the danish archaeological expedition to kuwait 1958-1963

T h e D a n i s h a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e x p e D i t i o n T o K u wa i T 1 9 5 8 - 1 9 6 3

A g l i m p s e i n t o t h e A r c h i v e s o f m o e s g å r d m u s e u m

M o e s g å r d M u s e u M / T h e K u wa i T N aT i o N a l C o u N C i l f o r C u lT u r e , a r T s a N d l e T T e r s

T h e D a n i s h a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e x p e D i t i o n T o K u wa i T 1 9 5 8 - 1 9 6 3

a g l i m p s e i N T o T h e a r C h i v e s o f m o e s g å r d m u s e u m

The Danish archaeological expedition to Kuwait 1958-1963

National Council of Culture, arts and Letters

& Flemming højlund © 2008

iSBN 978-99906-0-248-7

text and edition / Flemming højlund

Design / hanne Kolding Graphics

photographs / P.V. Glob, Poul Kjærum, Lennart Larsen,

Svend aage Lorentz, Jacob Christensen Ravn

printed by Narayana Press

published by

The National Council of Culture, arts and Letters, Kuwait

Moesgård Museum, Denmark

cover / architect and archaeologist Palle Friis

measures up Temple a in Tell F5, Failaka 1961/62.

c o n t e n t s

6 / The Birth of archaeology in Kuwait

14 / The First archaeological Survey

18 / The First excavations

40 / Conservation, analysis and publication

54 / ethnographic collections

60 / The new Moesgård Museum

62 / Bibliography

7 / t h e b i r t h o f a r c h a e o l o g y i n k u w a i t

From its beginning in the 19th century Middle east archaeology focused on the major centres

of civilization in egypt, Mesopotamia, and iran. The coastal regions along the arabian Gulf

were generally considered of limited interest. Though explored by several archaeologists the

thousands of burial mounds on Bahrain remained enigmatic, and a break-through had to await

the first Danish archaeological expedition which in 1953 began a comprehensive programme

of survey and excavation in Bahrain directed by Professor P.V. Glob (1911-1985) and Geoffrey

Bibby (1917-2001).

The expeditions were sent out from the museum in aarhus, now Moesgård Museum,

and from aarhus university where Glob became the first professor in prehistoric archaeol-

ogy in 1949.

The five months campaign on Bahrain in 1953/54 was rewarded with conspicuous results.

The cities and temples of Dilmun, known from the Mesopotamian cuneiform sources as a

trading emporium and as a mythical entity, were finally located to the southern shores of the

arabian Gulf.

The news of these fascinating discoveries were widely disseminated and were noted with

particular interest in the neighbouring Gulf countries. The first direct contact between the

Danish expedition and Kuwait seems to have taken place in early 1957 at Muharraq airport,

Bahrain, where Glob met the Kuwaiti Director of education, abdulaziz hussein.

Later that year, in april, Geoffrey Bibby paid a visit to Kuwait on his way home. in the

Department of education he met with its Deputy Director, Darwish Miqdadi and discussed

plans for an archaeological investigation in Kuwait (Bibby 1996 p. 142-46).

at that time, so Bibby tells us, the Kuwaiti education Department “was building and staff-

ing an average of ten new schools a year, had built a secondary school which would be ex-

panded to a university just as soon as students had reached university level, and was convert-

ing one of the surviving forts of Kuwait into a temporary museum, at the same time as plans

for a permanent museum were being drafted. The prospect of our perhaps finding something

to put into the museum appealed immediately to Darwish Miqdadi.”

During the summer of 1957 detailed plans and a budget for the coming year were made,

and in September the first official application was sent to the Kuwaiti Director of education,

abdulaziz hussein. The letter, which is reprinted below, contained the proposal for a five-man

expedition with a budget of 70,000 Rupees. The original letter is not available, but this and the

following letters to Kuwait reprinted in this volume are retyped verbatim from carbon copies

kept in the archive of Moesgård Museum. Three months later a letter of approval, which is also

reprinted below, arrived from Kuwait. a further letter explaining in detail the conditions under

which the Danish expedition worked in Bahrain and Qatar was dispatched to Kuwait December

27th (reprinted below). The final green light was conveyed by telegram, received January the

7th 1958 (reprinted below).

6 . k u w a i t k l u M M e

t h e B i r t h o f a r c h a e o l o g y i n K u w a i t

sheikh abdullah al Khalifa al sabah is shown one

of the Dilmun stamp seals found at tell f3. from the

left: Karl Vibe-Möller and poul Kjærum, failaka 1960.

t h e a r c h i v e s o f M o e s g å r d M u s e u M / 8 9 / t h e b i r t h o f a r c h a e o l o g y i n k u w a i t

Abdulaziz Hussein, Esq.Director of EducationEducation Department,Kuwait, Persian Gulf

September 30th 1957Dear Sir,

You are undoubtedly aware that a Danish archeological expedition from this Museum has been working during the last four winters in Bahrain on the investigation and excavation of prehistoric settlement sites, temples and a large city. The results from Bahrain encouraged us to investigate other areas in the Persian Gulf, and for the past two years we have had a reconnaissance team working in Qatar, where they have made a large number of interesting discoveries of prehistoric sites which, together with the material from Bahrain, casts new light on the history of the Persian Gulf over the last 50,000 years.

It is thus now clear that, 4000-5000 years ago, there was extensive maritime trade between the Sumerian and Babylonian cities of Iraq and the contemporary cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan and that Bahrain, at least, was one of the main intermediate harbours on this route. Similarly we have found rich remains on Bahrain of trade relations with the outside world from the New Baby-lonian Period (625 BC), when the kings of Babylon are known to have ruled the Hasa coast, over the Greek Seleucid Period to the Parthian Period (300 AD).

As Kuwait lies between the ancient Babylonia and Bahrain I am in no doubt that there are also excellent opportunities of making extremely important discoveries from all these periods within the area of your country. In particular the island of Failaka, which has already produced one Greek inscription, is so obviously a calling point for trading vessels that an investigation there can hardly fail to produce results.

Both in Bahrain and in Qatar we have also found numerous sites containing flint tools and weapons produced by Palaeolithic hunters between 10.000 and 50,000 years ago, at a time when the climate of the Gulf area was more favourable to vegetation that at present. As the same conditions must have prevailed in Kuwait, and as Old Stone Age implements have already been found in the areas of Iraq and Saudi Arabia lying close to your borders, I am certain that the mainland of Kuwait would be able to produce flint sites of importance.

As you probably know, our work in Bahrain and Qatar is only made possible by generous grants from the Governments and oil companies of these two territories, and, now that these grants have been renewed for 1958, we are at present engaged in planning our work in the Gulf for the com-ing year. In view of the likelihood of Kuwait producing prehistoric relics of at least equal importance as those of Bahrain and Qatar, we should very much like to extend our investigations to your country during the coming season. When we met early this year at Muharraq Airport you were good enough to say that your Government would be interested in such an investigation, while the same impression was conveyed by your deputy, Mr. Darwish Miqdadi, and by the Director of your State Museum, Mr. Taher Abdurrazak, during the visit of my deputy, Mr. Bibby, in April. Mr Bell, the Political Agent, and Mr. Muir, of the British Council, have also unofficially expressed interest in our working in Kuwait,

and their confidence that any plans in that direction would receive the approval and support of your Government.

Our present plan envisages a team of five archeologists working in Kuwait for about three months. Of these two would in the first instance survey Failaka thoroughly, excavating at promising sites, while the other three, with two jeeps, would carry out a larger-scale reconnaissance of the main-land. Later distribution of the two parties would depend so entirely upon what they discover that it is difficult to make detailed plans beyond the first few weeks of survey. As and when required specialists, such as conservators, architects or draughtsmen, could be drawn from the other teams which will be working simultaneously in Bahrain and Qatar, while, if the discoveries justify it, we are prepared to consider the retention of personnel in the Gulf area in a more permanent capacity, or the establishment of permanent research groups, either in Denmark, in the Gulf Area or in both, to work on the prehis-tory of Kuwait and its neighbours.

The budget attached to this letter, however, is designed to cover only the cost of a five-man team, and amounts to Rs. 70,000. We should be extremely grateful if your Government would be willing to put up this sum as a grant towards a project which cannot fail to be of importance both to the study of world history and to the growth of knowledge among your own people of their own land’s history. Our arrangement with the Governments of Bahrain and Qatar moreover ensure that half of the objects found by the expeditions remain the property of the Government concerned.

May I say in conclusion that we should be grateful if the decision of your Government could be communicated to us as soon as possible, in order that detailed plans can be made and the necessary staff earmarked without delay.

Yours sincerely,

P.V. Glob, Professor

Budget for three months work (based on strength of 5 persons)

Fares 14.000 rupeesAllowances 7.500Living expenses 5.000Labour costs (about 20 men) 9.000Transport (incl. purchase of 2 jeeps) 20.000Equipment 2.000Photography 1.500Purchase of ethnographical specimens 1.500Freight & insurance 1.500Miscellaneous 3.000Part expenses of permanent secretariat 5.000 70.000 rupees

t h e a r c h i v e s o f M o e s g å r d M u s e u M / 10

11 / t h e b i r t h o f a r c h a e o l o g y i n k u w a i t

Your ref: 0/2760Our ref: 750/1a 27th December 1957Abdulaziz Hussein, Esq.,Director of EducationDepartment of Education,Government of Kuwait,Kuwait.

Dear Sir,Thank you for your letter of 21st December, in which you express your approval of our work-

ing in Kuwait. The position of the expeditions working in Bahrain and Qatar is as follows:-

1. The expeditions are sent out by the Prehistoric Museum in Aarhus (the Aarhus University Institute of Prehistoric Archeology). That museum, or its director in the field, exercises con-trol of the scientific work and administration of the expeditions, is responsible for the salaries of the scientific staff taking part, and undertakes and finances the publication of the results.

2. An exception to the rule that salaries are not a charge against expedition funds is made in the case of the permanent secretary to the expedition who, being solely concerned with their work, is paid from their funds. In addition an allowance of Rs. 15.- per day is paid to each member of the scientific staff while in the field, as a “separation allowance” and to offset the high cost of living in the Persian Gulf.

3. The expeditions are financed by grants from the governments of Bahrain and Qatar, from the Bahrain and the Qatar Petroleum Companies, and, in the case of Bahrain, from the Danish Carlsberg Foundation. This latter grant was made before work in Qatar and Kuwait was envis-aged, and we have applied – hitherto in vain – for permission to devote part of it to work in Qatar and Kuwait.

4. The accounts of the expeditions are audited by the City Auditors of Aarhus, and a copy sent each year, together with a preliminary report of the scientific results, to the supporting govern-ments and institutions. Separate accounts are maintained for each of the areas in which we operate.

5. Our agreements with the governments of Bahrain and Qatar stipulate that half of the remov-able objects discovered by the expeditions are retained by them, the other half remaining the property of the appropriate governments. No division has in fact yet been made, as we have found in practice that it is advisable for the greater part of the objects found to be taken to Denmark for conservation, analysis and publication. Lists are, however, maintained of the objects found, and the objects themselves are each year exhibited to the government (and to the public). Our work and records are, of course, open to inspection at any time. This proce-dure has arisen largely because neither Bahrain nor Qatar possess museums or facilities for storage and treatment of antiquities, and we are, of course, prepared to make a yearly division if desired.

t h e a r c h i v e s o f M o e s g å r d M u s e u M / 12 13 / t h e b i r t h o f a r c h a e o l o g y i n k u w a i t

We note with pleasure that the Education Department would be able to provide us with la-bour and transport, as this removes two of the largest and most troublesome items from our budget. Our estimate of expenses, as given in our letter of 30th September, can thereby be reduced by Rs. 29,000 (the items of Labour costs and Transport) to Rs. 41,000.We should be grateful if you could inform us with the utmost possible despatch whether the Government of Kuwait would be willing to make us a grant of this amount. The onset of hot weather in April makes accurate archeological work impossible after that date, and we are therefore very anxious to start work as soon as possible. I shall myself be leaving Denmark for the Gulf on 16th January, and after that date it will be difficult for me to select, and arrange the despatch of, suitable personnel for the Kuwait reconnaissance. The deputy-leader of the expeditions, Mr. T.G. Bibby, is travelling to the Gulf in advance of the main party, and I have asked him to stop off in Kuwait on 10th January in order to discuss with you, if you desire it, any outstanding questions. But our final arrangements for the work in all three countries would be immensely facilitated by an even earlier decision on your party, if you should find that possible.

Yours sincerely,

P.V. Glob,Professor.


15 / t h e f i r s t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s u r v e y

aerial photo of the southwest corner of failaka with the four

fenced-in archaeological excavations, tell f5 (left), tell f6

(foreground, middle), tell f4 (background, close to the shore),

tell f3 (right, with sheikh ahmed’s house on top) and the

new office and store building (right), looking sw (1961/62).

upon arrival in Kuwait on the 1st of February 1958 P.V. Glob and T.G. Bibby were warmly

received by the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh abdullah al Salem al Sabah and the Minister of educa-

tion, Sheikh abdullah al Jabir al Sabah. They were given identity papers in english and arabic

(see below) certifying that they worked under the auspices of the Government of Kuwait.

Motor vehicles and other necessary materials were placed at their disposal, so that they were

able to start their reconnaissance immediately. They had only a week to find suitable sites for

excavation before the main group of four arrived from Denmark.

The first step was to cover the mainland. in the cool early hours of the morning they were

driven out into the desert in luxury cars with chauffeurs and servants. They travelled around

until darkness fell, sending them home to Kuwait’s new university at Shuwaik where they

occupied elegantly equipped rooms in a student lodging facility. Despite the brief period of

time, they managed to drive through most of the Kuwaiti mainland and make quite a number

of finds from the Stone age, e.g. near Gurain Mountain in the south and in the hills bordering

the northern side of the Gulf of Kuwait (Glob 1968 p. 130).

Three days later they were brought over to Failaka on one of the education Department’s

white launches. at that time there was neither harbour nor jetty, and a dug-out hollowed from

a single trunk came out to fetch them and their luggage to the shore. That day they surveyed

the northern and eastern part of the island, driven by the indian doctor in his jeep and accom-

panied by the emir of Failaka and the headmaster of the school. By night fall they returned to

Zor and were lodged in a class room at the boy’s school (Bibby 1996 p. 143-154).

The next morning they were up early and slipped away on foot before school began. “and

as we approached the southwest corner of the island the twin mounds of Sa’ad wa-Sa’aid rose

smoothly in front of us. They were the most conspicuous landmarks on the whole island, two

low broad humps rising from the flat plain about three hundred yards apart. From the sea and

from the land they looked like tells.” (Bibby 1996 p. 150).

within a few minutes they realized that the first tell was covered with “Barbar” sherds,

a thin, red, ridged pottery that in Bahrain had proved to be the hallmark of the Bronze age

Dilmun culture. “Then slowly the shock began to register. This we had not expected. we were

over 250 miles from Bahrain, and in fact a hundred miles closer to ur than to Bahrain. we had

expected Mesopotamian influence, perhaps even Mesopotamian colonization, in Kuwait; we

had not expected Bahrain influence, or Bahrain colonization. Yet if the ‘Barbar culture’ was the

material manifestation of Dilmun, then Failaka too was part of Dilmun.” (Bibby 1996 p. 151).

The eastern tell was lower than the western, and roughly rectangular in shape. The mound

was higher on the edges than in the centre, clear evidence of defensive walling. in stead of

Barbar sherds this tell was covered with sherds from thin bowls, glazed or red-painted, known

from the so-called Greek layers at the tell in Bahrain and dating to the time of alexander the

Great (Bibby 1996 p. 151-152).

So, here were two sites worthy of excavation, named Tell F3 and Tell F5 (F for Failaka) and

when the team of four excavators arrived two days later this was where they began their work.

t h e f i r s t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s u r V e y


17 / t h e f i r s t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s u r v e y


19 / t h e f i r s t e x c a v a t i o n s

Members of the Danish expedition discussing how to plan

the excavations in 1960; from the left geoffrey Bibby, oscar

Marseen, p.V. glob, poul Kjærum, Jens aarup Jensen and

aino Kann rasmussen.

During five campaigns in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961/62 and 1962/63 the tells on the southwestern

corner of Failaka became the focus of the Danish archaeological expedition. The first three

years the excavations took place in the early spring, but in order to avoid the Ramadan they

were moved to the winter season in 1961. each campaign lasted 2½-3½ months, and the exca-

vation teams consisted of between 5 and 14 Danes, and 2 Kuwaitis from the education Depart-

ment, assisted by up to 185 labourers.

approximate duration of the failaka campaigns

February 2nd to april 14th 1958

January 16th – april 1st 1959

January 8th – april 1st 1960

october 17th 1961 – January 29th 1962

November 4th 1962 – February 16th 1963

failaka excavation teams

1958 : T.G. Bibby, aage Roussel, erling albrectsen, Poul Rovsing olsen, Torben Lundbæk,

imran abdo.

1959 : aage Roussel, erling albrectsen, Åke Fredsjö, oscar Marseen, e. Spjæt Christensen,

Jørn Glob, Georg Kunwald, G. Lange-Kornbak, arne Thorsteinsson, imran abdo.

1960: Poul Kjærum, Kristian Jeppesen, erling albrectsen, oscar Marseen, G. Lange-Kornbak,

Kristen Møllenhus, Peter Seeberg, Thorkild hansen, aino Kann Rasmussen, Steffen Fisker,

elsebeth Sander, Karl Vibe-Müller, Jens aarup Jensen, Tareq Rajab, imran abdo, Lennart Larsen.

1961/62 : Poul Kjærum, Kristian Jeppesen, oscar Marseen, G. Lange-Kornbak, Peter Seeberg,

Karl Vibe-Müller, Tareq Rajab, imran abdo, Gunner Dokken, Lotte Jeppesen, Palle Friis, Svend

aage Lorentz.

1962/63 : Poul Kjærum, Kristian Jeppesen, oscar Marseen, G. Lange-Kornbak, Peter Seeberg,

Karl Vibe-Müller, Tareq Rajab, imran abdo, Lennart Larsen.

leadership

The official Director of the Danish archaeological expeditions was P.V. Glob, with T.G. Bibby as

Deputy Director. as the scale of the expedition expanded with activities in Bahrain, Qatar, the

united arab emirates as well as Kuwait, daily responsibility for the excavations in Kuwait was

delegated to aage Roussel (1958-59) and Poul Kjærum (1960-63).

t h e f i r s t e x c aVat i o n s



lodging

The first year the archaeologist were put up in the school in Zor, the only village of Failaka, but

already the next year a block of rooms had been built at the far side of the school-yard with

a number of bedrooms and a bathroom, a common-room and a kitchen, a storeroom and an

office. Conditions were a bit strained in 1959, so in 1960 a new wing had been added with more

bedrooms, a dark-room and a laboratory (Bibby 1996 p. 177). The conditions provided by the

Kuwaiti education Department were exemplary generous.

From Peter Seeberg’s letters home to his wife, cited with permission from Seeberg’s family,

we have an eyewitness account of the conditions in 1960: every man had his own room facing

out to a loggia along the house and an open flagged courtyard surrounded by walls. Peter

Seeberg’s room had apple-green walls, a grey door and two windows, the floor was made

of yellowish-grey terrazzo flags covered with a soft carpet. The room was high-ceilinged and

equipped with a ventilator with 7 speeds and an electric heater. The bed had a foam rubber

mattress, sheets and a nice, chequered blanket. There was an armchair with cushions covered

with beige flowered fabric, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers in teak veneer, a small square table,

a small round bedside table, a 1 x ½ m brown veneered writing table, a modern hungarian

bentwood chair of light plywood, a hall stand and on the wall a map of the Near east.

The dining and sitting room was carpeted and equipped with armchairs, a radio and a

refrigerator. The bathroom had shower and water closet.

Sumptuous food was available with abundant fruit and vegetables, prepared over a gas

stove by an excellent cook, Felix, from Portuguese india and an indian cook’s assistant, hassan,

both dressed in scrupulously white. There was a waiter abdullah, a Palestinian, who spoke

good english and did his job exemplarily. Two black clad servants cleaned the rooms and the

corridors.

The camp as well as the school and the nearby hospital was supplied with electricity from

a 16 cylinder petrol motor in a corner of the courtyard which hammered away day in and day out.

outside the walls of the courtyard was the school’s playground and sports field, where a

jeep and truck was ready in the morning to take the archaeologists to work.

Daily routine

The day began at 6.30 o’clock with breakfast of coffee or tea with toast, fried eggs and bacon,

cheese and marmalade. Departure for the excavation at c. 7 o’clock. Shook hands with the

foremen and set the men to work. at 9.30 a small break of 10 minutes. The labourers cooked

tea on open fire or on a small tin furnace. The tea was drunk with lots of coarse sugar, and to

this the labourers ate large flat breads. Some had a little extra, such as halwa, dark, pressed

dates or a small fried fish.

at 12 the archaeologists went home to dinner, a soup, some meat, often goat, with beans

or peas and chips, cheese and preserved peaches or similar for dessert. well over 1 they were

back at work till at about 3 when there was a 15 minutes break where all Muslims went to the

beach to pray. Normally, work ended about 4.30, but occasionally special surveying tasks kept

the archaeologists on the site for an extra hour.

Supper was more or less the same as dinner. at some point the cook began making deli-

cious desserts, e.g. caramel baskets filled with fruit salad, fried apples filled with vanilla crème.

The cocks began to crow at four in the morning and the donkeys followed at sun rise with

their hellish braying.

often the archaeologists went swimming/bathing from the beach in the lunch break. in

a letter dated January 14th 1960 Seeberg writes: “i have bathed twice today where there has

been almost no wind. in the morning at low tide it was cold, but in the afternoon at high tide it

was pleasant. afterwards you can sit and dry in the sun.”

The long campaigns were normally interrupted by a few days leave to Bahrain or isfahan.

Besides, the leader and others sometimes had to go to Kuwait city to attend meetings in the

education Department or buy supplies in the shops (see below letter of February 21st 1960

from Peter Seeberg to his wife).

in the beginning the school’s radio was used to communicate with the Department, but

later a telephone system was installed.

the labourers

The need for labourers exceeded what the village of Zor could supply, and men came in from

iraq, iran, oman, aden, Somalia and Pakistan. up to 185 were attached to the excavation, the

majority each year were newcomers.

names of labourers on tell f6

1960:

Sef Rashed Sef

Rothan Jasim owadi

abid hassan hamadi

Kadem Botti

abd Jasr

Saad Dahak

abd Mubarak Blal

habasch Mabruk

Saleh ali

M’hama hajji ali

Blal Saad

ahmed ali abdallah

the finds

at the end of each campaign the finds were packed down in large wooden crates and shipped

to the museum in aarhus for conservation and analysis. at that time there were no conserva-

tion and storing facilities in Kuwait, nor anywhere in the arabian Gulf, so it was the only practi-

cal thing to do (højlund 2007a). Shipment and insurance were taken care of by officials from

the administrative office of the education Department. Lists were prepared of the contents of

each crate. The conservation and analysis of the objects from Failaka carried out at Moesgård

Museum were closely followed during several visits by officials from the Kuwaiti education

Department, and later from the Ministry of information and The National Council for Culture,

arts and Letters.

The excavations in 1958, 1959 and 1960 were carried out under the agreement that half

of what was found belonged to Kuwait, the other half to Moesgård Museum. in reality, Moes-

gård has never insisted on this agreement, but always given back what Kuwaiti officials have

wanted. on april the 14th 1960 a Law of Antiquities was passed by Princely Decree no. 11

stating in article 5 that everything that was excavated after that date was the property of the

Kuwait state.

1961/62:

Saad Dahak

hamad ali abdallah

hazan Zusa isia

Said Selem

abdallah isa

agil Mased

Said Bonkhamis

Masoud M’barak

Yoman ben Faraj

abdulla Latif Jacob

Seid Marhoun

abbed ben Fereish

Mohim ben Taib

1962/63:

Said Bonkhamis

abdulla isa

abdulla Latif

ahmed

Said abdallah

Mbarak Saad Salem

amer Selim Mohammad

abdullah hasan hajji

hladid hezen

ali Said

Sale ali abdalla

hamad Nasr



Abdulaziz Hussein, Esq.,Director of Education,Department of Education,Government of Kuwait,Kuwait.

24th May 1958.

Dear Mr. Hussein,

May I first thank you for your great help to us during our stay in Kuwait, help without which our work would have been impossible. I am pleased to hear that the excavation sites are now fenced in and will be guarded until we can resume work upon them. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the cases of specimens, and when they arrive we shall start work on the first report of our investigation in Kuwait, which will appear in print, in Danish and English, in our Journal. With regard to the division of the specimens we shall of course follow the wishes of the Ministry of Education; in this connection I would again emphasize that our main interest here is in the scientific results rather that in the actual museum specimens. In the course of the next month Mr. Bibby and I will formulate a plan for the continuation of our work in Kuwait. We are all anxious to carry further the interesting excavations which already show such promise for the future.

We send our best wishes to you and to the Minister, also to Mr. Maqdadi and Mr. Amed al-Isa.

Yours sincerely,

P.V. Glob, Professor.



Abdulaziz Hussein, Esq.,Director of Education,Department of Education,Government of Kuwait,Kuwait. 8th November 1958

Dear Mr. Hussein,

May I belatedly thank you for your letter of 27th May which crossed my letter of 24th May, and which informed us of his Excellency the President of the Education Department’s agreement to the continuation of our excavations and his approval of a further grant for this work. Our report on the first year’s reconnaissance in Kuwait has now been compiled and is in the hands of the printers. It will be issued in Kuml, our Journal, for 1958, which will appear in February next year. Its contents do not differ materially from those of the reports submitted to you at the conclusion of our field work, though it is of course fuller and profusely illustrated.

The report covers the three major results of last season’s work:1. The confirmation of the presence of Old Stone Age sites on the mainland of Kuwait,

including a previously unknown culture with implements of slate.2. Several Early Dynastic sites (about 3000 – 2500 BC) on Failaka with remains of buildings,

fragments of ornamented stone vessels, and, so far, three seals of a type showing trade connections with Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

3. The fortified township, of Alexandrine or Seleucid date (about 350 – 200 BC), on Failaka, with its appendage, a house outside the walls containing the workshop of a maker of terra-cotta figurines, which has yielded moulds for several statuettes of Classical Greek style, including a head of Alexander the Great.

We are more than satisfied with such exceedingly rich results of what was, after all, planned as a reconnaissance to find out whether there was anything at all in Kuwait of archeological interest. Thanks to the efficiency and generosity of your Department in providing us so promptly and fully with labour and equipment our reconnaissance group was enabled in addition to carry out a fair amount of excavation, with excellent results. We are under no doubt that equally satisfactory results can be obtained by a continuation of our work at the sites already opened up, and that continued reconnais-sance will identify yet further sites of historical importance. We note therefore with pleasure that you are willing to continue your grant for a further year.

However, our success in finding and opening up two important sites raises the question of

whether it would not already be advisable to expand the Failaka test diggings into a full archeological excavation, on the same scale as our diggings in Bahrain. Such a full-scale excavation should ideally comprise an excavating staff of about six archeologists and two supervisors, and a specialist staff of six men, a surveyor, an architect, a draughtsman, a photographer, a pottery specialist and a conservator. We consider, however, that a saving in manpower can be achieved by sharing the specialist staff with our simultaneous excavations in Bahrain, and that Failaka could be adequately covered by a force of ten men. This is the number we have hitherto found suitable for our Bahrain expeditions, as we have found that a lesser number inevitably results either in inadequate supervision of the actual digging or in neglect of the technical side of the work, drawing, registration and recording.

For a team of this size a labour force of about 90 – 100 men would be required, though this number could be reduced if wheelbarrows were available for moving earth, and reduced even further if rails and top-wagons could be furnished (as sooner or later they will have to be if full-scale excava-tion is to continue).

You raise the question of accommodation, and we appreciate your concern to provide more adequate facilities in this respect. As much of our work involves drawing and recording permanent accommodation with electric light and heating would be of very great convenience. While we shall, of course, leave the details of this to your Department, I understand that Dr. Roussel has already made the suggestion to you that the disused palace about halfway between Failaka town and the excavations could without very much difficulty be made into very comfortable quarters.

Other questions, such as the provision of additional transport, can well be left for discussion on our arrival. We should hope to be in the field from the beginning of January to the end of March next year. The important thing for us to know fairly soon is whether His Excellency will be willing to sanction a grant sufficient for a full team of ten men, or whether we should plan on last season’s re-stricted basis of five. As you will see from the budget which I attach here, we estimate that the monetary grant required for a ten-man expedition would be in the region of 60,000 rupees. Of this we have Rs. 3,672-18 in hand, as appears from the statement of accounts of the last expedition which I also attach.

May I finally say that we are looking forward very eagerly to resuming work in Kuwait and that all members of last season’s expedition join me in sending their warmest regards to you and to all their many friends within your Department.

Yours very sincerely,




Statement of accounts (to 31.10.58) of the Danish Archeological Expedition to Kuwait

Monetary grant from Department of Education 31 000-00 Rupees

Expenditure:

Expedition expenses: Fares 15 423-67 Allowances 4 536-70 Equipment & photography 532-00 Ethnographical specimens 1 470-00 Freight & insurance 493-47 Various 1 806-71 24 262-55

Part salary of expedition secretary 3 065-27 27 327-82

Carried forward to 1959 campaign 3 672-18 31 000-00 Rupees

Budget for 1959 (based on strength of 10 persons)

Expedition expenses:

Fares 32 000 Allowances 15 000 Equipment & photography 1 500 Ethnographical specimens 1 500 Freight & insurance 1 000 Various 4 000 55 000 Part salary of expedition secretary 5 000 60 000 Rupees



tell f3 contained remains of

a trading settlement belong-

ing to the Dilmun civilization.

rows of small houses facing

the sea where once the mer-

chant ships were beached.

at first the settlement was

thought to date to the 3rd

millennium Bc, but studies

of stamp seals and pottery

proved that the site was

inhabited during most of the

2nd millennium Bc, looking

w (1961/62).

in tell f6 excavations

revealed a large complex

building (looking ne), inhab-

ited during most of the 2nd

millennium Bc and therefore

contemporary with tell f3

(1961/62). contrary to tell

f3 which was inhabited by

private households, tell f6

seems to be related to a

greater organization, prob-

ably to the nearby temple

later uncovered by a french

mission (callot 2005).



Darwish El-Miqdadi, Esq.,Asst. Director of Education, Department of Education,Kuwait.

29th June 1959Dear Mr. Miqdadi,

Thank you for your letter 961/2999 of 21st June. We note with pleasure that you desire our expedition to resume excavations next year.

As you know, the excavations this year at both sites on Failaka repeated the quite phenomenal success of the year before. At the eastern site the completely Greek character of the stone fort was amply demonstrated, in particular by the identification of a Greek temple within the area and of a masonry-built moat surrounding the fortification walls. And the presence of a Rhodian pottery stamp of the 3rd-2nd century BC appears to show that the site was occupied for at least 100 years. We think it advis-able here to extend the scope of the excavations somewhat, so that, while work on the fortifications can be continued and part of the moat cleared, the temple area can also be completely excavated. It is also important, we feel, to make a trial excavation in the presumed settlement area to the north of the fort, in order to determine whether it is contemporary with the Greek fort, and, if so, whether this settle-ment also was Greek, or whether we have a Greek garrison in the “acropolis” controlling a non-Greek town outside.

The excavations on the western site produced extensive house remains of the Sargonid period (about 2300 BC), and a very large number of the typical “Dilmun” seals, as well as cuneiform inscrip-tions naming the Dilmun god Inzak. As these have an important bearing on the disputed location of Dilmun and on the whole question of trade between Babylonia and the Indus in the Third and Second Millennia, and as one may reasonably expect building remains of a more monumental character else-where in this mound, we should like to extend the excavations on this site considerably.

We should thus like to excavate at four points next year: (a) the Greek fortifications (two archeologists); (b) the Greek temple (two archeologists); (c) the Greek (?) town (two archeologists), and (d) the Sargonid town (three archeologists). We shall need in addition a staff of four specialists, an architect, a draughtsman, a conservator and a photographer/registrator. There will moreover be an Area Supervisor in charge of the whole Failaka operation, while it would be reasonable that the expedition to Kuwait, which is larger than all our other Arabian Gulf expeditions put together, pays the expenses of one of the two leaders of the whole Arabian Gulf project. We thus reach a figure of 15 men, and the budget estimate will therefore be:

Fares Rs. 44,000Allowances 24,000Equipment 4,000Photography 1,500Ethnographical specimens 3,000Insurance 1,500Part salary of expedition secretary 6,000Miscellaneous 9,000 Rs. 93,000

We have this year, as you see, allotted a sum to “Equipment”. It has proved, as you know, dif-ficult for us to obtain certain specialized equipment, such as theodolites, surveying levels and plane tables, while in Kuwait, and it will be necessary for us next year to purchase these items in Denmark and bring them with us to Kuwait. For the programme as here envisaged at least 100 workmen will be required. Also the accom-modation for the archaeologists, which was already very strained last year, would need to be extended to accommodate the extra personnel. We note that you will let us know of your decision on the establishment of a resident archeolo-gist next autumn, and would again emphasize the importance we consider this project to have to the long-term investigation of the prehistory of the Gulf.

We send our best wishes to all our friends in the Education Department.

Yours very sincerely,




in tell f5 a fortified settlement was discovered, with two

temples in greek style built c. 250 Bc by the successors of

alexander the great (looking nw) (1961/62).



Drawing of the failaka excavations in 1960 made by a pupil from the school in Zor. in the foreground,

a doorway in the hellenistic fortified town at tell f5 with the archaeologists erling albrectsen smoking

his pipe. to the left, architect steffen fisker with a knife in the belt, smoking his cigarette, supervising

the excavation: earth from the excavation trenches is being carried away in baskets. in the back-

ground, left, the house of sheikh ahmed al Jaber al sabah on top of tell f3, and right, the village of

Zor and the setting sun in the west towards the mainland.

Dearest Hanne,

Many thanks for your airmail letter which I received just before I was due to go down to the boat and sail to Kuwait. This time we were on a taxi boat, a barge-like dhow with no sails but equipped with a motor that gave it twice the speed it was built for. We lounged on the deck and watched the schools of porpoises that frolicked in the water. The latter was of a pale bluish-green colour as if shone through by the storm which appeared to be brewing. The sky was heavily overcast and low over the horizon coloured by the yellowish smoke from the gas flares of the oil fields. We passed a small jollibut boat on which the whole crew sat and cast dice on the quarterdeck, were met by a small open boat with its sail flapping in the unreliable breeze, under the sail lay four or five men. Our captain was a little Iranian from Abadan who piloted the boat with the aid of a small compass in which the liquid frothed. The compass was carried to him in a small square wooden box. For once, we landed in the middle of the town, by the customs house, where large two-masters, their masts leaning slightly forwards, heavy horn-like prows, booms, clumped together with the captain and his friends sitting by their hookahs under the upper sail on the quarter-deck terrace, while the dockers carried the round woven baskets of dates from Basra ashore on their heads – along the narrow gangplanks. Hectic activity, strangely quiet, no shouting, no screaming….

Bibby and I went for a little stroll and had a cup of Turkish coffee at one of the roof-top cafes where people sit and play strange games with black and white pieces and a pair of bone dice. They move one, two or three of the pieces from one corner to another, but according to rules that are not immediately apparent. I went for a walk alone through pitch-dark alleys where I gained small glimpses in through gateways to where goats lay chewing on lucerne; this is imported in mountains of tightly packed, rectangular bales. On street corners illuminated by a lantern sat children with buckets and scales and sold roasted grasshoppers. I thought at first they were prawns. I didn’t try one. In one place a man lay by a wall, sleeping on a mat…

Next day I walked along the whole length of the harbour front with Glob and saw the ship-wrights at work, went to the fruit and vegetable market and watched the women who stood and washed clothes in the shallow pools between the dhows which rested on tall support posts, slightly leaning.

In the afternoon we drove out to an oasis where there is a fort of a slight reddish clay-like hue. The fort lies on the innermost part of the Gulf; here it is but a narrow point below a furrowed, white clay plateau, which rises here up above the plain. The trip out there was along broad asphalt roads. Along-side the roads lay small labourers’ towns of palm-leaf huts surrounded by woven fences, here and there a Pepsi-cola bar, in one place a petrol station. The desert vegetation comprised rather low tufted bushes where flocks of brown sheep grazed, in one place watched over by a little desert beauty who stood timid-ly by the roadside and disappeared in over the plain when Thorkild got out to take a photograph. Round about lay black Bedouin camps with small herds of camels, but the overall impression was of something which has almost disappeared. At the oasis, which consisted of a few thousand palms around a great deep pond with a petrol-powered pump, the townspeople sprawled in their small gardens and shoals of soft-drink sellers plagued the roads.

From the oasis, Jaharra, we returned toward the town and took a detour in the direction of the oil field with anonymous pipe systems everywhere, and from where the oil is pumped up into clusters of shining aluminium tanks standing on a ridge, and from there on to the export terminal where the tankers lie and are pumped full….

Dearest greetings to you, Ursula and Anna.Yours Peter

a visit to Kuwait city on 21st february 1960 described

in a letter from peter seeberg to his wife hanne.



tea break in the excavation.

excavation of the greek

temple in tell f5. thorkild

hansen with pick and pipe,

Kristian Jeppesen lightning

his cigar (1960).

elsebeth sander sorting

pottery sherds (1960).


41 / c o n s e r v a t i o n , a n a l y s i s a n d p u b l i c a t i o n

when P.V. Glob became Professor in Prehistoric archaeology at the university of aarhus

in 1949 he also took over the Prehistoric Museum (later Moesgård Museum). During the

following years the museum expanded, and in 1959 the staff consisted of 5 archaeologists and

1 conservator. This small museum was actively engaged in excavations in Denmark, and from

1953 it sent every year expeditions to the arabian Gulf. Manpower had to be acquired from

elsewhere, and archaeologists from other Danish museums, as well as a few from Norway and

Sweden, participated in the excavations in the Gulf.

This arrangement made little room for the analysis of finds and the preparation of

publications, because as soon as the excavators returned home they became involved in other

activities. only Geoffrey Bibby was full-time engaged in Gulf archaeology, so when the finds of

the yearly campaign arrived from arabia he was the only one to unpack the material, and when

he had finished numbering and shelving the objects, it was time to plan the next campaign.

a young Kuwaiti, Tareq Rajab, participated in the excavations 1960-1963, and in 1960 he

went for 6 months with his wife Jehan and their children to Denmark to gain experience in

museum work. he later became the first Director of antiquities in Kuwait and organized a fine

archaeological museum on Failaka as well as an ethnographical museum in Sheikh ahmed’s

house on top of Tell F3. Both museums were inaugurated by the Minister of education, Sheikh

abdulla al Jabir al Sabah in 1964.

Most of the conservation in aarhus was done by the museum’s own conservator, G. Lange-

Kornbak. a hoard of silver coins was sent to the National Museum in Copenhagen (see the

letters below). The exceptional copper objects excavated in Tell F3 and F6 were treated by

conservator elmer Fabech and returned to Kuwait in 1974 (see letter below).

in the early 1970s Poul Kjærum from Moesgård Museum and Kristian Jeppesen from the

university of aarhus were well advanced with respect to analysis of the finds from Failaka, so

they planned a 2 month stay in Kuwait to re-study the finds that had been returned, as well as

the finds from the last campaign in 1962/63 which were never sent to Denmark. The plans were

discussed with Museum Director ibrahim al-Baghly and Superintendent Jawad al-Najjar and

finalized during a visit to Copenhagen in 1974 by assistant undersecretary Saleh Shehab of

the Ministry of information to which the antiquities Department had been transferred.

in 1975 a group of seven went to Kuwait in order to analyse the finds and study the sites

on Failaka. Beside Kjærum and Jeppesen the team consisted of two classical archaeologists,

Lise hannestad and hans erik Mathiesen, and three draughtsmen and registrators, Lotte

Jeppesen, Jens aarup Jensen and Carsten Sønderby. in 1982 the first volume in the series

Danish Archaeological Investigations on Failaka, Kuwait was published: Mathiesen’s The

Terracotta Figurines, followed in 1983 by hannestad’s The Hellenistic Pottery from Failaka and

Kjærum’s The Stamp and Cylinder Seals, and in 1987 by Flemming højlund’s The Bronze Age

Pottery and in 1989 by Jeppesen’s The Sacred Enclosure in the Early Hellenistic Period. Further

volumes are planned.

c o n s e r V at i o n , a n a ly s i s a n D p u B l i c at i o n

assistant undersecretary saleh shehab,

p.V. glob and poul Kjærum at the national

Museum in copenhagen, 1974.



Darwish El-Miqdadi, Esq.,Deputy Director-General of Education,Department of Education,Government of Kuwait,Kuwait.

1st June 1960

Dear Mr. Miqdadi,

Thank you for your letter (961/17491) of 14th May, to which I am first able to reply now, as I have been excavating in south Denmark.

The 13 silver coins are being treated at the conservation laboratory of the National Museum. I have seen them there, and I can say that they are going to be unusually beautiful when the process is completed in the course of the summer. At the same time the specialists of the Royal Coin Cabinet are researching into them, and they will be writing a report in the next number of KUML which will be issued in the autumn. As soon as these investigations are completed the coins will be immediately returned to you, together with the seals from 1959.

The inscription and the seals have also arrived safely, and are being treated in our conserva-tion department. They too will be returned as soon as the work is completed.

I should like also to acknowledge receipt of the documents for our 49 cases enclosed with your letter ED/IF/3760 of 11th May. We look forward to receiving the consignment in due course.

Mr Tareq Fakhry will be very welcome here, and will be able to take part in all branches of our museum work, including excavation, compiling of archives, exhibition, conservation and storage.

Plans for our work in 1961 will be sent to you as soon as they are worked out in detail.May I end by sending you our warmest thanks for the good campaigns we have had hitherto

in Kuwait, and for your hospitality and help, both on behalf of the expedition and personally.Please give our warmest regards to the Director General and to our other friends in the

Department of Education.

Yours sincerely,




the headmaster of the school in Zor with his pupils

visiting the excavation of the greek temple in f5.

to the left, sitting, Kristian Jeppesen. looking w, 1960.

tareq rajab participated in the excavations in failaka

in 1960-63 and organized the archaeological museum

at the site which opened in 1964.



Darwish Miqdadi, Esq.,Deputy Director,Department of Education,Kuwait.

31st August 1960

Dear Mr. Miqdadi,

It has been a great pleasure to us that Tareq Rajab has been able to join us at the Prehistoric Museum for training in archeological and museum methods. He is now engaged in conservation and registration of the Failaka pottery, and will from next week be taking part in one of our Danish exca-vations.

I understand that his posting to Denmark is in the first instance limited to three months. I am sure that you will understand that this period would be entirely inadequate for obtaining a useful practical knowledge of museum work and archeological field work. We should like Tareq to obtain practical familiarity with the preparation and organisation of a field excavation, the setting out and use of measurement grids, the drawing of field plans and sections, the actual excavation, field registra-tion and packing of objects found, field photography and the preparation of excavation reports; with conservation of objects of wood and metal, reconstruction of pottery, and making of casts and impres-sions; with final registration and numbering of objects, drawing of pottery profiles and final plans and sections, the care and organisation of store and archive material, and the preparation and presentation of exhibition material. And finally we should like to give him some idea of how the material acquired is used in historical research, the preparation of pottery sequences, the searching out for comparative material, and the use of radioactive carbon and pollen analytical techniques.

I should recommend that Tareq Rajab be allowed at least a year for this training course, and I hope that you will permit him to remain in Aarhus until the autumn of next year, when we hope to resume our excavations in Failaka.

You will be pleased to hear that the conservation department of the National Museum has now completed work on the hoard of silver coins from Failaka. I have today asked them to despatch the coins to you personally by registered mail. Our reports on these coins and on the Ikaros temple and inscription will be published in this year’s KUML which has just gone to press.

I imagine that you have already seen the article on the Failaka excavations by Mr. Albrectsen which appears in the latest issue of the “Illustrated London News”.

Sincerely yours,

P.V. Glob



in february 1961 the Minister of education, he sheikh abdullah al Jabir al sabah visited Denmark where he was briefed on the results

of the excavations in Kuwait and other gulf countries, and the future course of investigations in Kuwait was planned.

A.A. Hussein, Esq.,Director General,Department of Education, Government of Kuwait.

9th November 1960.Dear Mr. Hussein,

I was pleased to receive today your letter of 27th October, and to hear that the coin hoard from Failaka had reached you without mishap. I had been very anxious for the safety of these rarities, as I had not heard whether they had arrived. The fee for conservation and preparation should be paid to Museumsinspektør O. Mørkholm, Den Kongelige Mønt- og Medaille-Samling; the work has been very difficult and time-consuming, and the 1200 kroner cover only expenses in connection with the work. As we have previously informed you, we are planning to wait until the autumn of 1961 for our next campaign, and we hope to resume our work in Kuwait in October, November and December next year. This is partly because we need the whole winter here at the Museum for preparation and investiga-tion of the many objects discovered during the spring campaign this year, and partly because Ramadan now comes so early in the year that it would seriously interfere with a spring season. Our work on the first batch of seals is now nearly completed, and we should soon be able to send them to you conserved and prepared as you requested. Offprints of the articles in KUML have now been received, and 10 copies of each will be despatched to you by separate mail. Mr. Tareq Rajab is at the moment working here at the Museum, but his leave terminates on 31st December. I would consider it very desirable that his stay should be extended for a further six months. He would then be able to spend three months working at the National Museum and at other museums in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. I have myself, from 1st November, been appointed Rigsantikvar (Director-General of Antiquities in Denmark) and Director of the National Museum, so that I shall be able to ensure Mr. Tareq Rajab good facilities for study in Copenhagen. In the long run it must be of advantage both for Mr. Rajab himself and for his future work at Kuwait Museum that he obtains so comprehensive a training as possible in museum technique here. After three month’s work (January-March) at the Museum we suggest that he then takes part in various excavations, so I have already written concerning these points to Mr. Miqdadi, whose health I hope is now improving.

With my best regards, Yours sincerely,

P.V. Glob, Rigsantikvar.



a telegram from Kuwait to Bahrain December 5th 1961 to invite professor

glob together with the failaka team to meet the ruler of Kuwait, sheikh

abdullah al-salem al-sabah. the reply in Bibby’s hand writing: “expect

glob & self on gulf aviation thursday - Bibby”.

Mr. Ibrahim BaghliDirector of AntiquitiesKuwait MuseumMinistry of InformationKuwait

30.10. 1974

Dear Ibrahim Baghly.

Last Monday October 28th I delivered 6 boxes to the spedition firm N.A. Nielsen, Copenhagen, which was recommended to us by the Consulate for Kuwait in Copenhagen for transference to you. 3 boxes contain copper artifacts treated in our conservation laboratory here, and 1 box the Greek inscription stone. These boxes are all sent by air. Besides we have delivered 2 boxes of untreated copper and a big slag to be transferred by sur-face. The air mail is sent in the most safe way Copenhagen-Frankfurt-Kuwait with Flight No. LH 624 with arrival in Kuwait October 31st at 21.15 hours as mentioned in my telegram. When opening the boxes you have to be extremely careful as most of the objects are exception-ally fragile though they may look firm and strong. All of the small boxes are numbered, and on the enclosed lists you will see the contents of each. All the more fragile and important objects are specially packed in soft tissue paper, and the best will be to keep them in this way if the store is not humid, and if each object is not put in a separate box. Including the boxes sent by surface all copper is now transferred to you except the vessel rim with the inscription which still is giving trouble to professor Læssøe who is working on the cuneiform inscriptions. An awl with handle is left with the zoologists as it looks as if the handle has been made from bone of a hitherto unknown bird, a giant heron, and so they want to study it further. These objects I shall bring with me in March. We are now looking forward to seeing Mr. Saleh Shehab here on Sunday next, when I am going to meet him in Copenhagen. Hope everything is well in Kuwait and especially with you. I hope to hear from you as soon as the boxes have arrived.

Best wishes to all from Yours sincerely

Poul Kjærum


55 / e t h n o g r a p h i c c o l l e c t i o n s

in the 1950’es and 1960’es modernisation of Kuwait was accelerating enormously due to the

income from the oil. Traditional ways of life, Bedouin nomadism, pearl fishing and village

gardening, were rapidly disappearing. in this situation the Danes seized the opportunity to

document the old ways of life before it was too late. The archives at Moesgård Museum docu-

ment the special heritage of Kuwait in hundreds of photos and hours of film and sound. There

are also a number of unique ethnographic objects which are worth noting.

the Dickson collection

Colonel h.R.P. and Violet Dickson lived in Kuwait since 1929, and their publications on the

culture and history of Kuwait remains of immense value (Dickson, h.R.P. 1951, 1956. Dickson,

V. 1949, 1955, 1971). P.V. Glob and T.G. Bibby met the Dicksons in 1958 and received much

information and advice from them. Colonel Dickson died in 1959, but Violet continued to live

in Kuwait and showed a keen interest in the excavations on Failaka. Many mornings the tele-

phone rang in the excavation house on Failaka, when Violet Dickson wanted a chat with Poul

Kjærum. During Christmas in 1961 or 1962 Mrs Dickson invited the Danish team to dinner, and

in this connection she donated some outstanding objects to Moesgård Museum.

hours of film taken in Kuwait around 1960, in professional for-

mat (35 mm colour) lie in the climate controlled storeroom at M

oesgård Museum waiting to be digitally scanned and edited.

e t h n o g r a p h i c c o l l e c t i o n s



Wooden shutter, acquired by

Violet Dickson in the suq in

Kuwait city. painted in the

same pattern as one of the

main doors in King saud’s

palace in riyadh. a painting

of this door, made by Violet

Dickson, illustrates her article

on artistic house decoration

in riyadh (1949 p. 76-77, pl.

J). originally intended to

furnish a house in arab style

planned by the Dicksons.

A fur-lined coat, belonged to colonel Dickson,

who used it on his travels as protection against

the cold of the night. its origin is unknown.

colonel Dickson is seen wearing this coat on

a photo dated christmas day 1952 in his book

Kuwait and her neighbours (1956 p. 452).

finely worked fancy leather apron (miraka),

which hangs down in front of camel’s chest

and stretches to its knees, used by sheikhs

and leaders (illustrated in Dickson 1951 p. 91);

a gift to colonel Dickson from the ruler of

Kuwait, sheikh ahmad al Jabir al sabah,

thought to come from saudi arabia.



p. roving olsen’s collection of music and instruments

as a young man the composer Poul Rovsing olsen (1922-1982) became fascinated by arab

music, and in 1958 he participated in the first expedition to Failaka, where he spent six weeks.

During the day time he assisted in the excavations, but all along he had the possibility to study

the local music and record it on his Maihak tape-recorder (højlund in Rovsing olsen 2002

p. 6-15). he brought home a couple of one-stringed fiddles (rababat) and some drums (tar,

kaser, tabl) (Rovsing olsen 2002 figs. 12, 14-16), besides four hours of work songs, wedding

songs, pearl fisher songs and Bedouin songs. a total of 17 songs from the Kuwait mainland

and 56 from Failaka, which are now kept in the Danish Folklore archives in Copenhagen (Mink

Rossen 1989).

Rovsing olsen stayed in Failaka during the Ramadan in 1958, and every Thursday there

was a wedding in the village of Zor. when the muezzin had called to prayer just after the

setting of the sun, the groom went to the mosque with some friends. after the prayer he stayed

some time in his family’s house, and then they all went through the alleys of the village to the

house of his coming wife, followed by a procession. if the groom was from a rich family the

procession would be headed by musicians from Failaka and Kuwait city and by torch bearers.

They advanced dancing, with simple movements vaguely resembling the samba. The women

followed the men, at a distance of 15-20 m, sometimes letting out shrill cries of joy. The instru-

ments participating in the procession were often a number of tars, a couple of tabls and the so-

called Persian bagpipe (habban), accompanying the songs (Rovsing olsen 1964 p. 153-154).

Tar, frame drum with iron

rings and small bells

attached to the inside of

the frame, width of frame

7 cm, diameter 36 cm.

Kaser, small double-head-

ed drum with bamboo

stick, curved as a result

of drying up, height 23

cm, diameter 32 cm.

Tabl, large cylindrical

two-skinned drum with

carrying sling and bam-

boo stick, height 44 cm,

diameter 31 cm.


61 / t h e n e w M o e s g å r d M u s e u M

in 2013 Moesgård Museum opens a grand new exhibition building, placed on a hilltop in the

woods south of aarhus and containing some of the best archaeological and ethnographical

exhibitions in Scandinavia. The New Moesgård Museum is designed by the Danish architect

firm, Henning Larsen Architects, who created the Foreign Ministry Complex in Riyadh and the

Copenhagen opera.

focus on the arabian gulf countries

in 1953 the Prehistoric Museum in aarhus, Denmark, began large scale investigations in the

prehistory and traditional culture of the countries along the arabian Gulf, from Kuwait in the

north over Saudi arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the united arab emirates to oman in the south. at

that time only few people in europe had heard about this part of the world. Today, the arabian

Gulf is globally known for its oil and for its tremendous modern development, but in fact the

arabian Gulf countries have a fascinating history going back thousands of years to the civiliza-

tions of Dilmun, Magan and Tylos, and a variety of traditional cultures rooted in the desert, the

sea and the palm gardens.

For more than half a century it has been the aim of Moesgård Museum to study this rich

human diversity, past and present, and to disseminate the results to the international public -

in scholarly volumes, through exhibitions and lectures - as part of our wider goal of promoting

understanding between different societies and cultures.

Several temporary exhibitions on the arabian Gulf have been arranged by Moesgård

Museum. But there has never been a permanent exhibition on the arabian Gulf culture and

history at Moesgård Museum, nor indeed anywhere in the world outside the arabian Gulf.

This, however, will change with the new Moesgård Museum!

The entire exhibition area on the first floor of the new building will be dedicated to the

arabian Gulf. entering the area through an oasis with palm trees, the visitor will discover the

arab world, as it has been found and researched by Moesgård’s archaeologists and ethnogra-

phers through more than 50 years.

The arabian Gulf has always played an important role as a gateway between the great

civilisations of the world – in ancient times as well as today. Moesgård Museum aims to exhibit

this grand history as well as the traditional ways of life in the arabian Gulf. here, new genera-

tions will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a unique region of the world, the

arabian Gulf, with a history and culture very different from our own, and, thereby, we hope,

learn to appreciate the diversity of human life.

at the same time new exciting investigations are being carried out in several arabian Gulf

countries. Moesgård Museum wishes to push forward the frontiers of knowledge, and new

excavations on Failaka are planned for the coming years.

the new exhibition building will be located immediately north of the old manor.

the project is funded by a combination of public and private donations.

Moesgård Museum is housed in a 200 year old manor house, Moesgård, lying south of aarhus,

the second largest city in Denmark. Moesgård also houses Departments of archaeology and

anthropology of the university of aarhus. together the Museum and the university create an

inspiring academic environment for a thousand students and eighty academics.

t h e n e w M o e s g å r D M u s e u M


63 / b i b l i o g r a p h y

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the Rencontre Assyriologiques and the Seminar for Arabian Studies.

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M o e s g å r d M u s e u M

the danish archaeological expedition to kuwait 1958-1963

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