Timothy Power


Timothy Power is an archaeologist who specializes in Arabia and the Islamic World. He completed his doctorate in Islamic Art and Archaeology at the University of Oxford in 2003. His doctorate focused on the Red Sea basin from Byzantium to the Caliphate, which was later published as a book by the American University of Cairo Press.
He is currently an associate professor of archaeology at the United Arab Emirates University.

Career

Power's interest in archaeology was prompted by his relocation to Cairo in 2001. There, he published a historical guidebook on Alexandria and participated in a digging of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Afterwards, he began his extensive travels around the Islamic world before pursuing his studies in archaeology at the University of Oxford.
He moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2009, where he worked as a consultant for the Department of Culture and Tourism and worked on historical excavations in the oases of Al-Ain. Then, he worked as a lecturer in archaeology at UCL Qatar, before working as an associate professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. He was appointed as an associate professor at the United Arab Emirates University in Al-Ain in 2021.
His archaeological research primarily centers on the exploration of al-Ain oases and the Umm al-Quwain lagoon. He specializes in studying ceramics from the Islamic period in the Persian Gulf. He has conducted extensive research and excavation work at various sites within the United Arab Emirates, including Qattara Arts Centre, Qasr al-Muwaij‘i, al-Ain Museum, Qasr al-Hosn, Saadiyat Island, Hisn al-Sira, Jazirat al-Hamra, Masafi Oasis, Hatta Dam, and Sinniya Island. Additionally, he has led archaeological projects in both Buraimi and Zanzibar.

Al-Sinniya Island Archaeology Project

Power is the co-director of the Sinniya Island Archaeology Project, which is a project that aims to run archaeological explorations of Al-Sinniya Island in Umm Al Quwain. As a result of their explorations, in 2022, the group of archaeologists discovered an ancient Christian monastery on the island, shedding light on the Christian communities that were living in East Arabia. This is the second discovered monastery in the UAE after the discovery of one on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in the 1990s.
The group discovered what they believe to be the oldest pearling town in the gulf region, on Sinniya Island. Power stated that despite there being other pearling settlements in the region, this one is particularly unique for its age, size, and - most importantly - it is not seasonal; it operated year-round.

Publications

Notable publications by Power include:
  • The ‘Arabians’ of Pre-Islamic Egypt - 2007
  • The Origin and Development of the Sudanese Ports in the early Islamic Period - 2008
  • The Expansion of Muslim Commerce in the Red Sea Basin, c. AD 833-969 - 2009
  • The Red Sea Region during the 'Long' Late Antiquity, AD 500-1000 - 2010
  • The Bayt Bin ʿĀtī in Qaṭṭārah Oasis: A Prehistoric Industrial Site and the Formation of the Oasis Landscape of al-ʿAin, UAE - 2011
  • A preliminary ceramic chronology for the late Islamic period in the al-ʿAin oases, UAE - 2011
  • The Qaṣr al-Muwaijʿī: Diwān of the Āl Nahayyān in the al-ʿAin / Buraimi Oasis - 2011
  • The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate, AD 500-1000 - 2012
  • The origin and development of the oasis landscape of al-ʿAin - 2012
  • Trade Cycles and Settlement Patterns in the Red Sea Region - 2012
  • ‘You shall not see the tribes of the Blemmyes or of the Saracens’: On the Other ‘Barbarians’ of Late Roman Eastern Desert of Egypt - 2012
  • The Material Culture and Economic Rationale of Saracen Settlement in pre-Islamic Egypt - 2012
  • Archaeological Survey at Buraymī Oasis, Oman. An Integrated Strategy for Geophysics, Surface Collection and Test Pitting - 2014
  • Iron Age Copper Smelting At Bayt Bin'Ātī In The Qattārah Oasis : A Preliminary Study - 2014
  • Buraimi Oasis Landscape Archaeology Project 2014 - 2015
  • First Preliminary Report on the Buraimi Oasis Landscape Archaeology Project - 2015
  • First preliminary report on the Buraimi oasis landscape archaeology project - 2015
  • A first ceramic chronology for the late Islamic Arabian Gulf - 2015
  • Al Ain Oases Mapping Project: Qaṭṭārah Oasis, past and present - 2016
  • Al-'Ayn Oases Mapping project: Jīmī Oasis - 2017
  • Julfar and the ports of northern Oman - 2017
  • The Red Sea under the Caliphal Dynasties, c. 639–1171 - 2018
  • Al-ʿAyn Oases Mapping Project: al-Hīlī Oasis 2017 - 2018
  • The Role of Indian Ocean Trade Inland: The Buraimi Oasis - 2018
  • Defining new technological traditions of Late Islamic Arabia: a view on Bahlā Ware from al-Ain and the lead-barium glaze production - 2019
  • An Iron Age ceramic sequence from the Bayt Bin Ati, al‐Ain, UAE - 2019
  • Excavations at the old fort of stone town, Zanzibar: New evidence of historic interactions between the Swahili Coast and Arabian Gulf - 2020
  • Abraham's luggage: a social life of things in the medieval Indian Ocean world - 2020
  • Al Madam and the Archaeology of the Falaj - 2021
  • Archaeological Survey of Sīnīya Island, Umm al-Quwain - 2022
  • A Newly Discovered Late Antique Monastery and Islamic Town on Sīnīya Island, Umm al-Quwain - 2023
  • The Oman Border Fence Project 2021: A Journey through the Hydraulic, Agricultural and Funerary Landscapes of al-ʿAyn - 2023