Journal of Islamic Archaeology

Journal Editor

Bethany J. Walker, University of Bonn

The Journal of Islamic Archaeology was the first journal devoted to the field of Islamic archaeology on a global scale. In the context of this journal, “Islamic archaeology” refers neither to a specific time period, nor to a particular geographical region, as Islam is global and the center of the “Islamic world” has shifted many times over the centuries. Likewise, it is not defined by a single methodology or theoretical construct (for example; it is not the “Islamic” equivalent of “Biblical archaeology”, with an emphasis on the study of places and peoples mentioned in religious texts). The term refers to the archaeological study of Islamic societies, polities, and communities, wherever they are found. It may be considered a type of “historical” archaeology, in which the study of historically (textually) known societies can be studied through a combination of “texts and tell”.