Temehu
 
   
  
 

 


     

 

 

 

Entrance to Assultan Museum

Assultan Museum


The site of Umm Assultan is often referred to as "the ancient city of Sirte" (or Surt). Locally the place is still known as "Almadinah" or "Madina" (Town or City). The site was associated with the classical Iscinia and Macomades. Modern Sirte was then established around 1835 AD when the Turks built the Fort of Sirte near the area.

 

the welcome sign to the museum under a big a tree  

 

The welcome sign to the museum and the city of Sirte (left). Libya map showing the main archaeological sites of Libya, starting from 100,000 years ago to 1800 AD. This map does not cover all the archaeological sites of Libya, but it includes only the archaeological cities and villages.

The main features of this museum are exhibits from the stone-age, namely stone tools and flints, stone and pottery pieces from the ancient site of Sirte, Roman artifacts and coins from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, photos of excavated archaeological sites, Islamic exhibits from the old mosque discovered in the site, oil lamps, some information about the history of the Arabic Kufi style of writing, and a Libya map showing the main archaeological cities in Libya.

 

Libya map of the main archaeological sites

 


exhibits from the museum
A stone with Islamic architectural motifs.

 


stones with designs inside a display cabinet.

Stones with geometrical and Islamic designs inside a display cabinet.

 

 

Stome implements and flints from the Stone Age.

Stone implements and flints from the Stone Age.

 

 

 

glass fragments in display

glass jars from the 5th century AD

Glass shreds from the 10th century AD (left). Green glass jars from the 5th century AD (right).

 

 

wooden tools, hair brush, etc.
Old wooden tools from the 5th (fifth) century AD, including a hair brush.

 

unclassified bones
Unclassified Bones.

 

 

large jar from the old mosque
A large clay jar from Assultan Mosque.

 

 

unusual oil lamo with a head of a horse on one end

green oil lamp

 

 

clay oil lamps

 

 

large clay jars

 

large clay jar or pitcher

 

local libya drinking clay pitcher (or pot)
Local or Libyan pottery, used for cooling drinking water.

 

 

 

Roman coins from the first and second centuries AD.

 

roman coin          roman coin

 

coloured shreds of pottery

 

 

 

Um Albarakeem
Photographs of the archaeological site of Umm Albarakeem, located about 9 KM north-east of Ben Jawwad.

 

islamic exhibits from As-sultan museum

development of Arabic calligraphy: writing styles and  information from a board in the museum

This board from As-Sultan Museum gives some information about Arabic calligraphy, its types and development, particularly the Kufi style of Arabic writing. According to this board Arabic calligraphy was derived from the Nabataeans ( الأنباط ‎), also a Semitic people whose capital city was then Petra, in Jordan. The board shows some historical information about the origin of the Arabic Kufi (or Koufi) style of handwriting, which dates to the 3rd century AD - around the same time when the Arabic script made its first appearance as a derivative of Semitic script. It also classifies the types of Kufi as follows:


  • Simple Kufi
  • Leafy Kufi (from the shape of tree leaves)
  • Plant-based Kufi (written on branches similar to tree branches)
  • Plated Kufi
  • Geometrical Kufi

 

 

Sirte

(Umm Assultan)

The following publication, titled "Sirte, Its History & Archaeology", was published by the Archaeology Department of the Libyan Ministry of Education. The booklet gives some information about the history of the ancient site of Sirte and its archaeology.

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

 

The Mosque

This mosque, discovered in the area of Sirte, was built around the 10th century AD.

The dimensions of the mosque are 41 meters long by 31 meters wide (41m x 31m).

 

  medinat sultan mosque

 

 

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

 

 

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

The north entrance to the city (right); the west entrance to the city (left).

These are the remain of the ancient city of Sirte, which was fortified and had three towers. The area of the city was said to have been 184003 square meters.

 

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

 

 

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan

 

 

scan of a text in Arabic about the archaeology of Assultan