Julian Jansen van Rensburg. Archaeological explorations on Soqotra, Yemen: 2000 years of solitude?

Archaeological explorations on Soqotra, Yemen: 2000 years of solitude? Dr. Julian Jansen van Rensburg, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh Ahmed Saeed Ahmed Al-Orqbi, General Organisation of Antiquities and Museums (Yemen, Soqotra) Esmail Mohammed Ahmed Salem, Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage 31 May 2023 CET (Rome, Paris, Berlin / GMT 2) (İstanbul, Athens / GMT 3) (New York / GMT-4) The Soqotra archipelago is situated at a critical juncture within the inter-continental maritime interaction spheres of the western Indian Ocean trade routes. The island of Soqotra, the largest island of the archipelago, has long been recognised as an important nodal point within the extensive networks of trade supplying the world with frankincense, dragon’s blood and aloes. Yet it is only in the last decade that there has been a reinvigoration of archaeological work on Soqotra which, in conjunction with recent ancient DNA studies, has allowed for a deeper understanding of the island and its people. The focus of this lecture will be to demonstrate the nature and extent of Soqotra’s inclusion and isolation in the archaeological record and highlight the impacts this has had on the landscape and its inhabitants.