1.3.1. Imported materials in Farhad
The site was not in operation for such a long time as Siyaara, as we have not found any materials that can be dated to the eleventh-twelfth centuries, but there is solid evidence for its use in pre-Adalite times. Proof of this early use are two fragments from a single vessel of Molded Ware (Fig. 18). It has buff color and homogeneous, well-levigated fabric with no inclusions. Similar wares were produced in Syria and Iran around the twelfth-thirteenth centuries (Mulder, 2014). Three very small fragments with powdery yellow glaze (all from the hill) possibly belong to Yemeni Yellow, although they have grey rather than brown fabric, and three other fragments (from three different vessels) are of Yemeni White Cream: two appeared in the hill and one in the plain. Four fragments of Indian kitchenware were recorded (three in the hill), which also match well a chronology of the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries: four are of the SBBW type and one is IRAB. To this early period belong also three fragments corresponding to a minimum number of two Martaban jars with beige, well-levigated fabric, light olive green glaze and incised wavy decorations (Fig. 22, no 3). The description coincides exactly with Fabric 2 of Zhao and Rougeulle (2015: 286, fig. 214, 4-5), which is dated between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries and produced in Guangdong. One vessel appeared in the plain and another one in the hill. The most abundant pottery from this period, however, is Opaque Monochrome Green, of which we collected 15 sherds (11 in the hill) (Fig. 19, n° 1). As we have seen, this ceramic with a characteristic dull green or turquoise glaze has been dated ca. 1250–1300 in Yemen (Hardy-Guilbert and Rougeulle, 1995: 33–35).
The Adalite period is much better represented: 84% or 150 vessels whose chronology could be determined, as opposed to just 29 vessels (16%) from the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries (storage jars have been excluded, as we have been unable to date them with precision). In terms of fine ware, the most common import by far are Blue and White Tihama (Keall, 1983a: 53, Fig. 4.11; Ciuk and Keall, 1996: 134–135), of which we recovered 55 sherds, belonging to perhaps as many as 40 different cups and bowls and representing 34% of all the assemblage of fine wares (Fig. 20). Blue Tihama has a much lower representation, with only four items (3%). Bleeding-Green Tihama is only slightly more numerous in terms of sherds (N = 7), but the minimum number of vessels is probably similar. There are some types of underglaze painted wares that have not been attested elsewhere: one of them has dark green motifs on a brown background of which we might have two or three vessels and another seems to be a variety of Blue and White Tihama: we have three fragments from a single bowl with painted geometric decoration in green and blue on a white background. Considering their similarities with known Yemeni productions, we believe that they come from the same region. Three almost complete Haysi cups (Keall, 1983a, Keall, 1983b: Fig. 4.11; Ciuk and Keall, 1996: pl. 95/47, e) were found in the hill (Fig. 19, n°4). These characteristic carinated vessels with ring footings and yellowish glaze were produced in Yemen (Keall, 1991: 82–83, Fig. 10), where they are associated with coffee consumption, are very typical of the sixteenth century onwards, and appear in Ottoman contexts along the Red Sea (Le Quesne, 2007: 132–141). They might be related to the fort of the hilltop. Dark Glaze from Yemen and Speckled from Iran have a similar representation, with 12 and 15 pieces respectively (8% and 10% of the assemblage). Fragments from nine qullas (juglets) in Thin Grey Ware were collected, three of them decorated with intricate, epigraphic-like motifs and one with scales (Fig. 18, nos 2–6).
Regarding East Asian imports, Chinese Blue and White Porcelain is very abundant, as in Siyaara. We collected 33 sherds, all of which of fifteenth-sixteenth century date, representing perhaps as much as 31 vessels and 31% of the assemblage of fine and glazed wares (Fig. 21). Vegetal motifs and lotus scrolls appear in 22 of the sherds. There is also a ruyin motif, lotus leaves, a double beribboned vajra and a pine tree. The most significant piece is a base from a Jingdezhen bowl with a vegetal motif inside and outside the pictographs for Fu Gui Zhang Chun, which can either refer to the maker of the pot or be a good omen.3 The plain has yielded more sherds than the hill (21 to 12). Blue and white porcelain is, in fact, the only type of pottery that is more abundant in the plain.
Also from China came the 29 sherds from Martaban jars of Fabric 4 and 5–6 of Zhao (2015a) identical to those documented in Siyaara, but more numerous (17% of the assemblage of fine and glazed wares) (Fig. 22). Although their chronologies, as we saw, are long, starting from the twelfth century, it is quite probable that those of Farhad are dated to the Adalite period. From South East Asia come four vessels of Myanmar celadon (which are the only celadons at the site). They have the orange fabric typical of Myanmar productions, and one of the sherds shows vertical scalloping, which is common in Southeast Asian green wares as well. Also from Myanmar came two bases of Opaque White Tin-Glazed bowls, similar to those found in Siyaara.
Unglazed Storage Jars are very common at the site, both hill and plain. They are difficult to date and probably have diverse origins, including South Arabia. They are of different kind and surprisingly abundant when compared to other coastal sites, such as Bandar Abbas and Siyaara. We collected 41 sherds belonging to a minimum number of 38 vessels, which make them the second most common category at the site. The great majority (N = 31) appeared in the hill. Only Biyo Gure (see below) has yielded a similarly large amount of jars. One of the types is a jar with wide mouth that has a characteristic muddy body with organic temper and pink color. Similar fabrics are known in South Arabia in different historical periods, so this is perhaps the provenance of our pieces. Another type, which has been attested also in Zeila and Siyaara is a ribbed globular jar with massive lug handles, pink clay body and a distinctive light yellow slip. There are other sherds of ribbed jars one of grey fabric with no slip and another one with pink body and white slip. Ribbed containers may come from Egypt or the Gulf where there is a long tradition of production of this kind of pottery. In Egypt, an Ottoman-era type ribbed jar has been documented for the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries (Riemer, 2019), which shows some similarities with some our examples.
Glass bangles are also attested in Farhad, but they are far less common than in Siyaara, with seven monochrome and six polychrome items. Three with enamel punts and three with a wavy trail are typical of the sixteenth-seventeenth century (Hansman, 1985: pl. IV, s). Unlike in Siyaara, no twisted trail bangles have been documented. Glass bottles are also common: a minimum number of nine cylindrical bottles with pushed-in bases were collected in the hill.
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