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…
A Study of Fatimid Metalwork from the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
PEF in the Field Blog A Study of Fatimid Metalwork from the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, (June 2017) 30 June 2018 Gregory Bilotto My PhD research at SOAS University of London covers utilitarian and higher-quality metalwork produced under the Fatimids in Egypt, Ifriqiya (North Africa), and Bilad al-Sham (Levant) from the 4th-6th H/ 10th-12th CE centuries. The utilitarian objects range from buckets, pans, pots, and tools, while higher-quality objects include incense burners, lamps, lampstands, and pomanders. The Palestine Exploration Fund generously provided funding to examine several examples of these objects during June 2017 in the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas. This study was a continuation from my earlier research…
2018 Excavations at the Fortified Hilltop Site, Umm Tawabin, Ghor as-Safi, Jordan
PEF Blog Report by Alexandra Ariotti In January 2018, I undertook a second excavation season at Umm Tawabin, an impressive fortified hilltop site (880 x 450 m total area), strategically positioned above the town of Ghor as-Safi and the mouth of Wadi al-‘Hasa, overlooking the northern Wadi ‘Arabah in Jordan, and with panoramic views on all sides. Through survey (2015) and excavations (2017-2018) funded by three PEF grants, my investigation has sought to establish the occupational history of Umm Tawabin as an important link in a chain of fortifications, reinforcing the local Nabataean defence system and later the Roman limes Arabicus, and with evidence of habitation over a much broader time period. The site containsat least four buildings (Forts A-D)…
Technique Profile: Couching Embroidery
[Documentation of the British Museum’s Palestine Textile Collection: A Knowledge Exchange Fellowship] By OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury For this blogpost I have decided to focus on one type of surface embellishment embroidery Couching (tahrir, shughul talhami) that I came across whilst working on the British Museum textile collections from Palestine. Couching is the second most prevalent decorative surface work found throughout Palestine. The technique was best developed and used in the Bethlehem and Beit Jala area, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is often thought that the technique was probably inspired and developed from Ottoman couching embroidery (see Weir, 1989: 127; Kawar & Nasir, 1992: 15; Kawar, 2011: 139). In the south, in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem area…
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.
