Boats

Boat remains are among the most exciting finds at H3. As well as pieces of bitumen which appear to come from reed-bundle vessels, a model boat was found which may indicate the shape of the sea-craft used during this period.

It has been speculated that vessels made of reed-bundles, coated with bitumen, were among the region's earliest boats. This was believed because later vessels are known to have been made that way, and also because reeds and bitumen are the commonest natural resources found in Mesopotamia which are suitable for that purpose. Similar vessels were used until recently in the marshes of Southern Mesopotamia. The bitumen waterproofs the vessel, and also inhibits the growth of aquatic plants and animals, which slow the vessel down.

The evidence from H3 shows that such vessels were indeed in use, and that they were venturing beyond the river system, into the open sea. For the first time, we have a clear indication of how goods and people moved between the Arabian Gulf and Ubaid Mesopotamia at this very early date.

Bitumen slabs

Our evidence comes in the form of small slabs of bitumen, which have reed impressions on one side and barnacles on the other. Over 50 such pieces have now been found at H3 (Carter and Crawford 2002).

Most pieces were found discarded in the the chambers, but some were deliberately stored. It is known from more recent sources that it was customary to chip the bitumen off old vessels, to keep the material for recycling. We believe that this practice explains the presence of the slabs at H3.

Comparable bitumen slabs, from Bronze Age sea-going boats, are known from Ra's al-Jinz, Oman (Cleuziou and Tosi 2000). The H3 examples are around three thousand years older.

The bitumen is not pure, but has been deliberately mixed with lime and chopped organic matter, among other ingredients.

A similar mixture is known from the Ras al-Jinz bitumen slabs. The practice changes the density of the bitumen, as well as it adhesive properties and flexibility.

Although the boat-building technology appears to be Mesopotamian in origin, we do not know whether the vessels were built or crewed by individuals from Arabia or Mesopotamia. One of the most interesting facts emerging from our specialist studies is that the bitumen appears to have come from a local source, at Burgan, in southern Kuwait.

The Boat Model

The model was found tucked against a wall near the entrance of Chamber 15.

 It was a very exciting discovery.

Although it appears to have been made in the Arabian Gulf ceramic ware, such models are so far only known from Ubaid sites in Mesopotamia. We do not know its purpose, if any. Perhaps it had protective significance for the Stone Age mariners of H3.

Some features of the vessel may help us understand the construction of vessels at this time. The raised prow and stern may be indicative of reed-bundle construction.

Parallel grooves along the sides, which are most visible at the prow and stern, probably reflect the shape of the individual reed bundles used in the real boat's construction.

An Ubaid 3 period model boat from Tell Mashnaqa (northeast Syria) showed similar lines descending from the prow and stern, though these were painted, not incised. The Mashnaqa model was also interpreted as a reed-bundle boat, though it was a river-boat rather than a sea-going vessel.

We do not know if the flat bottom of the H3 boat reflects the actual shape. It may simply be so that the model can sit flat on the ground, or perhaps it represents the appearance of the vessel in the water.

During the 2002 season another very interesting artefact was found. It was made out of a sherd taken from a broken, painted pot. The design, which was originally the edge of a radial pattern typical of Ubaid pottery, has been deliberately scraped off in places to make a new motif.

It now resembles a boat with two masts. In fact, if we accept that this is a boat representation, it is probably a single mast, made of two poles lashed together at the apex. This construction is known as a bipod mast, and it was used in vessels which lacked a frame strong enough to support the socket of a single mast (Vosmer 2000: 240).

 There has been much debate over whether the art of sailing had been developed by the Ubaid period (Strasser 1996; Bourriau and Oates 1997). This find suggests that it had been.