Islamic archaeology is defined by Marcus Millwright as archaeology of “the regions where the ruling elite has professed the faith of Islam” (Milwright 2010: 6-7). This paper seeks to explore the ways in which Islamic archaeology can aid in the understanding of Islam and Muslims in the medieval world, by first examining the requirements of Islam and Muslim customary practices, and then evaluating three sources through which they may be manifest in material remains. Archaeological evidence of Muslim burial customs, religious pilgrimage (hajj), and the urban organization of an Islamic city are all ubiquitously indicative of a Muslim cultural framework established by Prophet Muhammad. Muslims adhere to Islam through requirements comprised within
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Several Muslim cemeteries have been excavated in rural areas of the Middle East, and they provide valuable data regarding mortuary practices, health, and disease, as well as insight on the sociocultural values among the living. An extensively published cemetery was excavated at Tal al-Hasi near Gaza, in southern Palestine by Frederick Bliss in the 1890s. The bodies were oriented according to orthodox Muslim practice, with the head to the west and the face directed toward the qibla, the body laying east–west turned on the right side, with the knees slightly bent in a manner similar to being asleep. The hands were often arranged to cover the genitals, especially in burials of adult females. The Hadith stipulates burial custom in detail, and therefore Sunni Muslim law places great emphasis on speed and simplicity in the treatment of the dead. The body should be placed in the ground before sundown, on the day of death or early on the following morning. The Tal al-Hasi cemetery was most likely used by bedouins who had relatively good health, with a balanced diet indicated by the rarity of bone deformations and other signs of disease and malnutrition. The high occurrence of infant burial does indicate, however, that childbirth and early life were times of high mortality. (Milwright 2010:
Several Muslim cemeteries have been excavated in rural areas of the Middle East, and they provide valuable data regarding mortuary practices, health, and disease, as well as insight on the sociocultural values among the living. An extensively published cemetery was excavated at Tal al-Hasi near Gaza, in southern Palestine by Frederick Bliss in the 1890s. The bodies were oriented according to orthodox Muslim practice, with the head to the west and the face directed toward the qibla, the body laying east–west turned on the right side, with the knees slightly bent in a manner similar to being asleep. The hands were often arranged to cover the genitals, especially in burials of adult females. The Hadith stipulates burial custom in detail, and therefore Sunni Muslim law places great emphasis on speed and simplicity in the treatment of the dead. The body should be placed in the ground before sundown, on the day of death or early on the following morning. The Tal al-Hasi cemetery was most likely used by bedouins who had relatively good health, with a balanced diet indicated by the rarity of bone deformations and other signs of disease and malnutrition. The high occurrence of infant burial does indicate, however, that childbirth and early life were times of high mortality. (Milwright 2010: