Regarding the goals of 2006 season KSAM was active not only at the central site of interest Al-Khidr but one part of the research was focused also on prospection of Failaka Island and on processing obtained data for future presentation of archaeological sites at the Island.

Failaka was surveyed archaeologically (photographing of the sites, surface collecting of finds and their registration; list of the sites with related database of finds and photographs); geophysically (continuation of prospection of Al-Khidr, Al-Awazim, F6, sample area at Al-Qusur; read more in geophysics); from the point of view of mapping and GIS (fixing the sites with the help of GPS; measuring of chosen sites and working out of digital terrain models; photogrametric documentation of chosen sites; 3D-modelling of chosen sites; modelling of hypothetic situations happening in the past, read more in mapping and GIS) and from the point of view of palaeoenvironmental research (collecting comparative modern biological samples from different spots at the Island; read more in palaeoenvironmental research).

Attention was drawn particularly on:

Al-Qusur

pre-Islamic village dated back to 5th – 9th century AD located in the middle of the Island and excavated in the mid-70s by Italian team ([4], 259 ff.), later by Kuwaiti-French mission to Failaka [1]. Foundations of more than 100 households/farmsteads are still visible on surface. In 2006 Borders of the site were fixed with the help of GPS, southern and several households in the middle part of the site were measured and plan of the preserved households in this part of the site was worked out (Fig. 1, 2). One household was prospected geophysically by dipole electromagnetic profiling method and with the help of ground penetrating radar.

Al-Awazim

Bronze Age site at the north-western shoreline of the Island prospected at the end of 90s by Kuwaiti-French mission [1]. In 2006 tachymetric plan (Fig. 3) and digital terrain model (Fig. 4) of the site were worked out and site was prospected geophysically by DEMP and GPR.

F6

Bronze Age site at the south-eastern edge of the Island excavated by Danish [3] and French [2] missions to Failaka. In 2006 KSAM geophysically prospected the space between two excavated areas by ground penetrating radar.

Al-Zor

so called Portuguese fort at the western coastline of the Island not far from Al-Khidr site. Site was prospected by Italian ([4], 53 ff.) and by Kuwaiti-French mission [1] and excavated in the early 2000s by Kuwaiti mission. In 2006 KSAM measured the site and worked out tachymetric plan and top plan of the excavated part of the fortress by with the help of photogrametric method (Fig. 5, 6).

See also

• Geophysics
• Mapping and GIS

References

[1] Callot, O. – Calvet, Y. 1999: Preliminary report on the topographical mission at Failaka, Kuwait (February 26 – March 25 1999). Unpublished report. Kuwait.

[2] Calvet, Y. – Salles, J.-F. 1986 : Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1984 – 1985. Lyon – Paris.

[3] Højlund, F. 1987: Failaka / Dilmun. The Second Millennium Settlements. Volume 2. The Bronze Age Pottery. Aarhus – Kuwait.

[4] Patitucci, S. – Uggeri, G. 1984: Failakah. Insediamenti Islamici. Ricerche e Scavi nel Kuwait. "L'Erma" di Bretschneider. Venice.