Biʾr ʿAlī [ancient Qanīʾ]

Alexander Sedov, Jérémie Schiettecatte

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Alexander Sedov, Jérémie Schiettecatte. Biʾr ʿAlī [ancient Qanīʾ]. Thematic Dictionary of Ancient Arabia, 2024, https://ancientarabia.huma-num.fr/dictionary/definition/bir-ali. 10.60667/tdaa-0024 . hal-04860744

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Home / Projects / Thematic Dictionary of Ancient Arabia / Table of contents / Bi'r 'Alī

BI'R 'ALĪ [ANCIENT QANĪ']

Ancient city and seaport of the kingdom of Ḥadramawt (1st cent. BCE-6th cent. CE), located on the southern coast of modern Yemen. The city was situated at the crossroads of the sea routes between India, the Horn of Africa, Aksum and the Red Sea. Aromatic resins stored in warehouses were traded from there.

Location and topography

The archaeological site of the ancient Qanī' is located on the southern coast of Yemen near the modern village of Bi'r 'Alī, at the foot of the volcanic rock of Ḩuṣn al-Ghurāb, ca. 100 km southwest of al-Mukalla. It developed on a basalt outcrop covered with sand, on the side of a wide reentrant bay, sheltered from the swell and prevailing winds. The site is divided into two topographical areas: a lower town at the foot of Ḩuṣn al-Ghurāb, and a fortress at the top. Ḩuṣn al-Ghurāb provides a seamark for sailors and a refuge for inhabitants.

Recent marine sand deposits mask the fact that the site was once situated on a
peninsula with only an earthen embankment connecting it to the mainland at
high tide (Mouton et al. 2006). The coastline surrounded the outskirts of the town
(Fig. 1). Warehouses, dwellings and large residences faced the deep-water bay to
accommodate merchant ships to the northeast.

Place name in ancient sources

The settlement is identified with the ancient place name Qanī' and the ruins on
the volcanic peak of Ḩuṣn al-Ghurāb are identified with the 'Urr Mawiyat fortress,
both confirmed in local South Arabian inscriptions (CIH 621 and CIH 728). The
Latin form of the toponym Qanī' is found in classical sources, Cane (Plin. HN,
6.104), as well as the Greek form, Καυνή (Peripl. M. Rubr. 27, Ptol. Geog. 6.7.10). For
obvious chronological reasons, the name Kanné mentioned in the Bible (Ezek.
27.23) does not seem to be related to the South Arabian site: the latter was only
founded in the very late 1st millennium BCE.

Discovery and exploration

The site in the vicinity of Bi'r 'Alī was first reported by J.R. Wellsted (1838) who recorded one of the earliest South Arabian inscriptions there. This was followed by visits by D.B. Doe in 1957, A.F.L. Beeston in 1959, G. Lankester Harding in 1964 (Doe 1961, Beeston 1962, Lankester Harding 1964: 46-47). Russian archaeologists undertook a limited excavation in 1972 (Shirinskji 1977, Salle & Sedov 2010: 287-292). In 1985-1996, the Russian-Yemeni Expedition conducted several excavation seasons under the direction of A.V. Sedov (Sedov 1992, 1996, Sedov et al. 1997, Salle & Sedov 2010). Between 1995 and 1997, a French archaeological mission led by M. Mouton resumed excavations on the site and explored the ruins of a religious building (Mouton et al. 2006). This was complemented by two seasons of underwater research carried out by an Italian team in Bi'r 'Alī bay in

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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SECTIONS IN THIS ENTRY

Location and topography
Place name in ancient sources

Discovery and exploration
Archaeological remains
History and chronology
References and suggested reading

CREATION DATE

28/06/2023

CITATION

Sedov, Alexander & Jérémie Schiettecatte, 2023. "Bi'r 'Alī [ancient Qanī']". Thematic Dictionary of Ancient Arabia. Online edition 2023. Available online at https://ancientarabia.humanum.fr/dictionary/definition/bir-ali (accessed online on 07 January 2025), doi: https://doi.org/10.60667/tdaa-0024

DOI

https://doi.org/10.60667/tdaa-0024
1996 and 1998 (Davidde et al. 1998, 2004).

## Archaeological remains

The site is about 500 m long and up to 300 m wide (Fig. 1). Large dwellings are located close to the beach, forming architectural complexes with inner courtyards separated by narrow streets. Smaller structures are set back from the sea front in a more haphazard manner. The settlement comprises more than a hundred houses.

Although the lower city was not fortified, the foot of Huṣn al-Ghurāb, with the initial part of the path leading to the top, was protected by a defensive system (Mouton et al. 2006). The entrance to the summit of the volcanic peak with the fortress ruins was additionally fortified with walls and towers (Salles & Sedov 2010).

The port activity of the settlement is evidenced by the presence of warehouses containing large quantities of burnt *incense*, along with stone anchors and mooring stones found in the bay, abundant pottery imported from the Mediterranean, the Arabian Gulf region and the Indian subcontinent, and a probable lighthouse and huge cisterns to store fresh water at the top of Huṣn al-Ghurāb (Sedov 1996, Davidde et al. 1998, 2004, Salles & Sedov 2010: 290). On the western edge of the site, religious buildings and necropolises were discovered on a large basalt outcrop: two sanctuaries including a *synagogue* (Salles & Sedov 2010: 87-122) and a structure with possible Buddhist affiliation have been identified so far.

In the early 6th century, the *Vita Sancti Gregentii* of Pseudo-Gregentius mentions the construction of churches at several sites in Southern Arabia. Three of them are said to have been consecrated in the city of Akana. I. Shahid (1979: 47) recognized the name of Qanī' in that of Akana. The apologetic value of the *Vita Sancti Gregentii* cannot be determined. However, no clear archaeological church ruins have as of yet been confidently identified at the site.

## History and chronology

Archaeological excavations revealed three main occupation phases at the settlement. The Lower Period (1st cent. BCE – early 1st cent. CE) corresponds to the foundation of Qanī'. The settlement only developed at the foot of Huṣn al-Ghurāb, probably because it offered direct access to building materials and defensive retreat. The presence of Dressel 2-4 and other types of early Roman amphorae, Arezzo and Eastern sigillata, fragments of *Nabataean* bowls, Indian red-polished and rouletted wares reveal contacts with the Mediterranean and India by sea from this period onwards. At that time, the site was a supply and loading point for *aromatics*.

During the Middle Period (late 1st – 4th cent. CE) the urban fabric of the settlement rapidly extended to the whole available building space at high tide. Large dwellings were built in an arc near the shore of the north-eastern bay while smaller housing units (some of which could be identified as shops) developed in the central and south-western parts of the site. This growth probably reflects increased *maritime trade* in trans-regional commerce from the second half of the 1st cent. CE onwards. Qanī' then became a major port city, at the crossroads of *caravan* trails from the western *Hadramawt* (Naqab al-Hajar, Shabwa) and maritime routes from the Roman Red Sea ports to *Aden* (Peripl. M. Rubr. 26: Εύδαίμων Αραβία; Ptol. Geog. 6.7.9: Ἀραβία ἑμποριον), https://ancientarabia.huma-num.fr/dictionary/definition/dhofar (Oman) and on to India.

Ancient sources describe ancient Qanī' as a trading port (ἔμποριον: Peripl. M. Rubr. 27, Ptol. Geog. 6.7.10). The *Peripl. M. Rubr.* 28 mentions that incense and aloes were exchanged for Egyptian wheat, wine, clothes, copper, tin, coral, and, for the king of the Hadramawt, silverware, coins, horses, statues and clothes. Amphorae and other ancient containers also attest to wine and oil imports (Davidde et al. 1998, 2004; Salles & Sedov 2010: 459-465).

Around 225-230 CE, South Arabian inscriptions mention a conflict between the
Sabaean ruler Sha'r Awtar and the kingdom of Hadramawt, during which the capital Shabwa was ransacked and 47 ships were burnt in the port-city of Qanî' (Ja 632, Ry 533, Sharaf 17, Ir 13). Traces of burning have been observed in warehouses, but no parallels with these events have yet been proven.

In the late 3rd cent., a large quantity of *Himyarite* coins show that the port was under Himyarite control (Sedov 1996). These events did not hinder the continuation of commercial activities.

From the 5th century onwards (Upper Period: 5th–6th cent. CE), the structures of the city became denser and extended over an area of less than two hectares, concentrated in the west of the site. The presence of amphorae from eastern Mediterranean regions (Palestine, Ayla-‘Aqaba) attests to continued maritime trade with the West, but contacts with eastern regions (Dhofār, the Arabian Gulf and India) almost completely ceased. A large number of Aksumite utilitarian ceramics probably indicate the presence of an *Aksumite* community on the site (Sedov et al. 1997).

By 515, the inhabitants appeared to be under the authority of Yaz'anid princes, a noble Himyarite lineage who controlled most of Hadramawt (BR Yanbuq 47). In 531, the Yaz'anids undertook the restoration of the fortress on Huşn al-Ghurāb (CIH 621). Soon afterwards, Qanî', like other territories of South Arabia, passed into the possession of the Abyssinians. This context explains the large quantity of Aksumite ware in the late strata of the city.

The site was abandoned in the early 7th cent., following political and religious changes and a probable decline in commercial activities with former trading partners. A very limited occupation persisted on the site: some houses were used for burials, others as shelters.

## Alexander V. Sedov & Jérémie Schiettecatte

## References and suggested reading

### Sources

* *Peripl. M. Rubr.*: Casson, L. 1989. *The Periplus Maris Erythræi*. Princeton University Press.

### References

* Ballet, P. 2001. Les importations céramiques sous l'Empire romain. *Dossiers d'Archéologie* 263: 32-35.

* Beeston, A.F.L. 1962. Epigraphic and archaeological gleanings from South-Arabia. *OA* 1: 41-52.

* Davidde, B. & R. Petriaggi 1998. Archaeological Surveys in the harbour of ancient Kané. *PSAS* 28: 39-44. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41223610

* Davidde B., R. Petriaggi & D.F. Williams 2004. New data on the commercial trade of the harbour of ancient Kané through the typological and petrographic study of the pottery. *PSAS* 34: 85-100. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41223808

* Doe, D.B. 1961. Huşn al-Ghurāb and the site of Qana'. *Le Muséon* 74: 191-198.

* Lankester Harding, G. 1964. *Archaeology in the Aden Protectorates*. London: Department of technical Co-Operation.

* Mouton M., P. Sanlaville & J. Suire 2006. Le port sudarabique de Qanî': paléogéographie et organisation urbaine. *CRAI* 2006(2): 777-808. DOI: 10.3406/crai.2006.87078.

* Salles, J.-F., A.V. Sedov (eds) 2010. Qanî'. Le port antique du Hadramawt entre la Méditerranée, l'Afrique et l'Inde. *Fouilles russes* 1972, 1985-89, 1991, 1993-94 (Indicopleustoi, Archaeologies of the Indian Ocean, 6). Turnhout: Brepols.

* Sedov, A.V. 1992. New archaeological and epigraphic material from Qāna', South Arabia. *AAE* 3: 110-137. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0471.1992.tb00033.x C'R.

* Sedov, A.V. 1996. Qāna' (Yemen) and the Indian Ocean. The archaeological evidence, in H.P. Raye & J.-F. Salles (eds) *Tradition and archaeology. Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean*. Proceedings of the International
* Seminar Techno-archaeological Perspectives of Seafaring in the Indian Ocean 4th cent. BC - 15th cent. AD: 11–35. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers.

* Sedov, A.V., C.J. Robin & P. Ballet 1997. Qanî, port de l'encens. *Saba* 3-4: 20-31.

* Shahid, I. 1979. Byzantium in South Arabia. *Dumbarton Oaks Paper* 33: 25-94.

* Shirinskji, S.S. 1977. Novij pamjatnik juzhnoarabskoj arkhitekturi I v. do n. e. *Istorija i kultura antichnogo mira: 202-205*. Moscow.

* Wellsted, J.R. 1838. *Travels in Arabia*. London: John Murray [2nd ed. 1978, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz].

Alternate spellings: Bi'r 'Alî, Bi'r 'Alî, Bir Ali, Qanî', Qāni', Qanî', Qâni', Qanî', Qâni', Qani, Cane, Huşn al-Ghurāb, Huşn al-Ghurâb, Husn al-Ghurab, Mawiyat

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ANCIENT ARABIA