‘‘Sacred Landscapes’’: the Umayyad Syro-Jordanian Hajj Roads to Mecca and their Pilgrim Camps
By Claudine Dauphin. 8th May 2022: after two Covid years I am back in Amman to investigate the Umayyad Hajj road to Mecca, after tracing the Mediaeval and Ottoman routes. Despite the fundamental role of the Ummayyad caliphs (661-750 CE) in shaping the Hajj, owing to the absence of Umayyad travelogues, the course of the first Hajj route after the Arab Conquest (636 CE) had remained elusive. Scholars took for granted that it was identical to the later Mediaeval road. Yet, as described in an early Islamic manuscript, Caliph Mu’âwiya ibn Abî Sufyan (r. 661-680) travelling on the Northern Hajj Road (Darb al-Hajj al-Shami) from Damascus to Mecca, invited the pilgrims from Egypt to join him at ‘Ayla (Aqaba) and follow…
Researching Palestinian psychiatric patients at the Lebanon Hospital for Mental Diseases
By Chris Sandal-Wilson. Back in March 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic escalating and the first national lockdown beginning in the United Kingdom, a rare piece of good news brightened my inbox: the Palestine Exploration Fund had awarded me funding to travel to Beirut to research the history of Palestinian psychiatric patients at the Lebanon Hospital for Mental Diseases in the first half of the twentieth century. In researching my first book on colonial psychiatry and mental illness in British mandate Palestine, I had been struck by the number of Palestinian families who seemed to look north across the newly drawn border to Lebanon for the treatment of mentally ill relatives. I was excited at the prospect of using the archives…
Overlooked Archaeologists of Palestine
By Loay Abu Alsaud. Our endeavour was to bring to light early contributions made to archaeology in Palestine by key Palestinians who have been overlooked by researchers. The first foreign scientific excavations took place in Palestine in the late 19th century and by the 1920s, European and American teams were arriving in Palestine, attempting to link archaeological sites to Biblical passages. They needed support personnel and recruited Palestinian men and women. Of note were three Palestinians, who became proficient at complex, skilled work and were given key onsite responsibilities, influencing the progress of archaeology in Palestine. They were Yusra (Turn 20th C–Unknown) whose surname is unknown (Al-Ḥefaweyeh or Al-Karmelyeh may be seen). Naṣr Dyab Dwekat (1917–2011) and Ibrahim Amin Asa’d…
The 2022 survey at Khirbet al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya, Jordan
Diederik J. H. Halbertsma, University of Liverpool, Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egpytology. In May 2022 we conducted a survey season at the archaeological site of Khirbet al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya (KMA for short), south-central Jordan, with a small team. The site is located in the eastern part the Kerak plateau, on a promontory overlooking the Wadi al-Mukhayris. KMA is a 2.3 ha. single-period site which dates to the end of the early Iron Age period. The early Iron Age followed a cataclysmic time commonly known as the ‘Late Bronze Age collapse’ (ca. 1200 BCE), which saw the demise of great empires. The Levant, which had largely been governed by the Hittites and the Egyptians, suddenly found itself in a power vacuum.…
Khirbat al-Mafjar Archaeological Project, Jericho, Palestine
Mahmoud Hawari. Six seasons of landscape archaeological survey and excavations (2009 – 2014) in the Khirbat al-Mafjar hinterland of ‘Hisham’s Palace’, Jericho, sponsored by Barakat Trust (2010-2014) and Council for British Research in the Levant (architectural drawings 2010), including a recent 4 days topographic survey sponsored by the PEF (March 2022), were carried out. The project, directed by myself, and with the participation of staff and students from Birzeit University, and the collaboration of staff and students from University College London (UCL), aimed to achieve better understanding of the palace in the context of its historical and cultural landscape. The first survey of the Jericho area, including Khirbat al-Mafjar, which was carried out by Warren and Conder on behalf of…
Back to Black (the Desert)
A blog on the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project, Jordan Yorke M. Rowan The Eastern Badia Archaeological Project investigates two regions located in the Black Desert of Eastern Jordan, Wadi al-Qattafi and Wisad Pools. Both areas, situated along the southeastern edge of the basaltic area known as the harra, may have been more attractive in the past than the current desolate appearance would lead us to believe. Our current focus in the field are the excavation of two buildings at Wisad Pools, an area with hundreds of structures and over 400 petroglyphs. Our survey and excavations suggest that many of the collapsed buildings near the pools date to the Late Neolithic period (6,500-5,000 BC), attracting hunters and pastoralists to spend substantial…
(re-)discovering Late Neolithic sites on the Karak Plateau, Jordan
Pascal Flohr, University of Oxford, School of Archaeology In October 2019, after the first rains of the season, we headed to the Karak Plateau in Jordan to visit Late Neolithic sites I had identified by desk-based research, and find suitable areas to discover more of these sites. For one week, chipped stone and Neolithic expert Bill Finlayson and I drove around much of the plateau (Fig. 1), documenting sites (Late Neolithic and not – as archaeologists it is difficult to ignore any ancient remains!). The Late Neolithic (from around 8500 to 7000 years ago) is a very interesting period, as it is the time when agriculture became the main form of subsistence for many people in Jordan, and for the…
Digging for Oil at Khirbet Ghozlan
Dr Jamie Fraser The site of Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan (the “Ruins of the Mother of the Gazelles”) sits on a steep knoll overlooking the stunning Wadi Rayyan in north Jordan. Most archaeologists would classify the site as a hamlet or village, as it is only 0.4 ha in size. In this respect, Khirbet Ghozlan sits comfortably with our traditional understanding of the Early Bronze IV period (2600-2000 BCE), during which people abandoned large, fortified, mounded sites and dispersed into small, undefended villages. However, Khirbet Ghozlan is remarkable for a monumental enclosure wall. Built partly as a double wall of massive, megalithic slabs, this enclosure controlled access to the Ghozlan knoll. Why defend such a tiny site? Olive oil and the…
Extreme Archaeology of the Black Desert, Jordan
Yorke Rowan, on behalf of the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project (EBAP) team Our adventures in extreme archaeology in the Black Desert of Jordan bring known expectations. We know that the long first day includes loading a Toyota Hilux and larger cargo truck; various stop offs to pick up water tanks, ice, and fuel; driving two hours off road through the rough basalt; arriving to unpack, build camp, inhale dust and flies; ending with the inevitable search for the first night’s meal. The sore limbs, chapped lips, more flies, snakes and melted ice are also all known. What was unknown during the 2018 expedition was the two days of torrential rains, wind and lightening. The soggy beginning brought on by this…
A Day in Jerusalem
Charlotte Kelsted, 2018 Last month, a generous travel grant from the Palestine Exploration Fund allowed me to carry out an introductory research trip to Palestine. My research explores the attitudes and experiences of British women (colonial wives, missionaries, teachers, nurses and others) who resided in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-1948), focusing specifically on encounters between these British women and local Palestinian Arab and Jewish communities. I started my PhD seven months ago, and this research trip has undoubtedly been the highlight of my doctoral study thus far. After arriving into Tel Aviv late in the evening, I spent the first night of my trip at the charming Kenyon Institute in East Jerusalem. The Kenyon Institute is situated on the…
Taking up a significant portion of the Old City of Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa sanctuary is an exceptional historical and religious complex. With the Dome of the Rock dominating a central platform, its unique architectural design and empowering golden dome is instantly recognisable the world over.
For many Muslims and non-Muslim alike the complex is hidden behind a veil of politics and conflict, with the Dome of the Rock taking centre focus while the rest of the complex is largely ignored. In reality it is a magnificent open-air museum, shrine, campus and public park, all rolled into one.
Measuring in at 144 acres, the area contains hundreds of landmarks from raised prayer platforms, to water fountains, schools, shrines, tombs and gates, each a snapshot of a history that spans 14 centuries.
Bashar Tabbah will be taking us through a sample of his photographic work on the complex, exploring the evolution of the complex over the centuries.
Biography:
Bashar Tabbah’s passion for photography, exploration and history has dominated his life for the past 18 years. Living in Jordan surrounded by historical treasures highly influenced his passion and outlook. He primarily focuses on sites of historical and cultural significance and has travelled extensively, photographing over 400 locations internationally as well as 300 in Jordan.
