Posted at Dec 10/2007 09:09AM:
ian: A very important archaeological site on the red Sea coast that has provided us some major finds relating to the opperation of the trade networks of the Indian Ocean in the Mamluk period. If I were you I would be surprised not to see this on the quiz!!!

Posted at Dec 10/2007 12:37PM:
elisa foster: Yikes, ok, what I have on Quseir al-Qadim is as follows - It was an old Roman port in Eastern Africa that provided access to Indian ocean trade. It was abandoned for 7000 years and reinhabited by the Malmuks in the 12th century. As noted above, the site is strongly connected with trade connections to the Indian Ocean which has been borne out in the archaeological record due to the impressive preservation of the site (arid climate). It appears to have been a merchant society based upon the materials found at the site - textiles made of cotton and silk from India, plant material and luxury items such as the ostrich egg we saw in class. This site also preserves the architecture of the caravanisi stands, again demonstrating its significance as a trade site. In general, the sites in East Africa are very different from those in the Western part of the continent. This has to do with the Eastern side's proximity with the "core" of the Islamic world, thus they had an early history of contact. It was also affected by the presence of Christianity in the region.