ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD

This course is included among the core subject-specific teaching activities (B) of the Bachelor’s degree programme in Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Activities, archaeological curriculum.
It is designed as an introduction to the archaeology of the Mediterranean and the Middle East during the so-called ‘Islamic period’, between the seventh and the fifteenth centuries. The course provides students with fundamental knowledge of the principal issues addressed by scholarship in the field, with the aim of developing specific analytical and critical skills.

Students will acquire the knowledge and competences necessary to understand, on the basis of archaeological evidence, the key stages in the complex cultural, social, and economic processes that affected the Mediterranean and the Middle East during the Islamic period. They will also develop analytical and critical skills in relation to the interpretative models elaborated in the history of scholarship.

The course does not require any specific prior knowledge or competences.

Through the analysis of selected case studies, the course will address the principal themes on which Islamic archaeology has focused, including: the transition from Late Antiquity; urban settlement; landscape and resource management; production; technological exchanges; and the circulation of artefacts across the Mediterranean.
Supplementary lectures may also be organised, delivered by external scholars on specific topics.

PDF materials will be made available on Moodle.

- Ignacio Arce, The Palatine City at ‘Amman Citadel: The Construction of a Palatine Architecture under the Umayyads, in K. Bartl and A.R. Moaz (a cura di), Residences, Castles, Settlements. Transformation Processes Between Late Antiquity and Early Islam in Bilad al-Sham, Rahden (OrA 24) 2008, pp. 183-216.

- L. Arcifa, A. Bagnera, A. Nef A. Archeologia della Sicilia islamica: nuovi spunti di riflessione, in Ph. Sénac (a cuta di) Villa 4, Histoire et archeologie de l’Occident musulman (VIIe-XVe siecle), Toulouse 2012, pp. 241-274.

- A. Bagnera, E. Pezzini, I cimiteri di rito musulmano nella Sicilia medievale. Dati e problemi, MEFRAM, 116, 2004/1, pp. 231-302.

- Graziella Berti, Pisa: ceramiche e commerci (2ªmetà X-1ª metà XIV s.), in S. Gelichi (a cura di) Atti I Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Medievale, Firenze 1997, pp. 346-351.

- Roland-Pierre Gayraud, Le Qarafa al-Kubra, dernière demeure des Fatimides, in M. Barrucand, l’Egypte fatimide, Paris 1999, pp. 443-464.

- D.Genequand, The New Urban Settlement at Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi: Components and Development in the Early Islamic Period, in K. Bartl and A.R. Moaz (a cura di), Residences, Castles, Settlements. Transformation Processes Between Late Antiquity and Early Islam in Bilad al-Sham, Rahden (OrA 24), 2008.

- Amir Gorzalczany, A New Type of Cemetery from the Late Mamluk and Early Ottoman Periods from Central Israel, Levant 41/2, 2009, pp. 223-237.

- J. Henderson et al., Experiment and innovation: Early Islamic industry at al-Raqqa, Syria. ANTIQUITY 79(303), 2005, pp. 103-145.

- L. Lazzarini, C. Tonghini, Importazioni di ceramiche mamelucche a Venezia: nuovi dati, AIECM3/9 2012, pp. 402-407.

- Marcus Milwright, An introduction to Islamic Archaeology, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2010: capitoli scelti.

- A. Molinari, Sicily, The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology, Oxford 2020, pp. 335-354.

- Alessandra Molinari, La Sicilia islamica: riflessioni sul passato e sul futuro della ricerca in campo archeologico. Mélanges de l’École Française de Rome. Moyen Âge 116/1, 2004, pp. 19-46.

- Paolo Peduto, Ceramica medievale d'importazione nella Costiera Amalfitana
Rassegna del Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfitana, 53, Numero Speciale - Giugno 2017, pp. 89-115.

- F. Saccardo, L. Lazzarini, M. Munarini, Ceramiche importate a Venezia e nel Veneto tra XI e XIV secolo, in AIECM2/3, 2003, pp. 395-420 (pdf).

- C. Tonghini, Ceramiche invetriate dell'Egitto e della Syria nei secoli XI e XII: stato degli studi e sviluppo della ricerca, in Décor de lustre métallique et céramique glaçurée, Bari 2005, pp. 21-29.

- Cristina Tonghini, Archeologia medievale e archeologia islamica, Archeologia Medievale, n. speciale 2014, pp. 33-40.

- Alan Walmsley, Urbanism at Islamic Jerash: new readings from archaeology and history, in Achim Lichtenberger, Rubina Raja (eds) The archaeology and history of Jerash, Turnhout (Brepols), 2018, pp. 241-256.

- Oliver Watson, Revisiting Samarra: the Rise of Islamic Glazed Pottery, Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie 4, Wiesbaden 2014, pp. 123-142.

During the oral examination, students will be asked to discuss some of the topics covered in class, with the support of images.
A complete list of the topics that may be addressed in the examination will be published at the end of the course.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

With regard to the grading scale, the following criteria apply:
A. Marks in the 18–22 range will be awarded where the student demonstrates:
- a sufficient knowledge and applied understanding of the course contents;
- a limited ability to gather and/or interpret data in forming independent judgements;
- sufficient communication skills.
B. Marks in the 23–26 range will be awarded where the student demonstrates:
- a fair knowledge and applied understanding of the course contents;
- a fair ability to gather and/or interpret data in forming independent judgements;
- fair communication skills, particularly in the use of the specific language of the discipline.
C. Marks in the 27–30 range will be awarded where the student demonstrates:
- a good or excellent knowledge and applied understanding of the course contents;
- a good or excellent ability to gather and/or interpret data in forming independent judgements;
- fully appropriate communication skills, particularly in the use of the specific language of the discipline.
D. A mark of 30 cum laude will be awarded where the student demonstrates excellent knowledge and applied understanding of the course contents, together with excellent judgement and communication skills.

The course will be taught through face-to-face lectures illustrated with images. The PowerPoint presentations used in class will be made available on the Moodle e-learning platform.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development