of Tell Zajuj(Figure 3, no. 3), located in the northeastern sector of al-Raqqaal-Mutariqua was excavated between 1992 and 1996. Here a complete lateeighth to ninth century glass workshop was discovered (Henderson 1999,2000). Tell Zujaj produced evidence for both glass making and glassworking. Much of the artefactual adj. 1. of or pertaining to an artefact.2. made by human actions.Adj. 1. artefactual - of or relating to artifactsartifactual evidence was confined to material inthe industrial dumps, belonging to the late phase of industrial activityat the site, with a smaller proportion from the glass workshop itself.Evidence for glass working came in the form of many hundreds of'Abbasid glass vessel fragments (Figure 5), pulls of glass, rods ofglass, dribbles, drops, much raw glass of various colours (Figure 4),glass moils (the primary evidence for glass blowing glass blowingn.The art or process of shaping an object from molten glass by blowing air into it through a tube.glass blower n. ), fragments ofcrucible and trays used for casting glass blocks. Compelling evidencefor glass making came in the form of raw glass blocks attached to tankfurnace Noun 1. tank furnace - furnace into one end of which a batch of measured raw materials is shoveled and from the other end molten glass is obtainedfurnace - an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc. fragments and fragments of semi-vitrified flit. Many of thevessel fragments analysed conformed to the chemical compositions of theraw furnace glasses. Four to five tons of fragmented glass tankfurnaces, mainly floors with raw glass still attached, formed part ofthe dumped material. A number of structures and features tentativelyassociated with glass production and contemporary with the dumped layerswere identified including two small, vitrified structures, which mayhave served as flitting ovens, and a pit, which may be interpreted asthe lowest chamber of a beehive-shaped three-chambered glass furnace.The possible furnace was associated with a complex of mud brick walls,which are interpreted as being ancillary rooms attached to a mainworking centre. Raw materials would have been fused in the tank furnacesin this phase; the raw glass would then have been heated up in cruciblesin smaller beehive-shaped furnaces for working and blowing. This is thefirst time to the author's knowledge that both furnace types havebeen found on the same ancient glass-making site. [FIGURES 4-5 OMITTED] The main phase of glass production at Tel Zujaj comprised a glassworkshop, inserted into one room of an early Islamic hypocaust hypocaust(hī`pəkôst): see heating. . Here theremains of three similar, three-chambered furnaces in the north-west,north-east and south-east corners of the room were found. Thefoundations of a further furnace in the south-west corner of the roomwere also noted. Fragments of what appears to be another furnace lay ina central position in the south hypocaust wall, while on the easternside of the workshop, a southern extension of the east wall had twolocations on it which appeared to have been prepared for theconstruction of furnaces but were never completed. The overall furnacecomplex was served by a centralised flue system below floor level(Figure 6). [FIGURE 6 OMITTED] Pottery from all phases of the excavation suggests a consistentlyearly Islamic date for the industrial activities at Tell Zujaj andcomprises 'Abbasid glazed wares and unglazed plain andstamp-decorated pottery. Coins from the material dumped into the glassworkshop after it ceased to function suggest strongly that the twophases of the glass workshop were in use during the time that Harunal-Rashid resided in al-Raqqa (AD 796-808) and probably for up to about30 years after he left. Tell Bellor (Figure 3, no. 2) lies towards the centre of al-Raqqaal-Mutariqua and was selected for excavation because of the presence offrequent fragments of glass-making debris on the surface. Work began in1998 following a topographical and geophysical survey Geophysical survey refers to the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Geophysical surveys may use a great variety of sensing instruments, and data may be collected from above or below the Earth's surface or from aerial or marine platforms. and continuedthroughout the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In total an area of 8 x 8m wasexcavated during the three seasons, revealing deeply stratifiedindustrial dump layers overlaying the fragmentary remains of activityassociated with glass and pottery production. The remains of industrialfeatures were identified approximately 0.15m below the present groundsurface. These comprised two adjacent sub-rectangular structures, whichonly survived to a depth of 0.05-0.10m. Concentrations ofglass-production waste, including frit frit(frit) imperfectly fused material used as a basis for making glass and in the formation of porcelain teeth. frit (frit),n , were recovered from the vicinityof these features, which were partially surrounded by a compacted, clay,working surface. These features are tentatively interpreted as theremains of fritting frit?n.1. The fused or partially fused materials used in making glass.2. A vitreous substance used in making porcelain, glazes, or enamels.tr.v. ovens (for the partial fusion of primary rawmaterials, the first phase of glass making). A large clay surface,measuring approximately 2 x 5m, was situated below these fritting ovens.Several features were cut into this surface, which may have functionedas 'working hollows' associated with industrial activity. Tothe north-east of this surface, the natural clay had been cut away, andwas overlain o��ver��lain?v.Past participle of overlie. by numerous deposits of mixed material, all of whichcontained moderate to large quantities of glass-production debris,including large (up to 150cm) fragments of tank-furnace floor,glass-blowing waste and glass frit. The technological traditions of glass production Scientific analyses of excavated glass fragments from datedarchaeological contexts at al-Raqqa have provided a detailed picture ofthe chemical compositions of industrial debris and glass artefactsderiving from eighth-ninth and eleventh-twelfth century glassmaking andglass-working activities (Henderson et al. 2004). These data indicatethat in the late eighth-early ninth century a marked shift in thematerials used to produce glass occurred with the replacement in theLevant Levant(ləvănt`)[Ital.,=east], collective name for the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean from Egypt to, and including, Turkey. and Syria of a late 'Roman'/Byzantine soda-lime recipeof natron na��tron?n.A mineral of hydrous sodium carbonate, Na2CO3��10H2O, often found crystallized with other salts.[French, from Spanish natr��n, from Arabic and sand (Dussart 1995; Fischer & McCray 1999; Freestone free��stone?n.1. A stone, such as limestone, that is soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting.2. A fruit, especially a peach, that has a stone that does not adhere to the pulp. See Regional Note at andiron. et al. 2000) by a plant-ash-quartz soda-lime composition, with plant-ashglass dominating production by the eleventh century. Importantly, thenatron glass compositional group from al-Raqqa shows very little spreadin values, indicating a repeatedly well-controlled process with the useof chemically homogeneous raw materials. In contrast, plant-ash glass iscompositionally more variable and in this case it suggests that therewas considerable experimentation with new raw material combinations.Compositional analysis of primary production waste including raw furnaceglass (glass adhering to furnace brick) shows that contemporary glassesof three distinct plant-ash types based on various combinations ofplant-ash, quartz and sand were being made in al-Raqqa (Henderson et al.2004). This is a uniquely wide compositional range from an ancientglass-production site, offering new insights into the complexity ofIslamic glass technology at a time of change and innovation. Strontium strontium(strŏn`shēəm)[from Strontian, a Scottish town], a metallic chemical element; symbol Sr; at. no. 38; at. wt. 87.62; m.p. 769°C;; b.p. 1,384°C;; sp. gr. 2.6 at 20°C;; valence +2. isotope determinations indicate that the natron glass was probablyimported in its raw form from the Levant (Henderson et al. in press).Its supply started to dry up in the eighth-ninth centuries forcing glassmakers to become more reliant on plant-ash glass. Moreover, innovationresulted in the development of a glass with a melting point some50[degrees]C or more lower than natron glass. One of the implications ofthis would have been a reduction in the amount of fuel required to meltglass (Henderson 2002). Lack of fuel may have been an important factorprompting artisans to experiment with glass-making technologies and itis clear from the pollen record at this site (Gardner et al. in prep.)that the landscape around al-Raqqa was heavily degraded and virtuallytreeless at this time. There was only a marked recovery in vegetationfollowing the destruction of al-Raqqa and its industries by the Mongulsin the thirteenth century. 'Abbasid and later ceramic industries Al-Raqqa has produced extensive evidence for the manufacture of'Abbasid unglazed pottery including wheel-thrown vessels and lesserquantities of relief-moulded pottery (jugs and lamps). In addition,moulds used for the manufacture of both relief-moulded pottery andtypical 'Abbasid slipper lamps have been found. Although glazedpottery has been recovered from the site, there is no direct evidencethat it was manufactured here. But it is likely that this occurred:there is considerable indirect evidence of glazing based on the chemicalmake-up of the glazes from this period which are remarkably similar incomposition to glass produced at this time. In contrast, comprehensivedumped evidence for the manufacture of eleventh-century pottery in theform of industrial debris, including kiln bars and kiln plates withglaze dribbles on their surfaces, has been found. Tell Aswad (Figure 3, no. 4) is a substantial artificial mound,rising to a maximum height of about 7.5m above the surroundinglandscape, situated to the east of the modern city of al-Raqqa andcovering an area of about 3.5 ha. The tell is outside the north-easternwall of the Byzantine city of Callinicum (al Khalaf & Kohlmeyer1985), it probably also marks the extent of Islamic domestic occupation,and is located at the northern edge of the Pleistocene Euphrates terraceoverlooking the marsh to the north. An examination of air photographsand satellite imagery, acquired between 1924 and 1970, indicates thatthe topography of the tell has been considerably modified by the gradualencroachment of modern buildings from the south; it is likely that thepresent topography of the site is at least in part a product ofrelatively modern earthmoving. The late Professor Michael Meineckeconducted a limited excavation, exposing and recording a section throughthe tell along its western side. This excavation (Miglus 1999) suggesteda complex stratigraphic stra��tig��ra��phy?n.The study of rock strata, especially the distribution, deposition, and age of sedimentary rocks.strat sequence comprising natural terrace depositsoverlain by 'Abbasid industrial activity, including awell-preserved pottery kiln, and extensive industrial dump deposits.Thirteen graves were cut into levels associated with Islamic industrialactivity with further industrial dump deposits post-dating them. From 1998, the University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a leading research and teaching university in the city of Nottingham, in the East Midlands of England. It is a member of the Russell Group, and of Universitas 21, an international network of research-led universities. has carried out large-scaleinvestigations at the site (Figure 7) commencing with a geophysical andtopographical survey and followed by three seasons of excavation. Threeseparate but probably broadly contemporary kiln groups were investigated(Henderson et al. in prep.). In total 14 substantially complete kilnswere identified, as well as a number of fragmentary structures (Figures8 and 9). The majority of the kilns were sub-square or rectangular,although two unusual circular kilns have also been identified. Theexcavated evidence from Tell Aswad represents the remains of one or morepottery workshops of the late eighth and ninth century and there isclear evidence to suggest kiln construction, demolition, reconstructionand re-use over this period. The most complete kiln group (Figure 9) isassociated with a wall, interpreted as delimiting a workshop or yard,and it seems reasonable to suggest that this group is the remains of asingle site operating over a number of years. Evidence for other stagesin the pottery production process, including clay preparation andpotting itself, together with the workshops and residences of theartisans is yet to emerge. It seems likely that these working areas layto the west, where they would be upwind of the kilns, and their remainsmay be represented by a series of low mounds framing the western edge ofthe tell. Geophysical survey of the central plateau of the tellidentified neither buildings nor kilns and it seems likely that thisworkshop does not extend far to the east of the excavated area. [FIGURES 7-9 OMITTED] The other kiln groups, together with that excavated by Meineke,some 60m to the east, may represent further separate workshops. The sizeand internal layout of these workshops remain unclear and it is notcertain whether they represent a single large dispersed workshop, asequence of small workshops or the adjacent working areas ofcontemporary groups of artisans. The excavation of a large, broadlycontemporary series of pottery workshops at Meskene, in the EuphratesValley to the west of al-Raqqa, revealed an extensive and systematicallyarranged series of workshops comprising buildings, yards and kilnsseparated by roadways (Thiriot in prep.). Such a layout might well beanticipated at Tell Aswad and may be demonstrated by further excavation. The kilns and workshops of Tell Aswad appear to have beenestablished some time in the latter part of the eighth century tosupport the development of al-Rafika and the palaces located to thenorth of the new city. The pottery excavated from inside and around thekilns comprises a representative selection of the industrial output ofTell Aswad (cf. the ceramics from the German excavations in Miglus1999). The inhabitants of al-Raqqa/ al-Rafika required a wide range ofsimple, functional ceramic objects and this is what the potters of TellAswad concentrated on producing. Unglazed wheel-thrown vessels compriseby far the largest proportion (over 90 per cent of the total number ofsherds) of the finds in the Tell Aswad assemblage. The remaindercomprises relief-moulded unglazed pottery (jugs and lamps) and glazedearthenwares. The diverse nature of the sherds found in each of thediscard heaps probably indicates that each workshop produced unglazedwheel-thrown, relief-moulded and possibly glazed wares on the same site.In this respect, the variety of kiln forms found in 2001 is anintriguing discovery that may shed light on how different types ofpottery were manufactured in a single workshop. The products of the TellAswad kilns were evidently meant to supply the needs of the occupants ofthe palaces, the new city of al-Rafika and, presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , the old town ofal-Raqqa. The extent to which the glazed and unglazed vessels wereexported to other localities in the late eighth and early ninthcenturies may be estimated using petrological and chemicalcharacterisation of the pottery, starting with the pottery wasters foundat al-Raqqa and the clays known to have been used there. Tel Fukhkhar (Figure 3, no. 1) lies towards the centre of theindustrial area of al-Raqqa al-Mutariqua on the south side of the roadrunning eastwards emerging from the east gate of al-Rafika. Here, fieldsurvey in 1994 identified a high concentration of pottery wasters andkiln bars. The site was excavated over two seasons, in 1995 and 1996,revealing the remains of eleventh century pottery production, comprisingextensive dumps of waste material but no associated buildings orstructures (Henderson 1996; Tonghini & Henderson 1998). Excavationsin three nearby locations revealed a sequence of dumped layers of atleast 5m deep and sloping to the east/south-east. Further investigationby hand-auger coring in 2001 indicates that up to 7m of stratifiedarchaeological deposits survive above the natural river terrace materialat Tel Fukhkhar. The latest layers excavated in 1995/1996, which comprised themajority of the dumped material was derived from pottery production andincluded fuel-ash, wasters, kiln bars, over-fired brick, baked brick andclay. Evidence for other industries including glass making (tank furnacefragments) and iron smithing also occurred. In addition, there wereearlier layers of wholly domestic refuse, characterised by the presenceof animal bone and the absence of pottery production waste, and layersof dumped material derived from building activity and containing plasterand mortar, but few finds. The homogeneous pottery assemblage from all of the dumped layerssuggests deposition in the eleventh century AD. The glazed potterybelongs to a specific group of glazed earthenware identified as'Tell Shahin ware' (Tonghini & Henderson 1998), alsorecently found in well-dated deposits in Beirut. Wasters found atal-Raqqa indicate that vessels were bisque bisque?1?n.1. a. A rich, creamy soup made from meat, fish, or shellfish.b. A thick cream soup made of pur��ed vegetables.2. Ice cream mixed with crushed macaroons or nuts. fired before being glazed,while drips of glaze were found on a number of kiln bars and kilnplates. In addition, a small amount of turquoise glazed fritware wastersand turquoise glazed earthenwares were found and perhaps represent anexperimental phase in the introduction of eleventh-thirteenth centuryturquoise glazed 'Raqqa' wares. The organisation of the industrial complex Documentary sources, satellite image analysis and excavations haveall provided important insights into the organisation of the industrialcomplex at al-Raqqa. The industrial area including a market, the SuqHisham, and an enclosed trading centre or caravanserai, the Funduqal-Qadim, all mentioned in written records, have been identified onCorona images taken in the 1960s. Moreover, a road runs from the eastgate (bab sidal) of al-Rafika towards Tell Aswad and may have served asa link between the industries located at al-Raqqa al-Mutariqua and TellAswad, bypassing the older centre of al-Raqqa, which was perhaps focusedon non-industrial activities. Although not all these necessarilycontemporary features can be seen to have formed part of an organisedurban-industrial landscape at al-Raqqa. One inference, based on theexcavations of the twelfth century Tell Bellor, is that the workshops,in which the pottery kilns and glass furnaces were located, were setback from the road and may have provided finished products through shopsfronting the road. The location of these industries, particularlyceramic works, close to an extensive area of clay, suggests thatartisans deliberately chose this site because of the proximity to one ofits most important raw materials. Discussion and conclusions The cities of al-Raqqa and al-Rafika with their associated palacecomplexes form the largest early Islamic complex west of Baghdad. Inaddition to the several thousand inhabitants of al-Raqqa/al-Rafika inthe late eighth-early ninth centuries, the presence of substantialnumbers of Khurisanian troops will have created a massive demand forpottery and glass. This urban metropolis was sustained by the power ofthe 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, whose influence ensured thatartisans with a range of experience and skills together with exotic orunusual raw materials could be imported from thousands of kilometresaway. Under Harun al-Rashid the Islamic caliphate was effectivelycentralised at al-Raqqa, including a presence of the military, thevizier vizierArabic wazirChief minister of the 'Abbasid caliphs and later a high government official in various Muslim countries. The office was originally held and defined by the Barmakids in the 8th century; they acted as the caliph's representative to the and associated officials, coin mints and palace complexes. By thetenth century, however, al-Raqqa was better known as a community ofscholars Noun 1. community of scholars - the body of individuals holding advanced academic degreesprofession - the body of people in a learned occupation; "the news spread rapidly through the medical profession"; "they formed a community of scientists" . The eleventh-thirteenth centuries saw a revival of the cities,including the growth of pottery and glass industries under the'Ayyubid sultans. The size of the populations during theeighth-ninth and eleventh-thirteenth centuries created a demand forpottery and glass, which was met by the Euphrates valley and thesurrounding limestone steppe steppe(stĕp), temperate grassland of Eurasia, consisting of level, generally treeless plains. It extends over the lower regions of the Danube and in a broad belt over S and SE European and Central Asian Russia, stretching E to the Altai and S to which provided a natural source of clay,quartz, sand and plants suitable for large-scale pottery and glassproduction. However, industrial activities clearly impacted on theenvironment and it is likely that the fuel and other resources becameincreasingly more difficult to obtain. Scientific analysis has provided evidence for innovation in themanufacture of glass in the eighth-ninth centuries. The nexus ofindustrial activity at al-Raqqa involving the large-scale manufacture ofpottery and glass must have created an environment in which suchinnovation occurred. There is an interesting tension that is likely tohave existed between very conservative glass artisans and thoseencouraging or enforcing changes in the technology. Changes in the kindsof primary glass raw materials used and the type of raw glass workedwould have forced the artisans to make some serious adjustments to theirworking practices, including the quantity and type of fuel used andpotential adjustments to new melting temperatures and glass-workingproperties (annealing temperature and working range). After generationsof experience using an established glass recipe and method ofproduction, enforced modifications to their technical procedures musthave sent a 'shock wave' through the community of artisans.With the historical and archaeological evidence for the presence ofChristians at al-Raqqa there is likely also to have been a mixture ofboth Christian and Muslim artisans. Indeed such a location wouldnaturally allow for the pooling of artisans' experiences from bothtraditions--and this may have led to some of the innovation thatoccurred there. The ninth century saw the emergence of a number of new Islamictechnologies--a kind of industrial 'revolution'. Thisphenomenon, including the so-called Samarra horizon saw the fullintroduction of lead for the first time in Islamic glaze and at aboutthis time the introduction of the first tin glazes (Hallett 1996; Mason& Tite 1997); it is no coincidence that the first lead-silicaglasses also appeared soon after this, a technology which probablyspread to the west. It now seems that significant changes in the glasstechnology can be added to this range of technological developments.These developments must have led to a total reorganisation of therelated glass and glaze industries, including the exploitation ofmineral resources, alkali raw materials and a massive demand for theright kind of fuel. As with the production of plant-ash glasses, the useof lead glazes would have created a glaze with lower maturingtemperatures, creating a lower demand for valuable fuel. In al-Raqqa atthe end of the eighth century-early ninth century we can even recogniseevidence for links between the glass and glaze industry. The multi-disciplinary Raqqa Ancient Industry project has providedthe first clear picture of the organisation and location of Islamicindustries in an Islamic urban landscape, under increasing threat frommodern development. The research has provided production models forglasses and pottery that can be used as a yardstick against which tocompare other ancient production organisations. Acknowledgements We owe a great debt to the late Professor Dr Michael Meinecke whofirst invited JH to excavate in Raqqa in 1989. The authors wish toacknowledge the great assistance of the Directors General of Antiquitiesand Museums for Syria, Dr Sultan Moheisin and Professor Dr Abdal RazzaqMoaz for a licence to excavate in al-Raqqa and for their full support inthese endeavours. We are also grateful to Murhaf al-Khalaf, Director ofAntiquities for the Raqqa Governate. We have benefited from helpfuldiscussion with a number of colleagues, most notably Professor JamesAllan, Dr Marcus Milwright, Professor Stefan Heidemann and Dr St JohnSimpson. This research was funded by the British Academy, a generousgrant from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Board, the CBRL CBRL CBRL Group, Inc (stock symbol)CBRL Council for British Research in the Levant (UK)and theMax van Berchem Fondation in Geneva Geneva, canton and city, SwitzerlandGeneva(jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. . References AINSWORTH, W.E 1888. A personal narrative of the Euphratesexpedition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench. AL KHALAF, M. 1985. Die 'abbasidische Stadtmaur yonar-Raqqa/ar-Rafiqa. Damaszener Mitteilungen 2: 123-31. AL KHALAF, M. & K. KOHLMEYER. 1985. Untersuchungen zual-Raqqa--Nikephorion/ Callinicum. Damaszener Mitteilungen 2:133-62. CHALLIS, K., G. PRIESTNALL, A. GARDNER, J. 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Julian Henderson (1), Keith Challis (2), Sarah O'Hara (3),Sean McLoughlin (4), Adam Gardner (5) & Gary Priestnall (3) Received: 22 December 2003; Accepted: 26 May 2004; Revised: 20August 2004 (1) Department of Archaeology, School of Humanities, University ofNottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK (Email:julian.henderson@nottingham.ac.uk) (2) Institute of Archaeology The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. The Institute is located in a separate building at the north end of Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. and Antiquity, University ofBirmingham Due to Birmingham's role as a centre of light engineering, the university traditionally had a special focus on science, engineering and commerce, as well as coal mining. It now teaches a full range of academic subjects and has five-star rating for teaching and research in several , Edgbaston, Birmingham, B1S 2TT, UK. (3) School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG72RD, UK. (4) Department of Materials, Imperial College of Science andTechnology, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK. (5) John Rylands University Library The John Rylands University Library (JRUL) is the University of Manchester's library and information service. It was formed in 1972 from the merger of the library of the Victoria University of Manchester with the John Rylands Library. of Manchester, Oxford Road,Manchester M13 9PP, UK.