“An Arabic Pompeii. Historic Discovery in Andalusia, Dec. 1910. Contributed by Special Correspondents from Seville. 9th December 1910” [Medina Azzahra]

Handwritten notebook --author(s) unknown, comprising 22 pages on the above subject and 29 pp. on "Pyrolatry or Fire-Worship".

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The article "An Arabic Pompeii [Medina Azzahra] documents part of a trip by the correspondents to Spain to trace the roots of Arabic art and architecture for a proposed book. While there, they heard rumors of the excavation of an early Arabic site. This site and its contents were kept secret by the Spanish government, and the writers of this journal detail how they stumbled upon the site, the problems they had in visiting, and the denial of permission to photograph anything in the area. The correspondents make oblique references to the possibility that some of the treasures will never get much farther than the Spanish officials responsible for the excavation.

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See Median Azzahara y Almiriya by D. Ricardo Velazquez Bosco, published in Madrid 1912 for a full account of the Spanish archeological exploration & excavation of the site.

The Caliphate city of Medina Azahara is an archaeological site of a city built in the mid-10th century CE by the Umayyad dynasty as the seat of the Caliphate of Cordoba. After prospering for several years, it was laid to waste during the civil war that put an end to the Caliphate in 1009-1010. The remains of the city were forgotten for almost 1,000 years until their rediscovery in 1910. This complete urban ensemble features infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water systems, buildings, decorative elements and everyday objects. It provides in-depth knowledge of the now vanished Western Islamic civilization of Al-Andalus, at the height of its splendor. The city included ceremonial reception halls, mosques, administrative and government offices, gardens, a mint, workshops, barracks, residences and baths. Water was supplied through aqueducts. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1560/

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CONDITION: Fair; in softcover, stitched notebook with covers detached. Internally, very good, clean appearance. Unfortunately, it has a bit of a musty odor -- no evidence of mildew or damage so possibly transferred from a neighbor in storage.