Streszczenie

Within the broader field of Near and Middle Eastern archaeology, the archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian (Arabian) Gulf had represented a notably less extensively investigated subject until the last half century. The exceptions were the northern regions of Arabia, those, however, mainly linked to other research fields (e.g. Mesopotamian, Nabataean and Biblical archaeology). While this situation began to change in around the late 1950s, when a Danish expedition started archaeological works in the Gulf and the American Foundation for the Study of Man undertook research in Yemen and the Dhofar governorate in the Sultanate of Oman, a dramatic increase in the number of field projects has occurred over the last c. 15 years, for concomitant reasons. On the one hand, political turmoil has considerably limited or even cancelled investigations in Syria, as well as in Yemen, with missions looking (first) to south-east Arabia to relocate their projects. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented drive towards knowledge and preservation of its past has opened the way to a remarkable number of research initiatives.