Dates of Excavation: 15 June-31 July 2000
Description of Excavation
A University of Victoria team, including both undergraduate and graduate students, has been excavating for the past nine years at this isolates site, located in Jordan's dramatically beautiful southern desert halfway between Petra and Aqaba, at an altitude of 950 m. This work has revealed the water-supply system and the habitation centre of a small Nabataean settlement, which was occupied continuously through the Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods. Structures excavated so far include an aqueduct, reservoir, cisterns, and several houses of the Nabataean period, an early seond-century Roman fort, five Byzantine churches and a bath, three Byzantine or Early Islamic houses, and the palace and mosque of the Abbasid family. Tombs of all occupation periods surround the settlement. The project, funded largely by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, is accredited by the Professional Standards Committee of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and licensed by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.
Excavations in 2000 will concentrate on the well-preserved Roman fort, the earliest to be excavated in Jordan, the Abbasid family palace and mosque, and a frescoed Nabataean house. Working conditions on the site are challenging, but we stay in a comfortable, modern school dormitory in the cooler nearby mountains (at 1500 m), and the scenery and neighboring archaeological sites are spectacular. Aqaba and the Red Sea are 90 minutes away. The local Bedouin workers and their camels and tents add an exuberant cross-cultural element to the project.
Periods of Excavation: Nabataean, Roman
Director: John P. Oleson
Contact Person: Prof. John P. Oleson, Department of Greek and Roman Studies,Box 3045
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3P4 CANADA
Phone: (250) 721-8519
FAX: (250) 721-8516
E-mail: jpoleson@uvic.ca
Accepting students/volunteers? Yes. A small number of volunteer excavators-preferably but not necessarily with some digging experience or similar relevant skills-will be accepted.
Accepting Jordanian students? Possibly. We hope to obtain funding to bring along two Jordanian students with at least a BA in archaeology and an interest in archaeological conservation, for training in Amman and at Humeima with our conservator. If the grant come through, travel and modest salaries will be paid.
Cost: $900 CDN, plus airfare. Fees cover room and board and surface travel in Jordan.
Academic credit available? Undergraduate course credit may be arranged through the University of Victoria (GRS 493, 495).
Application deadline: Contact Prof. Oleson by early November 1999 if at all possible, providing as well a letter of application and a resume of education and experience. Some travel grants for students are available from the American Center of Oriental Research (deadline 1 Feb. 2000).