| Guide Rating and Review | |
An Academic Refereed Journal on the Archaeology of the Arab World
|
Editor in Chief:Abdul Rahman T. Al-Ansary. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Early in 2000, I'm happy to announce, a new journal on middle eastern archaeology appeared on the scene. Adumatu is a semi-annual journal of the Arab world, with articles in both Arabic and English. Published privately by Abdul Rahman Al-Sudairy Foundation in Riyadh, the journal provides a welcome glimpse into the archaeology of the Arab world.
The first issue, published in January of 2000, contained five papers and a book review in English and six papers, six symposium reports, a journal review and a book review in Arabic. Abstracts in English and Arabic were provided for the other language papers. Papers ranged in topic from one on the Holocene environment by Fekri Hassan to cultural papers on the Ottoman, pre-Islamic, Kushite, Roman, and Iron ages. Countries covered in the articles include the Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The second issue, just published in July of this year, contains five papers and a book review in English; and three articles, an editorial, six symposium reports, a journal review, and a book review in Arabic; countries in this issue include Oman, Yemen, Jordan, and the Sudan, and topics range from the Roman-Byzantine city of Gaza to a Bronze Age ceramic study.
Editor Abdul Rahman Al-Ansary has taken on an ambitious task, which he describes as the presentation of a bilingual scientific forum for archaeologists, historians, linguists, anthropologists and other related scientific disciplines, and "a catalyst for a more vibrant exchange of ideas and wider dissemination of research results in the hope of reaching a common understanding on many polemic issues."
The journal has a large format and high quality reproduction of figures and photographs with clear, sharp images. According to the editorial page on the website, Adumatu is the ancient name for Dumat Al-Jandal, one of the townships of Adumatu which acted as an important passageway for civilizations between east and west. It's a wonderful idea, and I hope they continue to publish in the future.
Adumatu is published twice a year. On the website (listed to the right) may be found subscription information, tables of contents and information for contributors.
