Troisième mission archéologique française à Qatar 1978-1979

The third French archaeological expedition to Qatar (Prehistory, Protohistory and islamic Archaeology) has been characterized by field interdisciplinarity with the presence of an ichtyologist and a malacologist. Work on the prehistoric sites was continued : I ) extension of a site with obeidian pottery characterized by its workshop of large flint bifacial pieces and the extreme abundance of fish remains and 2) mapping (255 m2) of a surface workshop for the debitage of blades. Two protohistoric cairns have been excavated and have yielded two burials with one skeleton each, in constricted position with shell ornaments and a few hardstone beads. Another site has been discovered. From the study of its pottery it is suggested that it belongs to the Dilmun culture.