Kāf

Archaeological area in the Upper Wādī al-Sirḥān. The main occupation of the area extends from the Bronze Age to the Modern period.

The area of Kāf is located in Saudi Arabia, province of al-Jawf, district of al-Qurayyāt, in the Upper Wādī al-Sirḥān. It is composed of several regularly visited and surveyed archaeological sites (Adams et al. 1977, al-Hussaini et al. 2000, Euting 1883, Glueck 1944, Piraud-Fournet et al. 2022, Winnett & Reed 1970).

The most significant features are:

• Bronze and Iron Age cemeteries all around the oasis-village of Kāf.
• A large Iron Age building (Qaṣr ʿAqalat al-Mashaʿan) at the foot of and north of Jabal al-Ṣaʿīdī;
• An imposing ancient citadel (Qalaʿat al-Ṣaʿīdī) at the top of Jabal al-Ṣaʿīdī, occupied from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman Period.
• A Modern fortress-residence, built in the 1920s at the foot of the mountain, by Nūrī ibn Shaʿlān, paramount shaykh of the Ruwala tribe (Winnett & Reed 1970: 62).

Kāf shows that Wādī al-Sirḥān was a key place in the history of the Near East, at the crossroads between the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Mesopotamia.

Pauline Piraud-Fournet

References and suggested reading

• Adams, R. McC, P.J. Parr, M. Ibrahim, & A.S. Mughannem 1977. Saudi Arabian Archaeological Reconnaissance 1976. Preliminary Report on the First Phase of the Comprehensive Archaeological Survey Program. Atlal 1: 21–40.
• Al-Hussaini, A.R., K.I. al-Muaikil et al. 2000. Documentation & Registration of Kâf Palace in Qurayyât. Riyadh.
• Euting, J. 1883. Tagebuch der Reise nach Syrien, Bd. 3. University of Tübingen.
• Glueck, N. 1944. Wâdî as-Sirhân in North Arabia. BASOR 96: 7–17.
• Piraud-Fournet, P., P.-M. Blanc, T. Fournet, K. al-Rowaili, S. al-Tamemi, & J. al-Harbi 2022. The 2021 Season of the Upper Wâdî as-Sirhân Survey Project. Unpublished report.
• Winnett, F.V. & W.L. Reed 1970. Ancient Records from North Arabia (Near and Middle East Series, 6). Toronto.

_{Alternate spellings: Kâf, Kaf}