Islamic archaeology
The science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Islamic archaeology involves the recovery and scientific investigation of the material remains of past cultures that can illuminate the periods and descriptions in the Quran, and the history of Islam. The earliest Islamic influence in archaeological findings begins to be seen from the Marwan period and develops increasingly.
Early Islamic period
The oldest extant Islamic monument is The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem which contains some of the earliest extant qurānic text, dated to 692CE. They vary from today's standard text and are mixed with pious inscriptions absent from the Quran. During a six-week period in 1833, Frederick Catherwood produced the first known detailed survey.Pre-Islamic In-situ archaeology includes south Arabian 4th CE rock inscriptions that evidence fewer pagan expressions and the start in use of the monotheistic "rahmān".
Fewer archaeological surveys have taken place in the Arabian peninsula and are considered taboo in Mecca and Medina . There is no architecture from the time of Mohammed in either city and the battlefields of the Quran have not been unearthed. Known settlements from the time, such as Khaybar, remain uninvestigated. Archaeological evidence for Quranic narratives yet to be uncovered include that for the ʿĀd who built monuments and strongholds at every high point and their fate ''evident from the remains of their dwellings.''