Surveys carried out by the French Archaeological Mission in Jawf-Ḥaḍramawt in 1992
and 1993 had the aim of setting up research programs on themes
specific studies, some of which have been carried out, in particular on the prehistory and protohistoric of
Paleo-course Jawf-Ḥaḍramawt. Today, the documentation that had been brought together by the different
members of the mission and kept in the archives, constitutes a primary source of data
that the situation in Yemen justifies publishing, despite the very informal state of the data. The situation
security of the country, the re-cultivation of large areas of ancient agricultural territories,
the expansion of habitat over the last 30 years, have considerably disrupted the
explored areas. This documentation brings new elements to the archaeological map
of Yemen, for the regions of al-ʿAbr, wādī Markha, Shabwa, and the western part of the wādī
Ḥaḍramawt of Biʿr Ḥamad to wādī Sar. Prehistoric sites have been mapped, as well as
numerous megalithic funerary monuments, habitats have been identified as being able to
date back to the Bronze Age and certain sites from the South Arabian period present characteristic
which have no equivalent in known inventories. The inventory of sites is supplemented by a
study of the discovered inscriptions and the presentation of a statue–menhir shown to members
of the mission in 1996 in the littoral region of Balhāf.
Michel Mouton, Dr. HDR
Archaeologist, research director at CNRS (France), specialist in ancient Arabian societies,
Mr. Mouton worked mainly in the Oman peninsula, on the kingdoms of southern Arabia
and the Nabataeans. He led projects in the United Arab Emirates (1990-1999, 2010-2011) in Yemen
(1992-2006), in Jordan (2008-2011). He has been at different levels of management in the institutes of
French research abroad (Ministry of Foreign Affairs — CNRS) in Syria (2000-2006), in
Saudi Arabia (2013-2015), Kuwait (2015-2017) and Lebanon (2017-2021).
