Papers by Maria M . Gajewska
Gajewska, M., Araar, L., MacDonald, R., Wilding, R., Nash, C. & Priestman, S. 2023: ‘Seeb Community History Project’, The International Association for the Study of Arabia Bulletin, 30: 17-19.
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Conference Presentations by Maria M . Gajewska
36e congrès du Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art, 2024
This paper explores block-printed cotton textiles from Gujarat as an
embodiment of the broader ec... more This paper explores block-printed cotton textiles from Gujarat as an
embodiment of the broader economic, social, and technological “ties that
bound” the Indian Ocean region in the 10th-16th centuries AD. These textiles were not only widely exported but were made with materials partially sourced from across the Indian Ocean and tailored to regional tastes – literally “made by the ocean”. This deep entanglement with maritime trade, hitherto largely unexplored from the production side, demonstrates the changing economic environment at the time. The textiles’ complex chaîne opératoire also had profound social implications, influencing craft specialisation, labour organisation, and inter-community relations.
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American Society of Overseas Research, University of Chicago, 16th November 2023
Seeb is the site of an extensive coastal settlement located in the northern suburbs of Muscat, no... more Seeb is the site of an extensive coastal settlement located in the northern suburbs of Muscat, now under imminent threat from urban development. Previous investigations by a team directed by Romolo Loreto in 2013 indicate the presence of areas of deep stratigraphy, intact occupation deposits and architectural remains covering most phases of the Islamic period. More recently, documentation by the local community has continued to highlight the exceptional quality of the finds assemblage, with artefacts drawn from across the Indian Ocean world, often closely comparable to material from other key urban centres in the region such as Sohar, Samarra or Siraf. The existence of a large urban centre on the southern Batinah remains to be better integrated into our wider historic reconstruction of the medieval topography of Oman.
The paper discusses the results of a field-walking survey undertaken in January 2023. The work involved mapping, surface collection, and integration of community-collected material (mainly pottery) into the analysis. It clarifies our understanding of the size, chronology, and spatial development of Seeb and the extent of its international connections. The project has been conceived in partnership with the local community, whose existing interest in local heritage was a motivating driver in the plan and design of future research. Public workshops, social media and continuing conversations with residents and other stakeholders form important channels in the pursuit of the project. Integration of community interests into Islamic-period archaeological project in Oman is unprecedented and will be discussed alongside the survey data.
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Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2023
Seeb is the site of an extensive coastal settlement located in the northern suburbs of Muscat, no... more Seeb is the site of an extensive coastal settlement located in the northern suburbs of Muscat, now under imminent threat from urban development. Previous investigations by a team directed by Prof. Romolo Loreto in 2013 indicate areas of deep stratigraphy, intact occupation deposits and architectural remains covering most phases of the Islamic period. More recently, documentation by the local community has highlighted the exceptional quality of the finds assemblage, with objects drawn from across the Indian Ocean world, often closely comparable to materials from other key urban centres in the region such as Sohar, Samarra or Siraf. Our work involves mapping and surface collection, which augments our understanding of the size, nature and diachronic development of the medieval settlement. The project is conceived in partnership with the local community, taking the factor of existing interest as the motivating driver in plan and design of future research. Public workshops, social media and continuing conversations with residents and other stakeholders form important channels in the pursuit of the project. The poster presents a verbal and visual summary (maps, finds photographs) of the survey data, in addition to an overview of our community engagement.
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Indian Ocean World Archaeology Conference, 2022
Across the western Indian Ocean, the 11th-14th centuries have variously been conceptualised as ei... more Across the western Indian Ocean, the 11th-14th centuries have variously been conceptualised as either a period of exceptional growth (Red Sea, East Africa) or stagnation (Persian/Arabian Gulf). Although these narratives have engendered a profusion of studies prioritising economic and political development, they are rarely concerned with how large-scale developments influenced life “on the ground’. Furthermore, trans-regional syntheses remain the exception, rather than the rule, especially when it comes to archaeological studies. This paper draws on evidence from several key sites across the western Indian Ocean to examine how the developments of the 11th-14th centuries impacted the living conditions and livelihoods of people settled on sites involved with oceanic trade. It also considers whether narratives of economic “boom” and “bust” can (or should) be problematised. It adopts a habitus-based approach, prioritising evidence for significant changes in lifeways within the spheres of living environment, diet, and productive activities. It is based on the research that has informed my MA thesis (completed in 2018) and on my more recent doctoral work.
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International Medieval Congress, Leeds. Session 1323: Borders in Medieval Islam, II: The Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, 2022
Medieval Gujarat was at the forefront of textile technology, from spinning and weaving to dyeing ... more Medieval Gujarat was at the forefront of textile technology, from spinning and weaving to dyeing and block-printing. It is well known that fragments of Gujarati cotton textiles have been unearthed from Egypt to Indonesia. This paper proposes an additional facet to their trans-oceanic nature, positing that the dyes used in the Gujarati block-printed cotton industry were sourced not only from Gujarat, but also from regions across the Indian Ocean. It also examines the social implications of the particularly complex chain of production necessary to produce these textiles. In doing so, it demonstrates that cotton trade crossed political, cultural, and religious borders, tying the western Indian Ocean into a network whose economic and social significance remains mostly unexplored.
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Reports by Maria M . Gajewska
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Theses by Maria M . Gajewska
While the Indian Ocean has served as a model of historical and archaeological connectivity for de... more While the Indian Ocean has served as a model of historical and archaeological connectivity for decades, in-depth studies of regional development across the ocean often do not incorporate trans-regional evidence and are informed by divergent theoretical perspectives. For the Persian/Arabian Gulf, this has resulted in a profusion of studies on economic and political development that do not focus on concurrent cultural and social change, ignoring how large-scale economic trends influence life ‘on the ground’. Limited trans-regional engagement also constrains the economic and political narratives, which sometimes contradict evidence known from other parts of the Indian Ocean. This dissertation tackles the narrative of economic growth and subsequent decline in the 9th-14th century Gulf and re-examines it first through analysing settlement distribution in the western Indian Ocean, and then through a comparison of material culture from two sites in the Gulf – Kūsh and Bilad al-Qadīm. In doing so, it aims to problematise our understanding of the medieval history of the Gulf and the western Indian Ocean, as well as to nuance the widely-assumed link between economic and social or cultural change.
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The vernacular architecture and material culture of non-elite houses in the early Islamic Maghreb... more The vernacular architecture and material culture of non-elite houses in the early Islamic Maghreb is a severely under-researched subject. When studied, archaeological households in the region are usually compared against interpretative models developed within different cultural and disciplinary contexts – the 'Arab' and the 'Berber' house. In comparing these models to archaeological data, often little distinction is made between physical and conceptual similarities, leading to generalising conclusions on social and gender structures. This dissertation presents an analysis of house remains at three early Islamic Maghrebi sites – Volubilis, Sétif, and Qsar es-Seghir – based primarily on spatial and material culture evidence and demonstrates what type of information on social and gender life house remains can supply. The results show that it is possible to reach conclusions about certain facets of social life (e.g. ideology, economy) without resorting to the Arab and Berber house models. However, gender, which forms the backbone of both, is far more elusive and while the analyses demonstrate the pitfalls of abusing both models, they provide limited constructive information in this respect.
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Reviews by Maria M . Gajewska
The Origins of the Islamic State: Sovereignity and Power in the Middle Ages conference was hosted... more The Origins of the Islamic State: Sovereignity and Power in the Middle Ages conference was hosted by the UCL Institute of Archaeology on the 16th–17th of February, 2017. As a part of the ‘Rethinking the Islamic State’ research initiative (links below), the conference explored the concept of the Islamic State both in the past and in the present, examining historical symbols of power, as well as their re-tellings in contemporary media. This dual focus allowed the speakers to not only outline some recent developments in the fields of Islamic history and archaeology, but also to engage with some relevant contemporary political issues. Such links between the past and the present, while often controversial, provided the overarching theme of the conference.
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Papers by Maria M . Gajewska
Conference Presentations by Maria M . Gajewska
embodiment of the broader economic, social, and technological “ties that
bound” the Indian Ocean region in the 10th-16th centuries AD. These textiles were not only widely exported but were made with materials partially sourced from across the Indian Ocean and tailored to regional tastes – literally “made by the ocean”. This deep entanglement with maritime trade, hitherto largely unexplored from the production side, demonstrates the changing economic environment at the time. The textiles’ complex chaîne opératoire also had profound social implications, influencing craft specialisation, labour organisation, and inter-community relations.
The paper discusses the results of a field-walking survey undertaken in January 2023. The work involved mapping, surface collection, and integration of community-collected material (mainly pottery) into the analysis. It clarifies our understanding of the size, chronology, and spatial development of Seeb and the extent of its international connections. The project has been conceived in partnership with the local community, whose existing interest in local heritage was a motivating driver in the plan and design of future research. Public workshops, social media and continuing conversations with residents and other stakeholders form important channels in the pursuit of the project. Integration of community interests into Islamic-period archaeological project in Oman is unprecedented and will be discussed alongside the survey data.
Reports by Maria M . Gajewska
Theses by Maria M . Gajewska
Reviews by Maria M . Gajewska
embodiment of the broader economic, social, and technological “ties that
bound” the Indian Ocean region in the 10th-16th centuries AD. These textiles were not only widely exported but were made with materials partially sourced from across the Indian Ocean and tailored to regional tastes – literally “made by the ocean”. This deep entanglement with maritime trade, hitherto largely unexplored from the production side, demonstrates the changing economic environment at the time. The textiles’ complex chaîne opératoire also had profound social implications, influencing craft specialisation, labour organisation, and inter-community relations.
The paper discusses the results of a field-walking survey undertaken in January 2023. The work involved mapping, surface collection, and integration of community-collected material (mainly pottery) into the analysis. It clarifies our understanding of the size, chronology, and spatial development of Seeb and the extent of its international connections. The project has been conceived in partnership with the local community, whose existing interest in local heritage was a motivating driver in the plan and design of future research. Public workshops, social media and continuing conversations with residents and other stakeholders form important channels in the pursuit of the project. Integration of community interests into Islamic-period archaeological project in Oman is unprecedented and will be discussed alongside the survey data.