1.3.2. Interpretation
Farhad was probably one of the fairs that existed in and around Berbera during medieval and post-medieval times. The nature of the site and the materials are very similar to Siyaara. No permanent structures were discovered here, which rules out its being a settlement, as stone architecture is prevalent throughout Somaliland during the medieval period. It is not impossible that a small settlement existed on the hillslope, of whose remains only the pottery survives. It is, however, strange that no grinding stones have been found and very little domestic pottery, and there is no cemetery in the vicinities. These are all diagnostic criteria for the presence of a medieval village in Somaliland. The strategic location of Farhad in the outskirts of Berbera, near the coast and beside the main road to the interior, make it a suitable place for an open market. The site was originally established during the thirteenth century, but its saw its heyday during the Adalite period, when it extended from the hill to occupy a large area of the surrounding plain. When the fair was no longer active, at some point during the mid-late sixteenth century, a fort was built on the hilltop, perhaps by the Ottomans, which survived until the early nineteenth century.
Despite the chronological overlap between Farhad and Siyaara and coincidences in the respective assemblages, there are also striking differences. Firstly, ceramics and glass are less diverse in Farhad than in Siyaara. Secondly, during the Adalite period, imports still come predominately from Yemen, with 50% of all the glazed and fine wares from this region, versus only 27% in Siyaara. The number increases if we factor in the unglazed transport jars, many of which surely came from South Arabia. Iran only provides a meager 8% of the ceramic products (28% in Siyaara). No fritware, for instance, has been documented in Farhad. Thirdly, among those wares that appear in both sites, proportions vary significantly. Speckled wares are a minority here and overabundant in Siyara and the ratio of Blue Tihama and Blue and White Tihama in Farhad is the exact reverse of Siyaara. While the proportion of the types is of around 1 to 8 in both sites, the type that prevails is different: Blue Tihama in Siyaara, Blue and White Tihama in Farhad. This perhaps means that Siyaara and Farhad were catering to different consumers demanding different products. Also remarkable is the different ratio in containers and storage jars versus fine and kitchen wares. In Farhad, 30% of the assemblage is composed of storage jars (both Islamic unglazed and Asian Martaban). In Siyaara, they amount to barely 7%. It is possible that both fairs specialized in different products and catered to different customers during the Adalite period. The proportion of the East Asian trade, instead, is very similar in both fairs: 33% in Farhad, 34% in Siyaara. This can be explained not in local terms, but as part of a wider increase of trade between East Asia and the Western Indian Ocean during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
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