AFSM Team back to Marib
The AFSM Team is once again back to the Marib area for yet another year of study. I was wondering if this would happen this year, with all of the security concerns but apparently so. Perhaps we will hear if the Univ. of Calgary is participating as well.This is happening next door to part of the Cantex concession. Here is the article from the Yemen Observer.
Archaeological team rekindles strong ties with Marib by : Gabriel Matthew
MARIB – The American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM) archaeological team that arrived in Marib October 19 successfully wrapped up its first week of excavations at the Mahram Bilqis, the famous eight-pillared temple complex that stands as one of Yemen’s greatest cultural monuments, on Thursday.
The AFSM first conducted excavations at the Mahram Bilqis in 1951 and
1952, and has been conducting yearly research at the temple since 1998 under the leadership of foundation president Merilyn Phillips Hodgson. This year’s excavations focus on the Peristyle Hall, the large entry-hall to the temple between the distinctive eight pillars and the temple complex proper, a one-kilometer and 50-foot high oval wall that surrounds a mysterious sanctuary buried more than five meters underground.
Ms. Phillips Hodgson expressed her great appreciation of sponsor organizations, which have provided funding to the scientific expedition, particularly Hunt Oil and the American Embassy in Sana’a, and for the Yemeni authorities, especially former Prime Minister Al-Eryani and Governor of Sana’a Al-Kohlani, who have provided ongoing and invaluable support to the AFSM mission.
Brig. Mohsin Al-Yousufi, Minister of State, was the first dignitary to greet the AFSM’s arrival in Marib this week. In visits with the AFSM team, he expressed his great admiration for the foundation’s historical work, noting his own personal connection to the AFSM: He was a schoolboy in Wadi Beihan when the AFSM first conducted excavations at the city of Timna, capital of the South Arabian kingdom of Qataban, in 1950 under the direction of former AFSM president Wendell Phillips.
The AFSM excavations at Timna were among the first to bring Yemen’s ancient history to the world’s eye, and materials from those excavations have played a prominent part in the Queen of Sheba museum exhibit traveling across Europe.
“By agreement with Yemeni authorities 50 years ago, the AFSM kept 50% of the material it discovered. Because of that, some of the most prized discoveries in Yemeni archaeology were loaned to the European exhibits. It is sad that all the artifacts kept in Yemen by the authorities were lost, but the AFSM has upheld its part in preserving Yemen’s cultural heritage and bringing it to the world,” said Ms. Phillips Hodgson. All materials discovered now, of course, stay in Yemen and are registered and stored by GOAM, the General Organization for Antiquities and Museums. There are hopes that a museum in Marib will one day be able to display these artifacts.
Governor of Marib Ali Al-Nisi held a formal reception for the AFSM team, expressing his great pleasure at their arrival and enthusiasm for the archaeological project. He mentioned his strong desire to increase the renown of Marib through such work, and said his only regret was that the project couldn’t last longer than the four weeks planned.
The Governor also noted his own personal connection to the AFSM: His father was a soldier in the military forces which served in Wadi Beihan during the archaeological expeditions of the 1950s and played an instrumental role in protecting the archaeological team from the dangerous allies of Imam Ahmed in 1952.
Ali Al-Fatimi, the Deputy Governor of Marib, also paid his respects to the AFSM team last week in a brief meeting at the Marib Bilquis Hotel. He voiced his commitment to the archaeological project and drew attention to his own incredible connection to the AFSM: Wendell Phillips, the former AFSM President and brother of Merilyn Phillips Hodgson, was actually made an honorary sheikh of his tribe, the Bal Harith, by Sherif Hussein of Beihan in 1951 for his outstanding services to the region, the only known instance of its kind in Arabian history.
With such strong ties, the American Foundation for the Study of Man seems as much a fixture in Marib as the archaeological site it seeks to unearth. With three more weeks of excavation planned, “It’s going to be an exciting season,” says Ms. Phillips Hodgson.