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Jordan Times
25-05-2025
- Science
- Jordan Times
Ammonite structure discovered on eastern side of Amman Citadel
Remains of ' the Ammonite Palace' an Iron Age structure on Amman Citadel (Photo of Saeb Rawashdeh) AMMAN — While most visitors to the Amman Citadel head towards the well-known landmarks on the western side, such as the Temple of Hercules, the Jordan Archaeological Museum and the Umayyad Palace, few venture eastward. But that may soon change following a significant archaeological discovery. Professor Zeidan Kafafi, a prominent Jordanian archaeologist, revealed that a previously overlooked section of the Citadel has yielded evidence of an ancient Ammonite structure. "Nobody thinks to come to the eastern side of the Citadel because they don't know about the important archaeological sites located there," Kafafi said. The discovery was made inadvertently. A government plan to build a school on the eastern slope prompted preliminary excavations by a construction company. Work was immediately halted when workers recognised archaeological remains beneath the surface. "When the idea of building a school was dropped, the Greater Amman Municipality decided instead to develop a public park in the area," Kafafi added. What followed was a formal excavation initiated by Jordanian archaeologist Fawzi Zayadine, who invited an international team to investigate further. Their efforts uncovered remnants of an Ammonite structure, informally referred to as the 'Ammonite Palace'. Among the most intriguing finds were four double-faced stone heads and a mysterious glass ball, discovered within the ancient structure. The project is a joint venture of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology, German Archaeological Institute from Berlin and local experts like Professor Kafafi. Now in its second year, the excavation is being led by Professor Catharina Schmidt of the University of Münster, as part of the Amman Archaeological Project. The team is exploring layers dating back to the Iron Age, as well as the Roman-Byzantine period. Recent finds include fragments of ivory and alabaster, a partially burned object, and a sophisticated water channel system. "There is no spring on the Citadel, so water had to be collected and redirected into a cistern through these channels," Schmidt explained. However, the team has yet to locate the cistern itself. Excavators plan to continue their work by uncovering Roman-era housing layers and gradually digging deeper in hopes of reaching more Iron Age levels.
Jordan Times
05-02-2025
- Science
- Jordan Times
From semi-Nomads to settlers: Examining life in Ghor Abu ‘Obeideh
AMMAN — professor Zeidan Kafafi studied rural societies and their life in the Ghor Abu 'Obeideh region during the Iron I and II, and this system collapsed by the end of the Iron Age. This change of socio-economy has been well remarked at major sites in the region such as Tell Mazar, Tell Deir 'Alla and Tell Damiyah. At those and other contemporaneous Iron Age sites, also during the Persian/Hellenistic period, people used only the summits of the tells for storage purposes and stocking their animals, Kafafi said. He added: "This means that throughout the Iron Age the Central Jordan Valley was densely populated by settled people and mobile groups by the same time. As a matter of fact, the inhabitants of the Jordan Valley practiced during the period ranging from about 1,200 to 539 BC different economic practices such as cultivation mainly, pastoralism, trade and industry." 'These economic activities have been changed from time to time during the Iron Age but it does not mean that the economic status of whole society shifted dramatically from urban to nomadic,' Kafafi said. He noted that it might be assumed, that only part of the societies were settlers, in the meantime others were transhumance, in other words semi-nomads. For example, it has been assumed by the first excavators of the site of Tell Deir 'Alla that the settlers of the site were semi-nomads during the beginning of the Iron Age I (ca. 1,150 BC). The results of the last excavations approved that this assumption has to be reconsidered due to the discovery of architectural and other archaeological material found at the site and dated to the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (ca. 1,300-1,100 BC). "As it has above mentioned, the people lived at Ghor Abu 'Obeideh practiced several economic practices such as cultivation, mainly, pastoralism, trade and industry. These activities might be explained as human behaviours which reflect the type of life-style," Kafafi underlined. The professor noted that the research is based above all on studying the archaeological data obtained from the excavations conducted at several sites in Ghor Abu 'Obeideh. The results of the excavations conducted at the site of Tell Deir 'Alla in connection with other sites are the key of our information in explaining the way of life that the inhabitants of Ghor Abu 'Obeideh used to live during the ancient times, he said. Tell Deir 'Alla stands on the floor of the long north-south Rift Valley, Kafafi elaborated, adding that in the valley floor is in general 4-5 km wide, i.e. extending from the Jordan River bed (Zor) to the slopes of the eastern mountains. This surrounding landscape has good agricultural soil in most places, but generally limited, rainfall (average 260 mm per year at the site) can be supplemented with irrigation water, supplied from the Zarqa River. "The Jordan Valley is very suitable for winter grazing, largely because of its mild temperature during that season. The results of the excavations have shown that the site was continuously occupied from the latest phase of the Middle Bronze Age until the end of the Persian period [ca. from the sixteenth to the fourth centuries BC]." "The tell was re-occupied by a cemetery dated to the Ayyubid/Mamluk period [ca. 12th-16th century AD]," Kafafi underscored. The professor pointed out that based on archaeological material excavated at the site it is very obvious that Tell Deir 'Alla served as a town with a large temple with auxiliary building-storerooms, workshops and dwellings during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages and continued to be occupied till the end of the 4th century BC. The Late Bronze and Iron Ages temple, constructed in 13th-12th centuries BC were destroyed by the earthquake. There are also traces of fire that indicate that a blaze followed after the quake. Kafafi continued that after the destruction of Late Bronze Age buildings, it seems that the inhabitants lived in tents, for some time. This conclusion is supported by excavated post-holes in levels located over the Late Bronze Age ones. This means that the site might have been used only for certain times during the year, and the dwellers practiced animal husbandry and probably some farming. It seems to the excavators at the site that, while the inhabitants started to rebuild their houses, a fire broke out again, he added. "Almost immediately after that the site was occupied by bronze-smiths who used it for industrial purposes. Three furnaces built consecutively on top each other were excavated. But it is still unknown who these smiths were," Kafafi speculated. He added that from the end of the 12th to the end of the 11th century BC, the settlement showed a different character: Several buildings and alley-ways were constructed, but there is no clear evidence of any town wall at this stage. "However, there seems to have been a flimsy defence wall and gate between two round towers, probably to be dated to the 10th century BC," the professor said.
