Seminar: Salvaging the Rural Landscape of Roman Arabia

October 3, 2014, 5:35 am

≫ Next: Publications: Cairn of Hani- Significance, Present Condition and Context

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DLK gave a seminar in the Dept of Archaeology at the University of Manchester on 22 September. The seminar was based in large part on the aerial photographs in the APAAME archive which provide marvelous insights into the character of ancient rural sites.

The occasion was an especially enjoyable one as it was almost exactly 43 years since he had enrolled as an undergraduate there and first encountered the superb articles on aerial archaeology in the early volumes of the journal Antiquity.

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Publications: Cairn of Hani- Significance, Present Condition and Context

October 3, 2014, 6:04 am

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The latest edition (2012) of the Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Jordan has been published with a contribution by David Kennedy with Karen Henderson.

David L. Kennedy (with Karen Henderson) 2012 (2014) 'The Cairn of Hānī: significance, present condition and context', Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Jordan 56: 483-505.

Cairn of Hani. Photographer: Michael Neville. APAAME_20090928_MJN-540.

Abstract: The Ḥarrat ash-Shām, the Basalt Desert of north-eastern Jordan, is strewn with thousands of stone structures; cairns are the most common but few have ever been systematically investigated. The Cairn of Hānī, identified some 60 years ago, is a rare example of a 'Safaitic' cairn with an intact burial which was then systematically excavated and published. Very few other cairns have been excavated since then and the Cairn of Hānī remains by far the most important and informative. Sadly it is now being damaged and may soon be destroyed. The aims of this article are to review the significance of this important cairn, to report on its parlous present condition and to place it in the context of both the handful of other excavated cairns in the region and of the numerous other ancient stone-built structures visible from the air within its immediate orbit.

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Flight 20141012 - Flying again

October 12, 2014, 11:23 am

≫ Next: Flight 20141013 - Flying South

≪ Previous: Publications: Cairn of Hani- Significance, Present Condition and Context

October 12th and the first flight of the 2014 season. Bob, Becc and Mat had the usual early start to try to catch the best light, especially as we were hoping for some stunning views of Machaerus, south-west of Amman. However, despite the dawn being very clear and calm there was fog and very poor visibility in that region. The RJAF is brilliant at providing cups to tea and coffee and by 0830 we decided we should change our plans and head north.

We photographed some of the more well known sites – Pella in the north, and of course Jerash, both the main city but also looking for some of the smaller features (concerning water management) for Don Boyer (working on his PhD). By chance we also managed to photograph him in the field too.

It is also the olive harvest and we saw many sheets (of various colours) underneath olive trees to collect the harvest.

We photographed over 45 sites, many of which have not been recorded before and may seem to be safe for a few more years. Then as the helicopter orbits a large quarry comes into view and whole hillsides are disappearing for house-building stone. We hope our photographs will be important and useful documents to help understand and preserve many of these archaeological sites in the future.

- Bob Bewley

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Flight 20141013 - Flying South

October 13, 2014, 11:23 pm

≫ Next: Flight 20141015 - The Longest Day?

≪ Previous: Flight 20141012 - Flying again

Qasr Mshatta under cloud - © APAAME_20141013_REB-0028

The second day of the season started with good weather and permission to go south and be allowed access to Qasr Mshatta (an Islamic hunting lodge) now situated on the north edge of the runway at Queen Alia International airport. Unfortunately on arrival the site was cloud-covered but we were welcomed by a wonderful waft of bread being baked in the nearby factory. We moved on south to Machaerus – famous (or infamous) for being the location where John the Baptist lost his head, thanks to Salome’s nefarious activities. It was the subject of a siege by the Romans, trying to recapture it after the Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70), and now undergoing excavations by a Hungarian team. The siege works are still visible with approximately 10 Roman camps on the surrounding hills.

Machaerus - © APAAME_20141013_RHB-0063

Further south, near the southern edge of the Dead Sea we photographed looting, on a massive scale, of the cemeteries around Fifi, Safi and al-Mazraa (Kh. Qazone). Our spirits were lifted by some photography of Umm-er Resas (a superb Roman fort and later Islamic town and early seat of learning); then by a return to visit to Qasr Mshatta, this time bathed in sunshine and the smell of bread, even more appealing as lunch-time approached.

Extensive looting near Safi - the site of Maqbarat Al-Nage'a - © APAAME_20141013_REB-0307

Umm er-Resas - APAAME_20141013_REB-0224

On our third and final trip, and looking for the last site of the day we were having difficultly locating it, not least because of having to keep away from approaching air traffic into Marka (our base) but also because the whole area had been eaten away by massive stone quarries. We spotted a possible location and as we orbited we realised that we had stumbled across an abandoned Roman (?) quarry with stone columns and sections of unfinished stone, still visible in the limestone outcrop. Once again a hugely important site, within a few metres of large destructive modern quarries. Our pilot (who was having to work on his birthday) took us down to a few feet above the site so we could record it in detail.

Roman (?) Column Quarry east of Marka APAAME_20141013_MND-0768

- Robert Bewley

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Flight 20141015 - The Longest Day?

October 17, 2014, 12:12 am

≫ Next: Flight 20141019 - The Via Nova Traiana in Central Jordan

≪ Previous: Flight 20141013 - Flying South

Flight track log from 20141015 - the survey of the basalt near Uweinid we conducted is particularly prominent.

A day’s flying always starts with the rigmarole of having to get through the security gate at Marka airbase. This year we were waved through on the first day as I was being asked if I wanted ‘Eight Squadron” and I said yes; not really knowing the exact details of what had just happened (as my Arabic is non-existent). The second day I blew it but today, having learnt what the question would be, and having memorized the Arabic for 8 Squadron, we sailed through. It has taken 16 years for this refined level of communication to be achieved – just as it has taken all these years to train a generation of young Huey pilots to understand what on earth these crazy archaeologists are doing orbiting sites hour after hour. Our pilots are now even taking their own pictures as they are becoming interested in what we see. All our orbits are to the right (as we sit on the right) but today was a “first” in that the pilot did a orbit to the left, especially for the co-pilot (seated on the left) to see what we had been looking at.

Qasr el-Uweinid. © `APAAME_20141015_RHB-0050.

So, what did we see? With over 2,000 images taken by the three of us (Bob, Becc and Mat) in 7.5 hours (see flight trace of today’s excursions) the highlights are particularly difficult to select. Our aim was to survey parts of the black basalt desert in the eastern part of Jordan, starting at Azraq and heading as far east as Ruweishid. Predominantly our targets in this region are prehistoric sites, but Qasr Uweinid always stands out as such a wonderfully situated Roman fort, on a promontory.

A Pendant with a close shave. © APAAME_20141015_RHB-0123.

Mainly we are photographing “Pendant”, “Kite” and “Wheel” sites – all named according to their shape; their date and function are less well known. The most striking Pendant (almost certainly a burial site) was this one – so nearly completely obliterated by a competing road bulldozed through since we last photographed.

A kite with wheel enclosure built over it. © APAAME_20141015_RHB-0463.

There were many Kites but the light this time of year highlights them so well – and rare to have both a Wheel and a Kite so entwined.

YAMOUK written in basalt across a mud pan landing ground. © APAAME_20141015_RHB-0303.

However it was the twentieth century remains which really took our breath away. In preparing for the flight Becc had marked two former RAF installations, visible on Google Earth but we had no idea what would survive. They are remnants from the time when Jordan was under a British mandate (then known as Transjordan), and the creation of the Cairo to Baghdad Airmail Routes. The first to be photographed was a landing ground with name "YARMOUK" created in stone, inlaid in the sand, to one side of the “runway”. The runway consisted of a very long stone-defined landing strip on the hard surface of the mudflat. To our amazement there seems to be almost no recent disturbance, a faint trace of the odd 4x4 wheel track, so prevalent elsewhere, but no sign of a bulldozer, thankfully.

The 'KENSINGTON' landing ground. © APAAME_20141015_RHB-0441.

The second site was one of the circular markers for the Cairo to Baghdad Airmail Route (one of the routes is described in R. Hill’s book on the subject from 1929) – number 17, but curiously this site also has inscribed in the sand the name "KENSINGTON". Both the number and the name are clearly visible on Google Earth. Our flight confirmed there has been little recent disturbance and we could also see what we interpret to be the remains of what must have been a camp, rectilinear stone-built platforms for tents. It is very unlikely any of the pilots from this period (1920s-1940s) are still alive but it would be fascinating to find out if any diaries exist of life at “Kensington”.

Remains of a camp near "Kensington". © APAAME_20141015_RHB-0443.

So, why the longest day? We left the Institute in Amman at 0630, and started flying at about 0715 and didn’t get back to Marka, after a long transit flight from Ruweishid, until almost 5 pm. Normally we do 4 to 6 hours flying (2 or 3 sorties) but today it was 4 separate flights, 3 re-fuellings for the aircraft but very little “fuel” for the pilots or ourselves and a total of 7.5 hours flying.

- Robert Bewley

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Flight 20141019 - The Via Nova Traiana in Central Jordan

October 19, 2014, 10:46 pm

≫ Next: Flights 20141019-20 - The Aqaba Trip

≪ Previous: Flight 20141015 - The Longest Day?

The great Roman highway ran from Syria down the length of the Emperor Trajan’s new province of Arabia to Aila (Aqaba) on the Red Sea. Nineteenth century western travellers and explorers ‘east of Jordan’ regularly reported following it for mile after mile and noting many of the hundreds of milestones still to be seen. In the twentieth century it has suffered badly with great stretches disappearing beneath modern roads or ploughed away by farmers and developers; milestones have been smashed or bulldozed aside. Happily there are still places one can see stretches surviving, usually in the more emote parts of modern Jordan.

Bulldozing damage to Rujm el-Faridiyyeh. © APAAME_20141019_DLK-0180

Our flight yesterday (Sunday) included Rujm el-Faridiyyeh, a Roman road-station on the Via Nova just south of the Wadi el-Hasa. It was the subject of a striking RAF aerial photograph of 1937 and was drawn in the course of Burton MacDonald’s Wadi el-Hasa Survey (1988) 30 years ago (Kennedy and Riley, Rome’s Desert Frontier, 1990: 86-9). Sadly we found that even on this fairly isolated stretch of the plateau, a bulldozer has (again) been at work – for no apparent reason as there is no development at that point.

Milestation along the VNT. © APAAME_20141019_DLK-0203.

On the other hand, the road appeared almost intact and showing far more strikingly as a classic Roman road than even the old RAF photo had suggested. Our experience in Jordan over the course of several attempts since we began in 1997, is that Roman roads are often quite difficult to re-discover from the air unless well-preserved. Not so this time. From the air we could clearly trace the road running for at least 5 kilometres (about 3 Roman miles) and with intermittent stretches thereafter. As MacDonald could describe from his ground visit in the 1980s, you can still see the side kerbs and the central some of the substructure (which is what survives). Particularly interesting was the cluster of milestones at one Milestation, some still standing after some 1800 years.

VNT and Tower. © APAAME_20141019_DLK-0189.

There is a need to re-visit on the ground this superb stretch of road which is coming under increased threat from agriculture and some building nearby. Even more important is to trace it beyond the remains of the bridge across the stream of the Wadi el-Hasa and up the steep slope to the northern plateau. Hints of the line reported over a century ago are still visible from the air. More striking are the collapsed towers in its vicinity and – best of all, an apparently newly discovered fort. As it lies on a promontory overlong the Roman road it may be Nabataean and/ or Roman.

Aina Fort 1. © APAAME_20141019_DDB-0137.

- David Kennedy

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Flights 20141019-20 - The Aqaba Trip

October 21, 2014, 10:13 am

≫ Next: Research: Gilbert Insall - Pioneer over Jordan … and Sinai and Iraq

≪ Previous: Flight 20141019 - The Via Nova Traiana in Central Jordan

Sunday 19th
Much forethought and planning had gone into this two-day trip by David and Becc so it was doubly disappointing that Becc was stricken by a bug and couldn’t join us, and the weather had turned decidedly autumnal. However Don agreed to join us for a boy’s trip to the Red Sea. Low pressure, low clouds and poor visibility meant our first attempt to fly south was thwarted, and after 45 minutes we returned to Marka. We were told the weather would get worse, but indomitable as ever we pressed the case for getting to Al-Jafr (many miles south-east and it is always clear there). So after a delay we set off for a very successful (if long) day. David has already written up two of the highlights (see post for Flight 20141019) - the Via Nova Traina; and the ancient Aina fort overlooking the Wadi el-Hasa, with stunning views and a truly commanding position. We both wondered why we had never photographed this very well preserved and important site before?

The Gharandal Roman Fort. © APAAME_20141019_DLK-0418.

The cold was beginning to have its effect, and we were grateful for the re-fuelling stops at Jafr, but not much re-fuelling for the pilots and crew; luckily Becc had provided us some dates, chocolate biscuits, nuts and Werther’s Originals (the later being a staple on these flight over many years). The final leg of the day was very rewarding as we descended into the (warm) Wadi Araba to photograph the Roman fort at Gharandhal and then land at Aqaba. There was just time for the quickest of dips in the Red Sea before an early meal and early night.

Ayla - ancient Aqaba. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0033.

Monday 20th
Threatening clouds to the west, including some rain, greeted us at take-off (despite the cold) – even this far south – but our first targets were of ancient Aqaba, the original city being called Ayla, and now a heritage park, well watered and surprisingly green.

Transfixing landscapes east of Aqaba. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0094.

We were then transfixed by the landscapes we were flying over; a geological tour de force and a wonder to behold; impossible to capture the scale and enormity of this wind-sand-blown desert with teeth-like pillars of rock randomly placed.

Landscape west of Mudawwarra. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0119.

As we flew on the landscape changed to a darker basalt rock where the formations were like fingers spreading out into the desert. All testament to millennia of erosion and change.

The ghost line of the Hedjaz Railway. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0170.

From there we approached the Hedjaz railway, and some stunning ancient hill-top enclosures, forts of as yet unknown date, but very well preserved. At this point the railway there is only a ghost of the track and sleepers – the station and platforms deserted and almost covered over with sand. Then a huge loop in the system as climbs up a steep gradient, and new track, and a real railway; presumably in use by a mining company to shift huge quantities of minerals. On the summit another stunning defended hill-top enclosure but sadly looted; even the pilots commented that the looters “were looking for gold”.

Ottoman army encampment and fort(?) above Mahattat Hitiya © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0236.

Detail of fort and looting. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0249.

By now the strong westerly wind was affecting our schedule, and the longer time taken to return to Jafr for refuel meant fewer targets were photographed than we hoped; let’s hope for more flying time next year. Even at Jafr the cool wind meant we had to find a wind break, and a snack lunch in the helicopter, before a final foray to look for a group of sites in a landscape never visited before in the far east of the country. We knew that locating them (in the midday sun) would be difficult but only on arrival did we discover just how ephemeral these particular “kites” would be. We saw all but two of the sites, but only just.

Huey lunch with Don Boyer and David Kennedy. © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0325.

A final re-fuel and the long slog back to Marka and (my) farewells to the crew and squadron commanders “until the next time” – there is one more flight planned for this season for David and the team in Amman.

- Robert Bewley

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Research: Gilbert Insall - Pioneer over Jordan … and Sinai and Iraq

October 23, 2014, 5:08 am

≫ Next: Flights 20141012-13 - Blink and you will miss it

≪ Previous: Flights 20141019-20 - The Aqaba Trip

Our recent flights over the Jordanian Panhandle have been a reminder of the RAF pioneers who discovered, photographed and published Kites in the 1920s. One of the principle trio was Gilbert Insall.

Insall had published a photograph of a Kite in 1929 (which has now been ‘rediscovered’ – Blog 'The First Kites') taken while he was commanding a squadron in Iraq. Several years later he was back in the Middle East as Station Commander of RAF Abu Sueir in Egypt, a Flying Training School. Edward Mole, the Chief Engineer at Abu Sueir in 1937-8, subsequently published a delightful autobiography of his RAF career including flights made with Insall. By then Insall was 42 and his enthusiasm for archaeology as undiminished. Mole records that Insall frequently flew out over Sinai, located sites, landed and set-to with the shovel and pick he carried with him. In case the C.O. got into trouble, Mole sometimes flew with him in another aircraft and was roped into the digging.

From above, the pattern of an old settlement could clearly be seen on the desert sand, and on sighting one, Insall would land nearby and dig for objects.

Later still, Insall and Mole flew together to Baghdad to visit RAF friends.

We set off together in two Audax aircraft to make the long trip across the featureless Arabian desert. There were no radio navigation aids in those days, but all we had to do was to find and follow the oil pipe line which ran straight as a die for hundreds of miles. We took with us all necessary desert flying equipment – emergency rations, water bottles, first aid kits – and Ghoolie Chits.

Interesting that by 1937-8, the air route across the Jordanian Panhandle had evidently shifted from the track and furrow ploughed for the RAF-pioneered Airmail Route of 12 years before along the southern fringe of the lavafield, to the much more straightforward line of the new oil pipeline further north. This was evidently the route followed by Imperial Airways when it took over the Airmail task from the RAF and explains the series of circular route-markers with numbers from (at least) 24 to 16 (as you flew east) (For an example see Flight 20141015 blog).

In Iraq, Insall had Mole fly him over Samarra so he could photograph it from the air – as he had had done when he flew Crawford there in 1928. Hopefully his aerial photos survive – his son had an RAF flying career, too, and is now a noted writer on archaeological work in Oman.

Abu Sueir, Sir P Sassoon, G Cpt Insall VC Inspecting Junior Term 1936.

On a personal note, Insall senior was the Station Commander at Abu Sueir when my father learned to fly there in 1936 and officiated at his Passing Out Parade.

- David Kennedy

Insall, G. S. M. (1929) “The aeroplane in archaeology”, Journal of the RAF College, Cranwell 9.2: 174-175.
Mole, E. (1984) Happy Landings, Shrewsbury.
Kennedy, D. L. (2012) “Pioneers Above Jordan. Revealing a prehistoric landscape”, Antiquity 86: 474-491.

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Flights 20141012-13 - Blink and you will miss it

October 24, 2014, 2:07 am

≫ Next: Filming in Azraq

≪ Previous: Research: Gilbert Insall - Pioneer over Jordan … and Sinai and Iraq

One of the main aims of the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan Project is to photographically record archaeology in Jordan – a record through which it can be monitored.

This year has provided some highs and lows.

Reconstruction work has occurred at Qasr el-Mshatta near Queen Alia International Airport.

Qasr el-Mshatta in 1998. © APAAME_19980513_RHB-0054.

Qasr el-Mshatta in 2014. © APAAME_20141013_RHB-0012.

A possible Roman column quarry has somehow survived (so far) amongst a massive modern limestone quarry – and a ground visit found another quarry site on an adjacent hill. But how long will they survive the expanding modern quarry?

Quarry. © APAAME_20141013_RHB-0467.

Two of the original columns of Machaerus have been restored and inaccurate representations removed.

Machaerus in 2006. © APAAME_20060910_DLK-0005.

Machaerys in 2014. © APAAME_20141013_MND-0086.

The building of a pilgrim hotel has destroyed one of the Roman siege camps (Roman Camp P) surrounding the site of Machaerus. The location no doubt was chosen for its excellent view over the ancient site. It is likely that very reason had once made it the ideal location from which the commander of the Roman siege forces possibly directed his assault.


Machaerus in 1998. The faint trace of Roman Camp P can be seen on the peak in middle ground right. © APAAME_19980517_RHB-0071.

Pilgrim Hotel in foreground of Machaerus in 2014. © APAAME_20141013_RHB-0032.

Necropoli have been the target of looters since Antiquity, but modern looting is also evident – individual shafts at Khirbet Ain, honeycombing of hillsides at Pella and the systematic looting of Dead Sea sites Fifi, Al-Nage’a and Bab edh-Dhra.

Looting shafts at Khirbet Ain. © APAAME_20141012_REB-0235.

Looting shafts in the hillsides around Pella. © APAAME_20141012_MND-0384.

Systematic looting of Fifi. © APAAME_20141013_REB-0277.

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Filming in Azraq

October 25, 2014, 4:20 am

≫ Next: Flight 20141028: Endangered Archaeology – Yajuz

≪ Previous: Flights 20141012-13 - Blink and you will miss it

Friday 24^th October. Up before sunrise, left Amman with a film crew and headed east to Azraq.

David Kennedy on the Umayyad reservoir wall - Azraq Wetland Reserve.

The day began with some shooting at Azraq Wetland Reserve. While there we took the opportunity to photograph the Umayyad reservoir wall. Sadly the oasis has greatly diminished in size in the last twenty years. Despite the Water authority pumping 1.5 to 2.5 million cubic metres of water into the wetlands each year, it is not enough to replenish the excessive pumping of water out of the oasis and, sadly, it is still shrinking in size.

Filming at Azraq Wheel 82

From there we headed out into the basalt desert to visit a Wheel and a Kite. We drove as far as the 4WD could take us across the mudflats, from there a somewhat arduous trek across the volcanic rocks to the site of interest. Even in this rather remote location we saw signs of recent looting – a bucket and pick axe inside the Wheel!

Looter's tools - Azraq Wheel 82

As one can see from the ground photo above, these stone structures don’t look very impressive, if they are noticed at all, when on foot. However, when seen from above, through aerial photography or satellite imagery, a very different picture emerges.

Azraq Wheel Group B. © APAAME_19970527_DLK-0157

Azraq Kite 81, Wheels 191, 192, 193. ©APAAME_20120522_DLK-0589

Returning to the Azraq Lodge (converted former British military hospital) in the evening for some final recording before heading back to Amman for a well earned dinner.

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Flight 20141028: Endangered Archaeology – Yajuz

October 29, 2014, 4:49 am

≫ Next: Fortnight of Firsts - Flight 20141028

≪ Previous: Filming in Azraq

Yajuz in 1998. © APAAME_19980517_DLK-0031.

Yajuz is a small town of the Roman period lying about 10 km (sld) from the centre of Roman Philadelphia (Amman). Excavation has revealed three churches with mosaic pavements, several major residential buildings, an area with major wine presses and a large tomb nearby. The full extent is unclear but is probably 15-20 hectares. A major settlement in the hinterland of Philadelphia, probably one of several but unusual in that it has not been overlain by the expansion of Amman.

The Roman highway from Philadelphia to Gerasa (Jarash) passes by its eastern fringe (Blue). The road has been well-known for over a century and numerous milestones have been recorded. The first stage of about 10 Roman miles is now hard to trace amongst the rapid recent sprawl of Amman and many of the milestones have been broken up, buried or pushed away by development. Yajuz itself seemed safe, protected by its status as a site excavated extensively over many years and marked by boards set up by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Google Earth screen capture of Yajuz site with areas of interest indicated.

In the last decade that status has come under threat as massive new housing projects have sprung up all around, major highways have sliced past making it an attractive commuter suburb and the price of land has continued to soar. APAAME’s flying programme – Aerial Archaeology in Jordan, has regularly monitored the site, a task made easier by its proximity to a regular route for us returning to the airfield at Marka. In 2010 we singled the site out as a place that deserved special protection and development as a tourist destination (Kennedy and Bewley 2010: 199-201).

New Apartment blocks at 'A'. © APAAME_20141029_DLK-0503.

Houses at SE corner of Yajuz at 'B'. © APAAME_20130414_RHB-0468.

It is clear the site is being slowly but steadily eaten away by development. The blue-roofed building which had already intruded into the site over a decade ago has now – since April 2013, been joined by a two large blocks of apartments (A). At the southeast corner two houses were cut into the site several years ago (B). Now another house is being constructed cutting into the north edge (C).

House in North of site at 'C'. © APAAME_20141029_DLK-0512.

Unless steps are taken immediately, Yajuz will join the catalogue of other small towns around Philadelphia, still notable ruins in the 19th and early 20th century which are now largely lost.

- David Kennedy

Kennedy & Bewley (2010) 'Archives and Aerial Imagery in Jordan', in Cowley, Standring and Abicht (Eds) Landscapes through the Lens, Oxford: 193-206.

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Fortnight of Firsts - Flight 20141028

October 30, 2014, 11:39 pm

≫ Next: Research - Jordan 'Big Circles' Publicity

≪ Previous: Flight 20141028: Endangered Archaeology – Yajuz

I was very fortunate to be invited to join the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan 2014 flying programme this year. It has been a fortnight of ‘firsts’ for me. My first visit to Jordan, first visit to a Roman site, and a my first time in a helicopter – something I am particularly proud of as one who is terrified of flying, even on commercial aeroplanes. Taking photos from the open-door side of a Huey was not something I imagined I would be able to do.

As the helicopter rose up out of Marka Air Force Base, and the view of Amman began to unfold before our eyes, my fear turned to fascination and excitement. The bird’s eye view, whether of a modern city or an archaeological site, gives a unique perspective on the connexion between the various different elements that together make up those larger networks we usually only ever see from ground level.

View of Amman © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0004

Trying to espy a site from above and then photograph it was a very rewarding experience. Undertaking the flight only increased the respect I have for the dedication David Kennedy and Robert Bewley have for recording as much of Jordan’s immense and varied archaeological treasures as they have thus far been able. No doubt this respect and gratitude is a sentiment that future generations, especially Jordanians, will share.

Of the sites we photographed two were particularly memorable for me – the recently spotted, possibly Roman, quarry with columns, under threat of being consumed by the adjacent modern quarry and Qasr el-Maduna, an imposing desert castle.

Sahab Quarry © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0010

Qasr el-Maduna © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0069

While much work goes on behind the scenes, including cataloguing photos and making them available through our Flickr page I have had time for a visit to Gerasa (Jerash), Azraq Oasis, and, this morning, a ground visit to an endangered Romantown, Yajuz, just outside of Amman – this is one example, yet certainly much of Jordan’s heritage is under threat.

I have thoroughly enjoyed joining the team in Jordan, my time in Amman has been made pleasurable and stress-free thanks to the support of APAAME, the BIA (British Institute in Amman) and the Jordanians I have had the pleasure to meet with, all of whom are wonderful ambassadors for their country – much good could come of tourism to Jordan’s remarkable historical sites. As Jordan faces various challenges, hopefully the opportunities to preserve (and market) its heritage are not lost.

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Research - Jordan 'Big Circles' Publicity

October 31, 2014, 2:52 am

≫ Next: Research: Pioneers - On a further personal note …

≪ Previous: Fortnight of Firsts - Flight 20141028

We are receiving a lot of hits and publicity from the Owen Jarus 'Ancient Stone Circles in Mideast Baffle Archaeologists' article published on LiveScience yesterday (30 Oct. 2014).

DailyMail Online have also followed up with their article 'Mystery of Jordan's Big Circles: Ancient Stone Rings in the Desert have left archaeologists baffled' (Victoria Woollaston, 30 Oct. 2014).

If you are interested in accessing the original article by Prof. David Kennedy in Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 6 please see our blog for publication details: Publications: Remote Sensing and ‘Big Circles’ A New Type of Prehistoric Site in Jordan and Syria

The Syrian 'Big Circle' was discovered and investigated by Graham Phillip and Jennie Bradbury and published in the journal Levant, you can access their article through Maney Online: 'Pre-Classical Activity in the Basalt Landscape of the Homs Region, Syria: Implications for the Development of 'Sub-Optimal' Zones in the Levant During the Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age'.

If you are interested in seeing more photographs taken in the course of our investigation of the structures on the ground and from the air, please visit our Flickr page and search for 'Big Circle'.

Jordan Big Circle 6. © APAAME_20090930_DLK-0263.

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Research: Pioneers - On a further personal note …

November 9, 2014, 11:20 pm

≫ Next: Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

≪ Previous: Research - Jordan 'Big Circles' Publicity

In a recent post on Insall, one of the three RAF pioneers in aerial reconnaissance over the Airmail Route and one of the first to publish an aerial photo of a Kite, I noted that a decade later he was the Station Commander of RAF Abu Sueir in Egypt where my father completed his flying training in 1936. I had long regretted that my father’s training at a Middle East base which was explicitly intended to produce pilots for service in the East, saw him posted to India for several years. Three of the other new pilots were posted to Iraq and one to No. 14(B) Squadron at Amman (killed shortly after in an accident).

In is now clear that although my father was never stationed in Iraq and Transjordan, he twice flew along the Airmail Route in those two Mandates. Putting together a few brief entries in his logbook, a handful of small photos and a postcard he sent to his brother-in-law back on the Northwest Frontier of British India, the episode is definable.

The 'Flying Boat''AWARUA'

About 17 July 1939 he was sent to Heliopolis in Egypt to collect and ferry back to India, one of the new Blenheim light bombers with which the RAF was being re-equipped. He recorded the flight on an Imperial Airways flying boat from Karachi via the Gulf and Habbaniya in Iraq to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and finally Alexandria – a two day journey. A few photos of the flying boat and a postcard from Tiberias:

Postcard from Tiberius.

I am having a marvellous time on board this flying boat ‘AWARUA’. We have just had Tiffin at Tiberias on Sea of Galilee.

By chance, that same flying boat was transferred the very next month to service in Australasia with Tasman Empire Airways Ltd (TEAL) on its NZ to Sydney route. As it happens there is a contemporary account now online of that delivery flight including:

Rapid refuel and then off towards Palestine where we land on the Sea of Galilee at Tiberius (sic), and here the skipper fills a special bottle with Galilee water to take to New Zealand for the christening of his new baby.

From Tiberius (sic) until we pass down into the Persian Gulf this next stretch is invariably hot and bumpy and the pipe line desert below never looks inviting especially when in a flying boat, …

http://friendsofthesolentflyingboat.wordpress.com/zk-ama-delivery-flight/

My father’s logbook records his own flight back to India in August 1939, piloting his Blenheim:

5 August: Heliopolis – Habbaniya
5 August: Habbaniya – Shaibah
6 August: Shaibah – Sharjah
6 August: Sharjah – Karachi

That first stretch of 4 hours on 5th August would have largely retraced the Imperial Airways route across the Jordanian panhandle following the track alongside the oil pipeline which seems to have replaced the initial RAF track around the southern edge of the Harret ash-Shaam lavafield. Sadly he took no photos – almost 60 years before my own first flights in the same area.

- DLK

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Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

November 21, 2014, 12:49 am

≫ Next: Conference: Green Arabia, Oxford April 2-4, 2014

≪ Previous: Research: Pioneers - On a further personal note …

The 2014 AAJ flying season is well and truly behind us, the photograph cataloguing completed, and we can now start to really look and analyse what we have captured.

We have been asked “When will the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan project be finished?”. Despite flying annually in Jordan since 1997, AAJ is far from finished and each year we surprise ourselves with all of the sites we haven’t yet photographed as we learn of them, and how much sites and the landscape can change from year to year, revealing new sites and destroying others.

Our flights are usually predetermined by a list of sites that we have identified (partially thanks to the input of many colleagues working in Jordan) as needing new photography or which have not been photographed before. Flying between these sites we often catch glimpses of other sites, and occasionally these turn out to be something new too! We do an initial check of these ‘new’ sites against historical maps (such as the K737 series 1:50,000 maps) and the MEGA-Jordan database to try and identify the sites. Occasionally, a new site for us appears to be a new discovery, which is always exciting and is just the start of a process of investigation and research.

Here is a taste of what is new in our database from this year’s flying:

Two sites near Zarqa we couldn’t believe we hadn’t photographed before were Jneneh and Kh. al-Batrawy.

Khirbet al-Batrawy - © APAAME_20141012_RHB-0034. Photographer: Robert Bewley.

Udhma, north of Amman, has half been destroyed by modern development.

Udhma - © APAAME_20141012_MND-0096. Photographer: Matthew Dalton.

Tells of the Jordan Valley – Tell el Qos, Ammata, Hammeh, and Tall Abu ez Zeighan, also, new excavations at Tell el-Hammam.

Tell el-Hammam - © APAAME_20141028_DLK-0365. Photographer: David Kennedy.

Nearby up the wadi from the Kafrein Dam is the site of Suwwan.

Suwwan - ©APAAME_20141028_DLK-0386. Photographer: David Kennedy.

Sometimes sites can be overlooked because of their vicinity to a ‘big name’ site, but we do not want to be guilty of this mistake. Sites in the vicinity of Machaerus– Ataruz, Aruda, Khirbat ed Deir and El-Quraiyat, and Umm er-Resas– Umm er-Resas Ruin 1 and 2, were additions this year.

Ataruz - © APAAME_20141013_REB-0051. Photographer: Rebecca Banks.

A rare foray to the Southern Dead Sea Basin captured many sites previously not photographed by us. A highlight included the Wadi Hamarash excavations suggested to us by Prof. Adamantios Sampson, not least because of what an interesting squeeze it was for the Helicopter in the Wadi valley.

Wadi Hamarash Neolithic Site (Site 1) - © APAAME_20141013_REB-0286. Photographer: Rebecca Banks.

Mtakalash ar-Rababa, an interesting site which was snapped just in passing.

Mtakalash ar-Rababa - © APAAME_20141013_MND-0507. Photographer: Matthew Dalton.

We also photographed the shelter for Deir Ain Abata being erected over the site.

Deir Ain Abata - © APAAME_20141013_REB-0333. Photographer: Rebecca Banks.

Flying to and from Marka Airport in Amman over the fertile hinterland is always a busy time with sites numerous and close together- sites are often just photographed ‘in passing’. This year the keen eyes of Mat spied what appears to be a possible Tomb (Amman Tomb 5), and a large concentration of rubble underneath an olive plantation that is likely a settlement or village of some description (Amman Village? 1). Neither site is recorded in MEGA-Jordan or on the K737 maps, but the village is clearly visible on Hunting Aerial Survey photographs of 1953 taken before the olive grove existed. A revisit on the 6th and last flight has confirmed both sites are indeed of interest.

Building rubble and cistern evident at site 'Amman Village? 1'. © APAAME_20141028_DLK-0282. Photographer: David Kennedy.

Our flight to Aqaba was a very productive two days as we rarely get to fly so far south. Despite delays and difficulties caused by the weather many sites were photographed for the first time, some highlights included:

Kh. Titn sites recommended to us by Kristoffer Damgaard.

Kh. Titn 2 (Large Cluster) - © APAAME_20141020_RHB-0069. Photographer: Robert Bewley.

The keen eyes of Don Boyer through poor visibility alerted us to the existence of Mlehleb.

Mlehleb - © APAAME_20141019_DDB-0006. Photographer: Don Boyer.

The amazing, unidentified, fort ‘Aina Fort 1’, and a smaller fort ‘Tafila Fortlet 1’.

The ancient site underneath the modern town of Buseira (Busayra) suggested to us by a University of California, Berkeley, team.

Railway enthusiasts should enjoy this year's flying along the southern portion of the Hedjaz Railway in Jordan.

Particularly striking were the Ottoman defensive structures positioned at strategic points along its length.

A treat for Romanist David Kennedy was the Roman Fort at Gharandal, and the long stretch of the Via Nova Traiana investigated (see blog - The Via Nova Traiana in Central Jordan), but also the unexpected traces of Roman Roads photographed in passing.

Research into the site of Muwaqqar by David Kennedy led us to investigate possible sites ‘Sahab Ruin 9 and 10’ located nearby which were identified from satellite imagery. Neither site is recorded in MEGA-Jordan or on older maps to our knowledge, but the photographs show they are possibly substantive sites.

These photographs are a record of these sites, but also a starting point or addition to the research into the many periods of history, heritage and archaeology in Jordan. Please feel free to leave comments on the Flickr image pages regarding site identification and information.

Our thanks go out to everyone that helped toward making this season a success: The Packard Humanities Institute, British Institute Amman, Palestine Exploration Fund, Royal Jordanian Air Force, colleagues, friends and the fantastic APAAME/AAJ team.

You can find all of the 2014 Flying Season photographs on our Flickr '2014 Flights' collection page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apaame/collections/72157646490200724/

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Conference: Green Arabia, Oxford April 2-4, 2014

May 1, 2014, 6:44 pm

≫ Next: Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

≪ Previous: Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

Green Arabia: Human Prehistory at the Crossroads of Continents

http://www.palaeodeserts.com/?page_id=2874

In April 2014, the University of Oxford and Paleodeserts Project hosted an international conference called ‘Green Arabia’. It was sponsored by the Saudi government, launched by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, a former air force pilot and Space Shuttle astronaut) and Prof. Ali Ghabban (Director General of the Department of Antiquities). The entire proceedings were under the auspices of a significant recent development, ‘The King Abdullah Heritage Initiative’.

What has this all got to do with Roman or Aerial Archaeology, or Remote Sensing for that matter? Saudi Arabia is huge – over 2 million km², but its archaeology is barely known to the wider world and the vast majority of its sites are uncatalogued. A large part of the country – the Hedjaz in the northwest, was once part of the Nabataean kingdom and of the Roman province of Arabia (largely modern Jordan). There are superb Nabataean sites in the Hejaz (especially Mada’in Saleh) and there have been important excavations there in recent years. Several Latin inscriptions from the kingdom attest to the Roman presences, especially that from the island of Farasan at the far south of the Red Sea.

The present initiative to open up archaeological research in Saudi Arabia is a welcome development.

You can see the opening remarks by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH Prince Saltan Bin Salman on the Paleodeserts' website: http://www.palaeodeserts.com/?page_id=2874, where you will also find the conference details and abstracts.

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Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

November 21, 2014, 12:49 am

≫ Next: Research: Robert Alexander MacLean

≪ Previous: Conference: Green Arabia, Oxford April 2-4, 2014

The 2014 AAJ flying season is well and truly behind us, the photograph cataloguing completed, and we can now start to really look and analyse what we have captured.

We have often been asked “When will the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan project be finished?”. Despite flying annually in Jordan since 1997, AAJ is far from finished; it is a long-term programme and unique in the region. It has been a series of voyages of discovery as we find new sites every year and we record changes in the landscape, as well as working with other archaeologists in the region, who request aerial reconnaissance over their site or area.

In 2014 we covered a huge area of Jordan, north-south, east-west (limited only by the range of the helicopter or the borders of neighbouring countries).

Our flights are usually predetermined by a list of sites that we have identified (partially thanks to the input of many colleagues working in Jordan) as needing new photography or that have not been photographed before. Flying between these sites we often catch glimpses of other sites, and occasionally these turn out to be something new too! We do an initial check of these ‘new’ sites against historical maps (such as the K737 series 1:50,000 maps) and the MEGA-Jordan database to try and identify the sites. Occasionally, a new site for us appears to be a new discovery- such as the possible Roman Column Quarry from Flight 20141013, which is always exciting and is just the start of a process of investigation and research.

Here is a taste of what is new in our database from this year’s flying:

Two sites near Zarqa we couldn’t believe we hadn’t photographed before were Jneneh and Kh. al-Batrawy.

Udhma, north of Amman, has half been destroyed by modern development.

Tells of the Jordan Valley – Tell el Qos, Ammata, Hammeh, and Tall Abu ez Zeighan, also, new excavations at Tell el-Hammam.

Nearby up the wadi from the Kafrein Dam is the site of Suwwan.

Mtakalash ar-Rababa, an interesting site which was snapped just in passing.

We also photographed the shelter for Deir Ain Abata being erected over the site.

The keen eyes of Don Boyer through poor visibility alerted us to the existence of Mlehleb.

The amazing fort ‘Aina Fort 1’, (edit: thank you to Haim Ben David for information regarding this site - it is identified as el-Medeiyneh by Glueck (1935, 104-1-6, 181)) and a smaller fort ‘Tafila Fortlet 1’.

The ancient site underneath the modern town of Buseira (Busayra) suggested to us by a University of California, Berkeley, team.

Railway enthusiasts should enjoy this year's flying along the southern portion of the Hedjaz Railway in Jordan.

Particularly striking were the Ottoman defensive structures positioned at strategic points along its length.

These photographs are a record of these sites, but also a starting point or addition to the research into the many periods of history, heritage and archaeology in Jordan. Please feel free to leave comments on the Flickr image pages regarding site identification and information.

We owe a debt of gratitude to so many but without our funders, especially The Packard Humanities Institute and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust, we would not be able to continue. We are very grateful to our hosts the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) in Amman, and especially Nadja. The Royal Jordanian Air Force and their superb pilots ‘make it happen’ and could not be more helpful, hospitable and safe. David, Bob, Becc, Mat, Travis and Don all made this an exceptional year and we hope for many more.

You can find all of the 2014 Flying Season photographs on our Flickr '2014 Flights' collection page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apaame/collections/72157646490200724/

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Research: Robert Alexander MacLean

December 15, 2014, 1:13 am

≫ Next: Goodbye 2014

≪ Previous: Flying 2014 - New sites photographed

Amongst the pioneers of Aerial Archaeology – albeit on a peripheral level, is this enigmatic character.

The American Journal of Archaeology for January-March 1923 published the abstracts of lectures given the previous December at the annual conference of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). One abstract is entitled “The Aeroplane and archaeology”, the author a professor at University of Rochester in New York State. Sadly, never published and tantalizing because of what MacLean had to say:

“Among the many services which the aeroplane is rendering at the present time not the least is the aid which it is giving in archaeological discovery. In countries such as Mesopotamia where there are few maps to guide the archaeologist, and in portions of Arabia which are difficult of access by ordinary means of travel, the aeroplane has already proved to be a valuable subsidiary help in making preliminary surveys, and in locating historical ruins and the possible sites of ancient cities. Two illustrations will suffice. This last summer I went by aeroplane from Amman in Transjordania to visit some Roman ruins at ‘Kasr Azraq’ in the Syrian desert. … Another noteworthy feature was the presence on the oasis of about twenty pools of clear cold water surrounded by a Roman wall. It was interesting to observe that while this wall, only portions of which remain, could hardly be distinguished by an observer on the ground, its alignment and complete circuit of the pools could be seen clearly from the air.

My second illustration is from Mesopotamia. Among the many lost cities of ancient times may be mentioned two which Xenophon speaks of in the Anabasis …. Until quite recently the difficulty in determining the site of these two cities was due to the fact that the course of the Tigris in ancient times was not known to us. But by recent observations and photographs taken from the air it is now pretty well established that that portion of the Tigris which lies to the east of Xenophon's Median Wall had its bed about fifteen miles to the west of the present bed of the river. The depression seen from the air and the line of mounds along the depression were the clues which led to what is thought to be the discovery of the sites of both Opis and Sittace.”

'General Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, December 27-29, 1922',American Journal of Archaeology 27.1 (Jan. - Mar., 1923): 68-69 of 57-71.

Quite apart from what MacLean is ‘discovering’ from the air and what other aerial photographs he may have had, is the puzzle about how he came to be in a position to fly over these places at all, especially in the case of Azraq which was the specific object of the flight.

Qasr el-Azraq today. APAAME_20080909_IAR-0205.

MacLean is an intriguing character and deserving of a fuller treatment which can to some extent be done thanks to a large number of small snippets of information available elsewhere. Here it is just possible to sketch a few details relevant to Aerial Archaeology at what is a very early date for such work in the Middle East – Poidebard only arrived in Syria to begin his flying programme in 1925.

MacLean, the son of Scottish immigrants to Canada, is said to have been:

“… teaching at the University of Manitoba when World War One broke out. He enlisted immediately, in August, 1914, in the Winnipeg Grenadiers and landed in England with the first Canadian contingent in October of that year. He was commissioned as an officer in the British Imperial Army in January, 1915, and served in France for eight months. In 1916 he was sent to the Middle East where he served in various capacities and in various countries - Mesopotamia, Persia, Arabia, and India. For the last year of the war he was engaged in political work, coming into contact with such personalities as Gertrude Bell, H. St. John Philby, Sir Percy Cox, and Col. T. E. Lawrence.”

He is described as having “served as staff captain under General Maude, being engaged particularly in intelligence and political work” and elsewhere he said he “arrived in Bagdad with the British army on 11 March 1917”. MacLean was soon moved westwards and is described as having been a “member of General Allenby’s staff when the British army marched on Jerusalem”.

In the magazine of his university he recounts the flight of 1922 which evidently included the flight to Azraq. Although he does not say so, he was evidently flying across Jordan and Iraq in one of the RAF aircraft of the newly developed Airmail Route from Egypt to Basra, initiated in June-July 1921. The few passengers carried were normally only service or important government personnel, implying MacLean had some influence.

MacLean explains he was in Baghdad as part of the celebration marking the laying of the foundation stone of the University of Baghdad and that he also met King Feisal. Returning west, his aeroplane had engine trouble and they had to land and spend a night in the desert.

There is much more one may add but two salient points to note are that MacLean is untraceable in the records of those who have spent many years researching military intelligence in the Middle East during the First World War. On the other hand, if he was – like that other oddity in the region, Richard Meinerzhagen, a fantasist, he nevertheless seems to have known enough people of influence to be given a flight to Azraq, taken on two trips on the new Airmail Route, perhaps also flown by the RAF in Iraq and supplied with some aerial photos for his lecture.

Sadly, one avenue of research is closed. MacLean’s sole child, a son, is long dead and had been estranged from his father for many years; the son’s children, brought up in France and French citizens, came to me for information about their grandfather.

But there must be some record of his First World War service and perhaps how that led to his flights in 1922. Perhaps he really did know Bell, Philby, Cox and Lawrence. In 1922 the senior British Political Officer in what they still called Transjordania was … Harry Philby. Shortly after MacLean flew across Jordan, Meinerzhagen crossed it on the ground. At the far end of the route, MacLean would have found the British residents of Baghdad included both Gertrude Bell (Oriental Secretary) and Sir Percy Cox (High Commissioner for Iraq).

Many of the personal details of MacLean’s long life and career have been traced as have his publications (including two books published privately). The gap is his military service.

– David Kennedy

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Goodbye 2014

January 12, 2015, 11:38 pm

≫ Next: Flight 20141019 - A new Edomite Stronghold

≪ Previous: Research: Robert Alexander MacLean

What a year it has been!

6 flights of aerial reconnaissance as part of the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan Project 2014
9,522 aerial photographs taken as part of the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan Project 2014
3,216 slides/film digitised
17,344 images cataloged and uploaded to our Flickr archive

Conferences attended:

Presentations:

The Parlitalia Lecture - "The Roman Army in Arabia" by David Kennedy to The Italian Association of British Columbia, in Vancouver
Lansdowne Lectures at the University of Victoria, BC (three lectures and a seminar) presented by David Kennedy.
Paper by Kennedy, Banks and Dalton - 'Kites in Saudi Arabia' in a Workshop on Kites at ICAANE IX, in Basel
David Kennedy seminar at the Department of Archaeology, University of Manchester
Robert Bewley (supported by PEF) workshop - Introduction to Aerial Archaeology March 1st-4th, 2014 at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Petra.
Robert Bewley lecture Aerial Archaeology in Britain, Europe and the Middle East to MA in Landscape Archaeology students, University of Oxford, November 2014.

Publications:

David Kennedy (2013) Remote Sensing and ‘Big Circles’: A New Type of Prehistoric Site in Jordan and Syria, Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 6: 44-63.
David Kennedy, (2014) 'Nomad Villages' in north-eastern Jordan: from Roman Arabia to Umayyad Urdunn, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25: 96-109.
David Kennedy with Rebecca Banks and Paul Houghton (2014) Kites in 'Arabia', Emergent Form for Apple iBooks.
David L. Kennedy (with Karen Henderson) 2012 (2014) 'The Cairn of Hānī: significance, present condition and context', Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Jordan 56: 483-505.

Submissions:

David Kennedy and Rebecca Banks, 'The Khatt Shebib in Jordan: from air and space', Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie
David L. Kennedy and Brett D. Hirsch, 'Prime Suspect: William Cowper Prime in the Holy Land and the identity of 'An American' in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1858', Palestine Exploration Quarterly
David Kennedy, Rebecca Banks and Matthew Dalton, 'Kites in Saudi Arabia'

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Flight 20141019 - A new Edomite Stronghold

January 29, 2015, 3:31 am

≫ Next: New publication on Maitland's Mesa and Wisad Pools, Jordan.

≪ Previous: Goodbye 2014

On Flight 20141019 from Amman to Aqaba six photographs were taken of the dramatic landscape looking west from Qasr Rajif over Wadi Suweid cutting through the sandstone peaks. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the photographs capture the site of an Edomite Fortress.

Wadi Suweid; el-Manktaa (Edomite Fortress)

'el-Manktaa' (Edomite Fortress) - APAAME_20141019_RHB-0287.

Prof. Chaim Ben David alerted us to the existence of the site, known as 'el-Manktaa' to the Bedouins, after he viewed the photographs on our Flickr. His ready knowledge and identification of the site probably due to the fact he had coincidentally visited it just a few months earlier.

The bridge to the site as seen from the wadi valley below. Photograph by Boaz Langford, courtesy of Chaim Ben David.

Following information from fellow hikers Eli Raz and Lior Enmar, who were aware of the phenomenon of Edomite mountain strongholds, in July 2014 Chaim visited two new, apparently as yet undocumented mountain strongholds in the sandstone area below the village of Rajef. The sites are about three kilometers south of Qseir, the southernmost known stronghold until this latest discovery.

Crossing the bridge to the site. Photograph by Boaz Langford, courtesy of Chaim Ben David.

The isolation of the site in the landscape is easily discernible on Google Maps(click here to go to the location). The small Bedouin constructed bridge used by Chaim and his companions to cross into the site can just be seen on the satellite imagery across the fissure that marks the western boundary of the stronghold. Structures are not readily visible on the satellite imagery, or on the low level obliques taken by AAJ, but photographs taken by Boaz Langford from the visit with Chaim show collapsed stone built structures.

Evidence of stone structures at the site. Photograph by Boaz Langford, courtesy of Chaim Ben David.

Chaim’s information means that we can add the coordinates of these sites to future AAJ flight routes, so that the site may be captured in full instead of in a lucky low level oblique landscape shot. Moreover, our better understanding of this type of site means in future we will be better able to discern these sites from the air. Chaim has offered his knowledge to the identification of many sites taken during the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan project's seasons of flying, and taken us on a couple of his amazing hikes across the landscape to investigate features further. Many thanks!

Following is an excerpt from Chaim Ben-David’s forthcoming publication in ARAM Periodical:

“You who live in the clefts of the rocks” (Jer.49:16):

Edomite Mountain Strongholds in Southern Jordan

The discovery of these mountain strongholds indicates that the famous fortified Edomite site of Umm el-Biyara (Bienkowski 2011) – above Petra, and, as noted above, identified with biblical Sela‘ – is not unique, but rather is a regional phenomenon. Characteristic of these sites is their remote location on isolated sandstone peaks to the west of and below the limestone massif of Edom. Water-collection installations, as well as storage facilities for agricultural produce were found at these sites and small, arable pockets of soil are often located nearby. Another characteristic of most of these sites is the glaring absence of the fine Nabatean wares so common to the region; the pottery found at these sites was dated by scholars to the Iron Age II (Zeitler 1992: 167–76; Lindner et al. 1996: 153–61; Bienert et al. 2000: 127–33).

According to Lindner, these sites were first settled in the seventh century BC by the Edomites, but their history and function have not yet been satisfactorily determined. Did the occupants of the strongholds flee from an external enemy? If so, who was that enemy: the kingdom of Judah, Arab tribes, or the Assyrian or Babylonian empires? And perhaps the strongholds reflect internal strife between the inhabitants of the plateau and the central government on the one hand, and the tribes who lived in the cliffs, on the other? Did they belong to bands of caravan robbers passing through Edom, or, conversely, were they part of a fortification system protecting these roads from Wadi Arabah to the mountains of Edom?

At least at one Edomite mountain stronghold does seem to have an answer to some of these questions. It is located 5 km from the biblical Edomite capital of Bozra (today the large village of Busayra) and is known as es-Sela‘, just 1.5 km from the village with the selfsame name – Sela‘. The site, one of the candidates for identification as biblical Sela‘ and the “Nabatean Rock of Edom” (Hart 1986; Meshel 2000), was first established as an Edomite mountain stronghold in the seventh century BC. The significance of this site grew with the discovery there of an impressive imperial relief and inscription of Babylonian king Nebonaid )Dalley and Goguel 1997; Crowell 2007).

It is reasonable to assume that this stronghold served as a refuge for the king and other Edomite leaders of the Edomite capital of Bozra. One can assume that the Edomite leadership fled there and that it was eventually captured by Nebonaid, who marked his victory over Edom with an inscription on the cliff.

It should be noted that neither Sela‘ nor any other Edomite mountain stronghold is situated near a major route from the Iron Age. Therefore we can reject the notion that these sites were either held by caravan robbers or were part of a fortification system protecting the roads from Wadi Arabah to the mountains of Edom. In my view, like Sela‘ near Busayra, most of the other strongholds were also refuge sites for the inhabitants of the permanent settlements of Edom, as suggested in the past by Lindner and Knauf (1977). Almost all of these permanent settlements are found in the highlands of Edom on the limestone ridge at altitudes of 1200–1600 m above sea level and usually near springs. The arable portion of these highlands is a narrow north–south strip bordered by the Syrian Desert on the east and the deep depression of Wadi Arabah on the west. The steep sandstone cliffs where the inhabitants of the limestone ridge sought refuge are just below that ridge.

These nine sites shed new light on the biblical descriptions of the rocks (Sela‘) of Edom. Jeremiah (49:16) speaks of “you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord”. Obadiah (1:3), similarly speaks of “you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, who can bring me down to the ground”. Some scholars (Raabe 1996: 125–126; Fanwar 1992) explained these verses in relation to a single site in Edom, called the Rock (Sela‘), mentioned in connection with the description of the conquests of Judah’s King Amaziah: “He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and captured Sela in battle…” (2 Kgs 14:7). It turns out that the words of Jeremiah and Obadiah3 refer to the phenomenon of rocks characteristic of all Edom, and not to one specific site.

Apart from Qaryat Mansur all the sites are located on the sandstone cliffs just below the limestone ridge where the permanent settlements are to be found. Two unique sandstone formations are visible in southern Jordan, the Disi and Umm Ishrin formations. These formations have produced the magnificent inselberg scenery in southern Jordan. For example, the hand-carved rock monuments of Petra are entirely cut from the Umm Ishrin and Disi sandstone formations. The white Disi sandstone is to be found above the red Umm Ishrin sandstone formation and therefore it is usually nearer to the limestone ridge rising above the sandstone formations.

The Disi formation scenery consists mainly of high and rounded white domes, while the Umm Ishrin formation typically features high red cliffs and steep canyons. From the geological point of view these two different settings are the backdrop for two groups of sites: the 'outcrop sites' on the white Disi sandstone formation – Jabal al-Qseir, Khubtha, Baja, Shag Rish and Sela‘ – and the red Umm Ishrin sandstone plateaus above high cliffs where Umm Biyara and Umm Ala are located. As seen in the above table, longhouses – interpreted as storage facilities for agricultural products – were detected only on these two formations and at Qaryat Mansur. The Disi sites are found nearer to the limestone ridge then the others, and in my opinion they were used as refuge sites when the occupants of the strongholds fled from an external enemy, mainly the kingdom of Judah. This proposal fits the date for those sites – mainly the seventh century BC, and the dispute between the kingdoms of Judah and Edom as recorded in the Bible.

Further Reading:
Lindner M., and Knauf E. A., 'Between the Plateau and the Rocks, Edomite Economic and Social Structure', Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan VI (1997), 261-264.
Bienkowski P. Umm al-Biyara: Excavations by Crystal-M Bennett, 1960 – 1965, Oxford (2011): 116-125.

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