Archaeological mission unearths 7,700-year-old shell crafting site in Kuwait
The Kuwaiti-Polish archaeological mission has made remarkable discoveries at the Bahra 1 site in Kuwait’s Subiya Desert, shedding light on the prehistoric Ubaid period (approximately 5500–4000 BCE). This ancient settlement, considered the oldest and largest of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula, has yielded evidence of a jewelry workshop, pottery production.
This season’s excavations revealed a courtyard or workshop where shells were crafted into ornaments. Numerous pieces of jewelry, along with pottery fragments dating back over 7,000 years, were uncovered in front of Ubaid-period dwellings. Mohammed bin Reda, Assistant Secretary-General for the Antiquities and Museums Sector at the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL), described these findings as a testament to the settlement’s role in early cultural and industrial development.
One of the season’s most extraordinary finds is a small clay human head, the first of its kind discovered in the Persian Gulf. The figurine, which features a rectangular skull, slanted eyes, and a flat nose, mirrors statues from Mesopotamian Ubaid culture often found in burial and domestic contexts.
Co-director of the Kuwaiti-Polish mission, Professor Piotr Bielinski, noted that the figurine and workshop raise compelling questions about their symbolic or ritualistic roles in Ubaid society.
The Bahra 1 site also offered conclusive evidence of local pottery production, with two distinct types identified: imported Ubaid pottery and coarse red pottery considered a local product. An unburnt clay vessel discovered during the excavation supports the idea that Bahra 1 served as the earliest known site for pottery production in the Persian Gulf region. According to Professor Anna Smogórzewska, who supervised the scientific analyses, these findings underscore the settlement’s advanced development and its role in the regional exchange of goods and culture.
Collaboration between NCCAL, Kuwait University, and the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw has been instrumental in these discoveries. Modern laboratory equipment was employed to analyze the origins of materials, study the ancient environment, and investigate plant remains at the site. These interdisciplinary efforts aim to reconstruct the lifestyle and ecological context of the Ubaid culture in northern Kuwait.
Bahra 1, dating back to 5,700 BCE, has been a focus of archaeological research since 2009. The settlement not only represents the oldest evidence of human occupation in the Arabian Peninsula but also serves as a vital link between the cultures of Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. Bin Reda added” “These discoveries at Bahra 1 illuminate the complex cultural and economic networks of the Ubaid period and highlight the significance of early human settlements in shaping regional history.”
More information: CAŚ UW
