Dear Colleagues,
I am happy to announce the launch of The Journal of Islamic Archaeology, edited by Equinox Publishing. The Editor is Prof. Bethany Walker, of the University of Bonn (Germany) and I am honoured to be a member of the editorial board.
The Journal of Islamic Archaeology is the only journal today 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 centre 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”.
The Journal is being launched at a time where there has never been such interest among both scholars and the informed public alike in the archaeology of Islamic societies. The last few years in particular have witnessed marked growth in the number of conferences and workshops, publications, and university programs with Islamic archaeology as a focus. Islamic archaeology courses are being offered in conjunction with Middle East Studies and Islamic art history at universities throughout North America and Europe, and comprise a field of specialization in archaeology departments in the Middle East. There is, in short, a rapidly growing readership in the field, and no specialized journal today to service it.
The range of topics invited for the journal is wide, including not only field and ceramic reports, but also studies from other disciplines that are of direct relevance to Islamic archaeology, such as historical geography, art history, history, numismatics, ethnography, and environmental studies. Some themed issues are anticipated and the Editor welcomes suggestions for these.
The first issue of the Journal will be available in April 2014. In the name of the Editor, I would like to invite you to present works in order to contribute to the diffusion of knowledge in an academic global community. I would also like to ask you to make this information arrive to anyone who might be interested in the Journal.
The official language of the Journal is English, and we would like to encourage everybody to present any work translated in that language. However, the Editor will consider each case on its own to make sure that good articles are not missed because of language problems.
I would also like to invite you to consider an institutional subscription to the Journal. It is a very interesting editorial adventure that has not parallels in scale at this point and I am sure that it you will consider taking part in it worthwhile.
Please, do contact me with suggestions or questions that you may have. My email is j.carvajallopez@sheffield.ac.uk. You can also contact the Editor if you wish so: bwalker@uni-bonn.de. The website of the journal is https://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/JIA.
I am looking forward to hearing from you in a near future.
Yours Sincerely
José C. Carvajal
Lecturer in Islamic Art and Archaeology (University College of London in Qatar)
Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology (University of Sheffield)