A Magical Rock Crystal Gem from Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.38017Keywords:
talisman, rock crystal, magic, linear Kūfic script, Palestine, Arsūf, Fāṭimid, Crusader, Ayyūbid periodAbstract
This article discusses an inscribed large crystal rock gem (2.70 x 2.15 x 1.65 cm), retrieved during the excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf. It bears a two-line magical inscription written in linear Kufic script. It is the first magical rock crystal ever found in a proper archaeological context. Based on its appearance, it can only be vaguely dated between the eighth to the twelfth centuries. A late date would make it contemporary to the associated ceramics in that layer. The relative proximity of the find place to Egypt makes an origin of the talisman from Fatimid Egypt likely, as may also be suggested in our analytical appendix.
References
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Ayalon, E., O. Tal and L. Yehuda. 2013. “A twelfth-century oil press complex at the Crusader town of Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf) and the olive oil industry in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.” Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1(4): 259–291. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.1.4.0259
Deane, S. M. 2010. Quartz Grain Microtextures and Sediment Provenance: Using Scanning Electron Microscopy to Characterize Tropical Highland Sediments from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Derek, J., ed. 1987. Islamic Rings and Gems. The Benjamin Zucker Collection. London: Philip Wilson.
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Driscoll, K. 2011. “Identifying and classifying vein quartz artefacts: An experiment conducted at the World Archaeological Congress, 2008.” Archaeometry 53(6): 1280–1296. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00600.x
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Gibb, H. A. R. 1960. s.v. Ars?f. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, I (new ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 662. Leiden: Brill.
Gil, M. 1992. A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Göbl, R. 1973. Der s?s?nidische Siegelkanon. Handbücher der mittelasiatischen Numismatik 4. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt und Biermann.
Kalus, L. 1987. “Rock crystal talismans against drought.” Jewellery and Goldsmithing in the Islamic World, edited by by N. Brosh and M. Rosen-Ayalon, 101?105. Jerusalem: Israel Museum.
Katzir, Y., M. Eyal, B. A. Litvinovsky, B. M. Jahn, A. N. Zanvilevich, J. W. Valley, Y. Beeri, I. Pelly and E. Shimshilashvili. 2007. “Petrogenesis of A-Type granites and origin of vertical zoning in the Katharina Pluton, Gebel Mussa (Mt. Moses) area, Sinai, Egypt.” Lithos 95(3): 208–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2006.07.013
Kiyanrad, S. 2017. Gesundheit und Glück für seinen Besitzer. Schrifttragende Amulette im islamzeitlichen Iran (bis 1258). Kultur, Recht und Politik in muslimischen Gesellschaften 36. Würzburg: Ergon.
Jochum, K. P., U. Weis, B. Stoll, D. Kuzmin, Q. Yang, I. Raczek, D. E. Jacob, A. Stracke, K. Birbaum, D. A. Frick, D. Günther and J. Enzweiler. 2011. “Determination of reference values for NIST SRM 610–617 glasses following ISO guidelines.” Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research 35(4): 397–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-908X.2011.00120.x
Le Strange, G., trans. 1890. Palestine under the Moslems. London: A. P. Watt.
Lombard, M. 2011. “Quartz-tipped arrows older than 60 Ka: Further use-trace evidence from Sibudu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.” Journal of Archaeological Science 38(8): 1918–1930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.04.001
MacDonald, D. B. and T. Fahd. 1997. s.v. S?miy??. Art. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, IX (2nd ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 612?613. Leiden: Brill.
Marmardji, A.-S., trans. 1951. Textes géographiques arabes sur la Palestine. Paris: Gabalda.
Mohamed, F. H. 1993. “Rare metal-bearing and barren granites, eastern desert of Egypt: Geochemical characterization and metallogenetic aspects.” Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East) 17(4): 525–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/0899-5362(93)90009-F
Morero, E., H. Procopiou, R. Vargiolu, J. Johns and H. Zahouani. 2013. “Carving techniques of Fatimid rock crystal ewers (10–12th Cent. AD).” Wear 301(1): 150–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2013.01.038
al-Muqaddas? (al-Maqdis?), Shams al-D?n Ab? ?Abdall?h Mu?ammad 1967. A?san al-taq?s?m f? ma?rifat al-aq?l?m. Edited by M. J. de Goeje: Description Imperii Moslemici (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum III), Leiden, 2nd ed. 1906, reprint Leiden 1967.
Müller, A., M. Wiedenbeck, A. M. van den Kerkhof, A. Kronz and K. Simon. 2003. “Trace elements in quartz-a combined electron microprobe, secondary ion mass spectrometry, laser-ablation ICP-MS, and cathodoluminescence study.” European Journal of Mineralogy 15(4): 747–763. https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2003/0015-0747
Ollé, A., A. Pedergnana, J. L. Fernández-Marchena, S. Martin, A. Borel and V. Aranda. 2016. “Microwear features on vein quartz, rock crystal and quartzite: A study combining optical light and scanning electron microscopy.” Quaternary International 424: 154–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.02.005
Paton, C., J. Hellstrom, B. Paul, J. Woodhead and J. Hergt. 2011. “Iolite: Freeware for the visualisation and processing of mass spectrometric data.” Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 26(12): 2508–2518. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1ja10172b
Peterknecht, K. M. and G. F. Tietz. 2011. “Chattermark trails: Surface features on detrital quartz grains indicative of a tropical climate.” Journal of Sedimentary Research 81(2): 153–158. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2011.9
Porter, V. 2009. “Stones to bring rain.” Rivers of Paradise. Water in Islamic Art and Culture, edited by S. S. Blair and J. Bloom, 131?151. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
2010. “The use of the Arabic script in magic.” In The Development of Arabic as a Written Language. Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 40, edited by M. C. A. Macdonald, 131?140. Oxford: Archaeopress.
2011. Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum. British Museum Research Publication 160. London: British Museum.
Ruska, J. and C. J. Lamm. 1960 s.v. Art. Ballawr. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, I (2nd ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 1220?1221. Leiden: Brill.
Roll, I. 1999. “Introduction: History of the site, its research and excavations.” In Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations, vol. 1: The Persian and Hellenistic Periods (with Appendices on the Chalcolithic and Iron Age II Remains), edited by I. Roll and O. Tal, 1–62. Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 16, Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology.
Roll, I. and E. Ayalon. 1987. “The market street at Apollonia-Arsuf.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 267: 61–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/1356967
1993. “Apollonia-Arsuf.” In New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land 1, edited by E. Stern, 72–75. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Rodríguez-Rellán, C. 2016. “Variability of the rebound hardness as a proxy for detecting the levels of continuity and isotropy in archaeological quartz.” Quaternary International 424: 191?211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.085
Sax, M., J. M. Walsh, I. C. Freestone, A. H. Rankin and N. D. Meeks. 2008. “The origins of two purportedly Pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls.” Journal of Archaeological Science 35(10): 2751–2760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.05.007
Shalem, A. 1994. “Fountains of light. The meaning of Medieval rock crystal lamps.” Muqarnas 11: 1?11. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523205
Sharon, M. 1997. Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae I. Leiden: Brill.
Tallavaara, M., M. A. Manninen, E. Hertell and T. Rankama. 2010. “How flakes shatter: A critical evaluation of quartz fracture analysis.” Journal of Archaeological Science 37(10): 2442–2448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.05.005
Tal, O. J. Taxel and A. Zeischka-Kenzler. 2018. A Basmala-inscribed jug from Arsur’s Mamluk destruction of AD 1265: The religious manifestation of a Christian-used table vessel? Journal of Near Eastern Studies 77(1): 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1086/696145
Taragan, H. 2004. “The Tomb of Sayyidn? ?Al? in Ars?f: The Story of a holy place.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 14: 83?102. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1356186304003682
Woodhead, J. D., J. Hellstrom, J. M. Hergt, A. Greig and R. Maas. 2007. “Isotopic and Elemental imaging of geological materials by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.” Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research 31(4): 331–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-908X.2007.00104.x
Amorai-Stark, S. and M. Hershkovitz. 2016. Ancient Gems, Finger Rings and Seal Boxes from Caesarea Maritima: The Hendler Collection. Zichron Yaakov: Shay Hendler.
Ayalon, E., O. Tal and L. Yehuda. 2013. “A twelfth-century oil press complex at the Crusader town of Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf) and the olive oil industry in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.” Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1(4): 259–291. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.1.4.0259
Deane, S. M. 2010. Quartz Grain Microtextures and Sediment Provenance: Using Scanning Electron Microscopy to Characterize Tropical Highland Sediments from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Derek, J., ed. 1987. Islamic Rings and Gems. The Benjamin Zucker Collection. London: Philip Wilson.
Donaldson, K. E. N. and P. J. Borm. 1998. “The quartz hazard: A variable entity.” The Annals of Occupational Hygiene 42(5): 287–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4878(98)00044-1
Driscoll, K. 2011. “Identifying and classifying vein quartz artefacts: An experiment conducted at the World Archaeological Congress, 2008.” Archaeometry 53(6): 1280–1296. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00600.x
El?ad, A. 1989. “Arsuf in the Early Arabic Period.” In Apollonia and Southern Sharon. Model of a Coastal City and its Hinterland, authored by I. Roll and E. Ayalon, 289–301. Tel Aviv: HaKibbutz HaMeuchad. (Hebrew).
Gibb, H. A. R. 1960. s.v. Ars?f. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, I (new ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 662. Leiden: Brill.
Gil, M. 1992. A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Göbl, R. 1973. Der s?s?nidische Siegelkanon. Handbücher der mittelasiatischen Numismatik 4. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt und Biermann.
Kalus, L. 1987. “Rock crystal talismans against drought.” Jewellery and Goldsmithing in the Islamic World, edited by by N. Brosh and M. Rosen-Ayalon, 101?105. Jerusalem: Israel Museum.
Katzir, Y., M. Eyal, B. A. Litvinovsky, B. M. Jahn, A. N. Zanvilevich, J. W. Valley, Y. Beeri, I. Pelly and E. Shimshilashvili. 2007. “Petrogenesis of A-Type granites and origin of vertical zoning in the Katharina Pluton, Gebel Mussa (Mt. Moses) area, Sinai, Egypt.” Lithos 95(3): 208–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2006.07.013
Kiyanrad, S. 2017. Gesundheit und Glück für seinen Besitzer. Schrifttragende Amulette im islamzeitlichen Iran (bis 1258). Kultur, Recht und Politik in muslimischen Gesellschaften 36. Würzburg: Ergon.
Jochum, K. P., U. Weis, B. Stoll, D. Kuzmin, Q. Yang, I. Raczek, D. E. Jacob, A. Stracke, K. Birbaum, D. A. Frick, D. Günther and J. Enzweiler. 2011. “Determination of reference values for NIST SRM 610–617 glasses following ISO guidelines.” Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research 35(4): 397–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-908X.2011.00120.x
Le Strange, G., trans. 1890. Palestine under the Moslems. London: A. P. Watt.
Lombard, M. 2011. “Quartz-tipped arrows older than 60 Ka: Further use-trace evidence from Sibudu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.” Journal of Archaeological Science 38(8): 1918–1930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.04.001
MacDonald, D. B. and T. Fahd. 1997. s.v. S?miy??. Art. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, IX (2nd ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 612?613. Leiden: Brill.
Marmardji, A.-S., trans. 1951. Textes géographiques arabes sur la Palestine. Paris: Gabalda.
Mohamed, F. H. 1993. “Rare metal-bearing and barren granites, eastern desert of Egypt: Geochemical characterization and metallogenetic aspects.” Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East) 17(4): 525–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/0899-5362(93)90009-F
Morero, E., H. Procopiou, R. Vargiolu, J. Johns and H. Zahouani. 2013. “Carving techniques of Fatimid rock crystal ewers (10–12th Cent. AD).” Wear 301(1): 150–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2013.01.038
al-Muqaddas? (al-Maqdis?), Shams al-D?n Ab? ?Abdall?h Mu?ammad 1967. A?san al-taq?s?m f? ma?rifat al-aq?l?m. Edited by M. J. de Goeje: Description Imperii Moslemici (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum III), Leiden, 2nd ed. 1906, reprint Leiden 1967.
Müller, A., M. Wiedenbeck, A. M. van den Kerkhof, A. Kronz and K. Simon. 2003. “Trace elements in quartz-a combined electron microprobe, secondary ion mass spectrometry, laser-ablation ICP-MS, and cathodoluminescence study.” European Journal of Mineralogy 15(4): 747–763. https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2003/0015-0747
Ollé, A., A. Pedergnana, J. L. Fernández-Marchena, S. Martin, A. Borel and V. Aranda. 2016. “Microwear features on vein quartz, rock crystal and quartzite: A study combining optical light and scanning electron microscopy.” Quaternary International 424: 154–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.02.005
Paton, C., J. Hellstrom, B. Paul, J. Woodhead and J. Hergt. 2011. “Iolite: Freeware for the visualisation and processing of mass spectrometric data.” Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 26(12): 2508–2518. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1ja10172b
Peterknecht, K. M. and G. F. Tietz. 2011. “Chattermark trails: Surface features on detrital quartz grains indicative of a tropical climate.” Journal of Sedimentary Research 81(2): 153–158. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2011.9
Porter, V. 2009. “Stones to bring rain.” Rivers of Paradise. Water in Islamic Art and Culture, edited by S. S. Blair and J. Bloom, 131?151. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
2010. “The use of the Arabic script in magic.” In The Development of Arabic as a Written Language. Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 40, edited by M. C. A. Macdonald, 131?140. Oxford: Archaeopress.
2011. Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum. British Museum Research Publication 160. London: British Museum.
Ruska, J. and C. J. Lamm. 1960 s.v. Art. Ballawr. In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, I (2nd ed.), edited by E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat, 1220?1221. Leiden: Brill.
Roll, I. 1999. “Introduction: History of the site, its research and excavations.” In Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations, vol. 1: The Persian and Hellenistic Periods (with Appendices on the Chalcolithic and Iron Age II Remains), edited by I. Roll and O. Tal, 1–62. Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 16, Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology.
Roll, I. and E. Ayalon. 1987. “The market street at Apollonia-Arsuf.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 267: 61–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/1356967
1993. “Apollonia-Arsuf.” In New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land 1, edited by E. Stern, 72–75. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Rodríguez-Rellán, C. 2016. “Variability of the rebound hardness as a proxy for detecting the levels of continuity and isotropy in archaeological quartz.” Quaternary International 424: 191?211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.085
Sax, M., J. M. Walsh, I. C. Freestone, A. H. Rankin and N. D. Meeks. 2008. “The origins of two purportedly Pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls.” Journal of Archaeological Science 35(10): 2751–2760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.05.007
Shalem, A. 1994. “Fountains of light. The meaning of Medieval rock crystal lamps.” Muqarnas 11: 1?11. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523205
Sharon, M. 1997. Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae I. Leiden: Brill.
Tallavaara, M., M. A. Manninen, E. Hertell and T. Rankama. 2010. “How flakes shatter: A critical evaluation of quartz fracture analysis.” Journal of Archaeological Science 37(10): 2442–2448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.05.005
Tal, O. J. Taxel and A. Zeischka-Kenzler. 2018. A Basmala-inscribed jug from Arsur’s Mamluk destruction of AD 1265: The religious manifestation of a Christian-used table vessel? Journal of Near Eastern Studies 77(1): 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1086/696145
Taragan, H. 2004. “The Tomb of Sayyidn? ?Al? in Ars?f: The Story of a holy place.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 14: 83?102. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1356186304003682
Woodhead, J. D., J. Hellstrom, J. M. Hergt, A. Greig and R. Maas. 2007. “Isotopic and Elemental imaging of geological materials by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.” Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research 31(4): 331–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-908X.2007.00104.x
Published
2019-02-21
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Section
Articles
How to Cite
Heidemann, S., & Zeischka-Kenzler, A. (2019). A Magical Rock Crystal Gem from Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 5(2), 225-239. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.38017
