Failaka Archaeological Research Project
FAILAKA ISLAND: “WATERFRONT AND UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY OF KUWAIT. ARCHEORISK ON THE COASTAL ZONE AROUND FAILAKA ISLAND, KUWAIT” PROJECT
Dates of work: 13 April–24 May 2017
General Director: Prof. Piotr Bieliński (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw); Dr. Hamid Al-Mutairi (Department of Antiquities and Museums of the State of Kuwait)
NCCAL representative:
Project Leader: Magdalena Nowakowska, archaeologist, scuba diver CMAS P2, Commercial Diver 2nd class (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Archaeologist/surveyor: Dr. Szymon Lenarczyk, archaeological graphics and geodesy measurement, scuba diver (“Wykop na Poziomie”)
Conservator: Radosław Tusznio, conservator of stone sculpture and architectural elements, graphic designer (Inter-Academy Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw)
The project, which is part of the Kuwaiti–Polish Failaka Archaeological Mission and was launched in 2013, is the first archaeological research project concerning the underwater cultural heritage of Kuwait and Failaka Island. Altogether 33 littoral structures were located, most of them interpreted as stone tidal weirs (fish traps), of circular and long linear shape. A third harbor with breakwater was added to the two already recorded. In 2017, the Project documented features 1, 9, 10, and 13 in Kharaib el-Desht Bay and the neighboring Quranyah Bay, mapping them in the KTM system and following standard project criteria of description. Bathymetric maps provided the base for a reconstruction of the historical natural shoreline. The team also documented the maritime landscape and maritime cultural heritage of Failaka Island, focusing on all human activity connected with the sea now and in the past.
Text: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 27/1
Contact
Agnieszka Pieńkowska: a.pienkowska(at)uw.edu.pl