Dates of Excavation: Summer 2001
Description of Excavation
The site of Ya' amun is a multicomponent site with occupation evidence for all of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods. The 2000 excavations uncovered numerous Roman and Byzantine tombs, with a number of Bronze Age tombs identified for excavation in the upcoming season. Excavations on the Tell revealed the multicomponent occupation walls as well as continued excavation of a wonderfully intact Early Byzantine church mosaic floor. The 2001 excavations will focus upon both tombs and the church area of the Tell.
The field school emphasizes the excavation of tombs and teaching the techniques of mortuary site archaeology and preliminary osteological laboratory methods. Whenever possible students are given the opportunity to supervise the excavation of a tomb and all have the opportunity for note taking, cataloging, mapping, drawing, and writing final reports. Laboratory sessions held after the fieldwork day in the Anthropology laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University focus on cleaning, cataloging, and preliminary skeletal analysis. There are also opportunities for full time osteological and artifactual laboratory work.
Residence in university apartments on the Yarmouk campus enables the student to become familiar with life at a university in Jordan. Each apartment is equipped with washing machine and kitchen. Travel to the site is by bus each day. As a joint field school with Jordanian students enrolled at Yarmouk University, there are many opportunities to meet people and participate in Jordanian life. The five-day work week with some weekends free of field trips provides time for social events. There will be field trips (one with a two night hotel stay) to such sites as Petra, Jerash, and Kerak Castle from the Crusader period.
Period of Excavation: Bronze Age, Byzantine
Directors: Dr. Jerome C. Rose, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Dr. Mahmoud El-Najjar, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
Contact Person: Fulbright Institute, Office of Study Abroad, 722 West Maple St., Fayetteville, AR 72701
Phone: (505) 575-7582
FAX: (505) 575-7402
E-mail: studyabr@cavern.uark.edu
jcrose@uark.edu
Web site: http://www.uark.edu/~jcrose/field/
Accepting students? Yes, from any country
Accepting volunteers? Possibly
Academic credit available? Yes. Six undergraduate credits from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; graduate credit is available at a higher tuition rate.
Cost: Estimated to be $3,425 ($3,925 for graduate credit), which includes 6 academic credits, round trip airfare (Chicago-Amman), local travel, residence in a Yarmouk University apartment, drinking water, and 4 field trips, including an overnight at Petra. Costs and group travel will be finalized in January, 2001. Participant also pays for meals (kitchen available in apartment); $186 for entrance and exit fees, and all personal expenses with an estimate of $1,500-$1,700 derived from the studentsí experiences during previous years.
Application deadline: February 10, 2001