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Abstract:
Southern Jordan between Neolithic and Bronze Age.
Recent research of the Jagiellonian University in At-Tafileh, Shawbak and Feynan microregions.
During his lecture, Dr Piotr, Kołodziejczyk, Jagiellonian University, Cracow will present the results of research led since 2017 by the Jagiellonian University team in southern Jordan, with special attention to the excavations conducted between 2019 and 2021.
The Polish team carried out a series of test trenches at three sites located in selected microregions of At-Tafileh, Shawbak and Feynan which allowed new interesting observations about the human occupation of this territory during the Late Prehistory. Excavations at the sites of Umm Tuweyrat, Huseinya and Wadi Feynan 101 brought about a new picture of the everyday life of their inhabitants, elements of their spiritual culture but also a new assessment of interaction with the surrounding landscape.
At the dolmen field at Umm Tuweyrat, Shawbak, some observations were made regarding the site's extent, its dating and construction techniques for dolmen graves in this area. A significant and rare discovery of a preserved burial in one of the dolmens, currently under the detailed study, will hopefully allow confirming the dating of the group of dolmens at this site.
At the second site – Huseiniya, a remarkable fragment of a stone residential building was uncovered, initially dated at the turn of the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. The building was a half-dugout, with a large hearth against one of the walls. A decorated bone weaving tool was found inside the building. Ongoing radiocarbon analysis of the charcoal samples is aimed at the verification of the structure's dating and, subsequently, its inclusion in the network of many others located in the multi-hectare complex.
The latest research conducted in 2021 in Wadi Feynan at the site WF101, which was identified already several decades ago by British archaeologists, allowed us to reconsider previous observations based on surface finds and establish new interpretations for the stone structures located here as residential buildings and farm structures.
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Dr Tara STEIMER-HERBET will present a lecture on the Middle Eastern megalithism spread and the significance of the societies of megalith builders. Seven thousand years ago, the Middle East witnessed the emergence of new funerary rites. Previous traditions of burying the dead directly in the earth, in jars or ossuaries were replaced with a new practice of inhumation in megalithic tombs. This change can be observed in the societies living in the mountains of the Akkar region in Lebanon but also in the Jaulan plateau in Syria, the Jordan valley in Jordan, the al-‘Ula and Khaybar in Saudi Arabia, the Jawf and the Hadramawt in Yemen, and the Dhofar and Jabal Hafit in Oman. In her talk, Dr Steimer will define the concept of megaliths and will focus on the so-called ‘dolmens’ or ‘tower tombs’.
The first manifestations of megalithism appeared in the ninth millennium BC in Turkey and were continued in Indonesia. The peak of megalithism in the Middle East falls between the end of the fifth to the end of the third millennium BC. Recent systematic surveys and excavations have changed our perspective on the distribution patterns of megalithic tombs. Until 2000, it was believed that the megalithic necropolises were distributed alongside a narrow north-south axis along the Rift ditch, extending from the Dead Sea to Aleppo, along the Jordan, Litani and Orontes rivers. Today, we know that the societies practising megalithism occupied varied landscapes from the forests of the Syrian Jaulan to the steppes of the Sabatayn desert in Yemen.
Colin Renfrew was one of the first to ask the question: “why megalithism?” The numerous studies on the distribution of monuments show that these constructions shaped the landscape and made certain areas sacred. The megalithic monuments are considered markers of territories, with a pronounced hierarchy, expressed using "tails", funerary "chains" or enclosures in the necropolises and the tombs.
The conditions that determined settlement patterns of the megalith builders were the availability of stone appropriate for different formats - from simple elements such as the stelae, menhirs or even statues to large constructions such as tombs, sometimes houses. Megalithic societies were highly creative. Also, the presence of the grazing lands or the conditions suitable for horticulture were crucial factors in choosing megalithic occupations. By using large stones as means of expression and to honour the deceased and/or their ancestors, the megalithic societies showed their economic capacities. Such constructions required significant resources and collective effort. We hypothesize that these societies had access to multiple resources, exotic goods, and handicrafts. Apart from the access to resources, the megalithic societies seem to have favoured the communication axes facilitating economical exchanges with the urban populations centered around the major rivers. As such, these megalithic groups played a key role in the formation of societies.
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The Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures PAS
We are pleased to inform you that the electronic version of the 34th volume of our journal, Études et Travaux, is already available (without any limitations) on the journal’s website (http://www.etudesettravaux.iksiopan.pl/index.php/en/current-issue).
This volume is devoted especially to Cyprus, and the Hellenistic-Roman period.
The 34th volume of Études et Travaux has been funded through the programme of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Poland entitled “Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki” in 2016-2021 (“The National Programme for the Development of the Humanities”; project no. 3bH 15 0099 83).
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The present book was published thanks to a grant from the National Science Centre of the Republic of Poland: Archangels and Locusts: Daily Life in Banganarti, a Pilgrimage Centre on the Middle Nile, 6th through 16th Centuries (grant agreement no. 2016/21/B/HS3/03724), with a contribution by the Qatar Sudan Archaeological Project. The book is available here!