Recent work at al-Qurayya, Emirate of Fujairah

Recent work at al-Qurayya, Emirate of Fujairah

In December 1999 work by the Department of Archaeology, Trinity College, Carmarthen continued on the Late Islamic fortified structures of the Wadi Safad. The centre of research shifted to the defended fort at al-Qurayya, colloquially known as the fort of Mohammed bin Mohammed (de Cardi 1971). The work revealed a much larger although simpler structure than the contemporary fort higher up the wadi at Safad, where the College's research programme began in 1998.

The fort at al-Qurayya is approximately 70m by 90m in size. The main feature is a massive defensive curtain wall that encompasses the entire hilltop. In many places this wall still stands to a height of over 2.5m. The construction of such a wall would have been a significant undertaking for a large population. The wall is pierced by at least two original entrances, one to the east and one to the south, a third entrance on the north is probably later. There are few internal features. The five rooms that are present are small, the average size being 3m by 2m. These are more likely to be store rooms than rooms intended for permanent occupation. There is within the defended enclosure a sunken juss-lined cistern, which if full might contain as much as 18,500 litres of water. The eastern side of the hill has approximately 50 small terraces or platforms. The function of these platforms is unclear but it is interesting to note that c.20 small (3m by 2m) platforms were found around the fort at Safad. To the south of the hill on a lower-lying shoulder are the remains of a mosque.

The large open, very public space at al-Qurayya can be contrasted with the much more private and intimate space created at Safad. The fort at Safad evokes ideas associated with a prestigious private residence. The fort at al-Qurayya offers little evidence of this type of occupation. Instead one is left feeling that the interior of the fort was intended not for permanent occupation by any group but as a temporary place of safety, somewhere where a larger population could find protection. Further work is planned in December 2001.