16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

42 16 th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology Mick de Ruyter, Enrique Aragon & John McCarthy Flinders University, Archaeology, Adelaide, Australia Finding lost dhows in Qatar: Re-imaging the al Jassasiya petroglyphs The assemblage of rock carvings of boats and ships at al Jassasiya, Qatar, has pre- viously been interpreted in the light of watercraft types still found in the region into the twentieth century, even though some glyphs been dated to around the late eighteenth century. By using photogrammetry to extrude the shallow relief and network analysis to compare the shapes throughout the site, it can be shown that several of the watercraft represented accord with dhow types that became extinct in the nineteenth century. Most glyphs at the site have been interpreted as pearling vessels or common types used for coastal haulage as they are carved on a small rise inshore from an anchorage frequently used as shelter by pearling fleets. Several glyphs have stern extensions in shallow relief that appear not to represent common pearling types and are more like fighting craft used in the region in the eighteenth century. The methods of this project show how the shallow relief of these carvings is meaningful, prompting a reassessment of rock carvings and their traditionally two-dimensional illustrations. The identification of two-dimensional and three-dimensional depictions of watercraft in rock art, graffiti, models and other iconography is often a subjective process based on comparative analysis. The method of using high- resolution three-dimensional digital models of petro- glyphs compared with similar types using network analysis moves interpretation towards more objective repeatability. This study demonstrates that the potential of the watercraft carvings at al Jassasiya is greater than allowed by two-dimen- sional representations and shows how extinct types might be identified and inter- preted beyond a narrow pearling narrative.