Lecture on Islamic Archaeology between Arabs and Orientalists, a look at research methods.

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, the Sharjah Antiquities Authority organized a lecture entitled:
Islamic antiquities between Arabs and Orientalists, a look at research methods (coins and arts as an example) presented by Professor Dr. Atef Mansour Ramadan, Professor of International Numismatics and Dean of the Faculty of Antiquities (formerly) – Fayoum University.

He discussed the importance of culture in studying and interpreting antiquities, and that it is necessary to know the culture of the era in which these antiquities were produced.
He pointed out that some Orientalists deviated from the truth when they read some of what was written on Arab and Islamic coins and inscriptions, while appreciating the efforts they made in studying these antiquities.
This is a natural result of their lack of knowledge of the Arabic language and some arts and sciences, such as Qur’anic readings and historical information.

He gave examples of this from coins, such as: the dirhams of Bishr bin Marwan, in which he appears raising his hands, and Abd al-Rahman bin al-Ash’ath as well. He touched on the inscriptions in the Salihiya School in Egypt, the sword of the Ayyubid Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayoub, and other antiquities.

During the lecture, he emphasized that archeology in the modern era does not depend solely on conducting archaeological excavations, excavations and discoveries, but has come to depend on a group of other sciences that maximize the value of archaeological discoveries and benefit from them in reading history.