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Posted at Oct 11/2007 12:18PM:
Audrey von Maluski: The mihrab is a niche or other mark made on the qibla wall of a mosque. The qibla wall is the wall oriented towards Mecca, and thus indicates the proper direction of prayer.

The mihrab is important in archaeology because the presence of a properly aligned mihrab in a building can indicate Muslim presence in a settlement. This is especially valuable when dealing with atypical mosques, such as those built from Roman settlements or in very rural areas with limited resources. However, the mihrab can also be misleading, because although Muslim societies generally prized having a strong understanding of geography and the stars for the precise reasons of navigation and orientation, it was also very possible for significant errors to be made. Thus, archaeologists must keep an eye out for improperly marked qibla walls as an indication of Muslim presence in historic settlements.

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Posted at Oct 15/2007 03:22PM:
Ian: Certainly one of the most significant elements of the mihrab is that it becomes the feature of a bldg that substantiates archaeological claims to calling it a mosque. It has also been the subject of much speculation about its relationship to architectural progenitors of the mosque. Remember Sauvaget talked about it as linked to the apse of the basilica. Others have suggested linkes to pre-islamic Arab sanctuaries that were known as mihrabs. Thus part of its significance is its enigmatic reference to the past that has taken on new symbolic and pracitcal importance in Muslim ritual performance.