News

Long-lasting cooperation between archaeologists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) Archaeological Institute and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in the State of Kuwait resulted in the sixth year of a research campaign by the Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission on Failaka Island in the Persian Gulf between February and the beginning of April 2016. The role of this research mission was to continue with archaeological excavations at the large settlement of Al-Qusur dating from the 7th - 9th century AD.

Eleven Slovak experts - archaeologists, technicians and restorers - joined Kuwaiti partners in this yearʼs campaign, which lasted seven weeks. Their goal was to uncover and, using modern 3D-display technology, document the largest residential structure in the settlement, together with more than 140 dwellings. It belonged to the surviving Nestorian Christian community in the early Islamic period. A noteworthy discovery from this yearʼs archaeological activities were new, well-preserved spaces of a palace from the 7th - 8th century AD. The architecture is advanced, traditionally built out of clay bricks on foundations of masonry. During the research, archaeologists managed to identify several valuable technical details, as well as to make out the long-term development of the housing and many partial structural renovations. Perhaps the most interesting finding was the bottom part of a stone tower, together with a sewerage system. According to the first analyses, we can talk of a unique architectural innovation, a so-called "windcatcher tower". This was a clever way of cooling interiors by means of air flow, which was captured by openings in the tower's superstructure. It shows that the community there was on a high technical level. This energy-free ventilation system was in the past widespread, especially in the region of Iran and the Middle East, later also in North Africa. Contemporary architecture has come back to this principle repeatedly in an experimental way. It seems that our find is among the very oldest evidence of this ancient air conditioning.
Along with several rival foreign expeditions, Slovak archaeologists had the opportunity to demonstrate effective enthusiasm for their work and make use of the latest methods for archaeological prospecting, documentation and analytical and interpretive procedures.
The remarkable results from this year's Slovak mission were also reported in the Kuwaiti press, and by invitation the leaders of the research team gave a presentation at the prestigious University of Kuwait. A positive response from Kuwaiti society was confirmed by the reception from Sheikh Nasser Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah; his invitation was of huge significance since, among other things, he is a notable patron of art and historical monuments as well as the founder of The al Sabah Collection. The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuwait also deserves credit for the fruitful results of the work by scientists from the SAS Archaeological Institute.

Matej Ruttkay, Director of the Mission
Karol Pieta, Field director