Andrews University Seminary Studies, Autumn 1993, Vol. 31, No. 3, 205-238 Copyright © 1993 by Andrews University Press. THE JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE 1992 SEASON, INCLUDING THE REGIONAL SURVEY AND EXCAVATIONS AT TELL JALUL AND TELL EL-`UMEIRI (June 16 to July 31, 1992) Randall W. Younker Larry G. Herr Andrews University Canadian Union College Berrien, Springs, MI 49104 College Heights, AB TOC OZO Lawrence T. Geraty Oystein S. LaBianca La Sierra University Andrews University Riverside, CA 92515 Berrien Springs, MI, 49104 During the summer of 1992, Andrews University conducted a fourth season of archaeological research in the Madaba Plains region of Jordan (see Plate 1). This season the Madaba Plains Project was cosponsored by Atlantic Union College (South Lancaster, MA), Canadian Union College (College Heights, near Lacombe, Alberta, Canada), and Walla Walla College (Walla Walla, WA).' An international team of about 80 archaeologists, students, 'Once again, the authors of this report would like to express their indebtedness to each member of the staff who made these results possible. In addition to the continued financial and staff support of the consortium institutions-Andrews University (principal sponsor), Atlantic Union College, Canadian Union College, and Walla College-other funds were raised from private donations and volunteer participation fees. Individuals who contributed generously to the general dig fund included Elizabeth Platt, Leif and Grete Bakland, Wilfred Geschke, Landon and Nancy Kite, Mike Maxwell, Elmer and Darilee Sakala, Mitchell and Patsy Tyner, Gary and Carolyn Waldron, and especially Ron and Sheila Geraty. ' In-kind contributions to the project came from the Environmental Systems Research Institute of Redlands, CA, which provided GIS software support; Magellan Systems Corporation of San Dimas, CA, which provided a GPS receiver unit; and Worthington Foods of Worthington„ OH, which provided vegetarian canned foods. Special recognition is due to the new Director-General of Antiquities, Dr. Safwan Tell, who has continued the excellent tradition of support which that Department has provided for our project, and to Department-of-Antiquities representatives, Hanan Azar, Rula Qussous, and Adeeb Ahu Shmais. Work at our 205 206 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERR AND LABIANCA and laypersons joined approximately 40 Jordanians in producing the results summarized in this report.' For a detailed review of the project's specific research objectives and previous results, the reader is referred to the preliminary and final reports of the first three seasons.' However, the overall goals continue to be the illumination of the nature and causes of settlement oscillations in the Madaba Plains region and major excavation sites would be impossible without the gracious support of the land owners: businessman/scholar Dr. Raouf Abujaber, landowner of Tell el-'Umeiri; Gen. Acash, es-Zeben, landowner of Jalul. The officers and staff of the American Schools of Oriental Research and its local affiliate, the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, provided the usual invaluable assistance through the good offices of the new director Dr. Pierre Bikai and his wife, Dr. Patricia Bakai. Also, special thanks are due to Dr. Kamal Fakmawi, principal of the UNRWA-sponsored Amman Training Center, and his staff who graciously turned their excellent facilities over to us during the summer to use as our base camp. The scientific goals and procedures of the project were approved by the Committee on Archaeological Policy of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Permission to excavate and survey in the project area was obtained from the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. ACOR provided logistical support, and provided a home away from home for staff members. 'Me directors for the project this season once again included the following: Lawrence T. Geraty, Senior Project Director; Larry G. Herr, Director of the Tell el- `Umeiri Excavations; Oystein S. LaBianca, Director of the Regional Survey; and Randall W. Younker, Director of the Tell Jalul Excavations. Douglas R. Clark was the Director of the Consortium. LaBianca, Jim Fisher, and Trudy Stokes served as dig administrators at the Institute of Archaeology during the early planning stages of this season's expedition; Bill Cash, Joseph Ghosn and Trudy Stokes served as camp administrators in Jordan. Lloyd Willis served as camp chaplain and Keith Stokes was camp handyman. Leila Mashini served as head cook, assisted by Stokes and others. Pottery registrar was Stephanie Merling, assisted by David Merling. Processing of small finds was supervised by the Objects Registrar, Elizabeth Platt, assisted by Richard Brenecke. Objects were photographed by Brenecke and Jennifer Groves. Objects were drawn by Brenecke, Stephanie Elkins, and Rhonda Root Brenecke also served as draftsman for Tell el-`Umeiri and Jalul. The surveyor was Abbas Khammash. 3See Lawrence T. Geraty, "A Preliminary Report on the First Season at Tell el- `Umeiri (June 18 to August 8, 1984)," AUSS 23 (1985): 85-110; Lawrence T. Geraty, Larry G. Herr, and 0ystein S. LaBianca, "The Joint Madaba Plains Project: A Preliminary Report on the Second Season at Tell El-'Umeiri and Vicinity (June 18 to August 6, 1987)," AUSS 26 (1988): 217-252); Randall W. Younker, Lawrence T. Geraty, Larry G. Herr, and Oystein S. LaBianca, 'The joint Madaba Plains Project: A Preliminary Report of the 1989 Season, Including the Regional Survey and Excavations at El-Dreijat, Tell Jawa, and Tell el-'Umeiri (June 19 to August 8, 1989)," AUSS 28 (1990): 5-52. JOINT MADABA PLANS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 207 how these relate to other factors which contribute to sociocultural change in the area. Understanding the causes of change will, in turn, provide additional insights into the region's historical and political development. 1. The Regional Survey4 Investigations of the hinterland within a 5-km radius of Tell 3 el-`Umeiri-which were begun in 1.984 and continued during the 1987, 1989, and 1991 field seasons-culminated during the 1992 season. To a large degree, these investigations had been inspired by many unanswered questions resulting from our previous research at Tell Hesban and vicinity. While the Hesban project had brought into focus the question of how people in this region went about providing for their food, water, and security needs during successive historical periods, the fact that this question had come into focus after the fieldwork had been completed meant that there were many gaps in the information on hand. Reports on efforts during previous field seasons to fill these gaps have been published in the seasonal reports of the Madaba Plains Project.5 As in previous seasons, the 1992 field season carried on several concurrent lines of investigation, most of which had begun during previous seasons of fieldwork, from 1984 through 1989. These included an environment survey, an archaeological site survey, an ethnoarchaeological survey focusing on habitation caves and water provisioning, excavation of a habitation cave containing pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions, excavation of a Bronze Age cemetery, and a subsurface mapping project. All these surveys were carried out in the region inside a 5-km radius of Tell el- `Umeiri (see Plate 1). The Environment Survey, The principal objective of the environment survey remained the same as during previous seasons: to gather data and insights that would enable reconstruction of environmental correlates of food system changes in the past. The specific objective of the 1992 4As in previous seasons, the director responsible for planning and execution of hinterland surveys was Oystein S. LaBianca from Andrews University. 'See Note 3. t ,Doug Schnurrenberger (University of Maryland) was responsible for the environmental survey. i 208 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERR AND LABIANCA season was to complete a bedrock geology map and a soil map of the project area as it appears today. The data needed to produce these maps was successfully obtained from maps of the geology and soils of Transjordan, aerial photographs of the project area, and field observations. These maps will be used to help reconstruct changes taking place over time in land forms and distribution of agricultural soils throughout the project area. The Site Survey' As in previous seasons, the major objective of the site survey has been to document in as much detail as possible changes over time in settlement and landuse patterns within the project area. Completion of the site survey, which over four field seasons has recorded a total of 134 sites, involved five specific tasks: 1. To revisit and rerecord sites from the 1984 and 1989 seasons which had not been documented according to the standardized recording system perfected during the 1989 field season. This was done to provide in the final report on the survey a uniform presentation of all sites surveyed and to facilitate GIS (geographical information system)-assisted spatial analysis of all sites and site features, so as to ascertain their relationship to agricultural soils, water sources, and roads. 2. To complete a tour of all sites with predominantly Iron Age pottery, followed by a tour of all sites with predominantly Byzantine pottery. This was done to get an even better feel for the locational and archaeologiical features which distinguish these two periods of settlement. An observation yielded by these tours was that whereas sites with predominantly Iron Age pottery tended to be located primarily in gently rolling hills and level areas, the sites with Byzantine pottery were found in all types of terrain. 3. To improve further the recording of hinterland sites through utilization of a survey artist. A total of 175 drawings were completed, including detailed drawings of installations related to production of olive oil-such as olive crushers, olive presses, and olive oil separation vats-and drawings of farmstead layouts, 7Gary Christopherson (University of Arizona) headed the site survey. He was assisted by David Hopkins (Wesley Theological Seminary)-team leader, Gerald Mattingly (Johnson Bible College)--team leader, Rhonda Root (Andrews University)-artist, Mailen Kootsey (Andrews University)-GPS testing, Mazin Razmy (University of Jordan)-translator, Tischa Ives-photographer, and Phillip Slaughter-student assistant. Hinterland probes were carried out by David Hopkins with the assistance of Mazen Razmy. JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 209 herding stations, entrances to habitation caves, and wine presses t (see Plate 2). 4. To test GPS (global positioning system) technology for use in recording the precise geographic location of archaeological sites. The equipment tested were two Magellan GPS NAV 1000 PRO receivers made by Magellan Systems Corporation of San Dimas, California. An exterior antenna kit arrived too late to be used in the field. It was found that the precision with which locations could be pinpointed varied, depending on how many satellites were within communication range. Greatest precision (3 m accuracy) was obtained by use of two receivers during times when signals from four satellites could be picked up simultaneously. 5. To experiment with the use of limited archaeological probes to ascertain more precisely the date of construction of selected "rectilinear structures" located by the site survey. To this end, four probes were carried out at three different sites containing such structures. Three of these probes-at sites 52, 69, and 85- succeeded in establishing the most probable date for construction of the structures in question. Whereas the date of construction of the structures 52:1 and. 69:2 could be fixed to the Iron 2 period, a Byzantine construction date was fixed for the structure at 85:1. The Ethnoarchaeological Survey' Our studies of recent changes in settlement and landuse patterns have been an important source of insight into the process of food-system intensification and abatement within the project area. In past seasons these studies have focused on delineating various archaeological correlates of how individual households and villages have converted over the past several decades from primarily subsistence production of cereals, sheep, and goats to market production of fruits and vegetables. During the 1992 season two important correlates of this process were investigated. The first had to do with the manner in which the use of habitation caves and whole cave villages were abandoned in favor of village housing. A major goal, in this regard, was to locate and document abandoned habitation caves and cave villages, and to find out about the factors which contributed to their abandonment. The 1992 season added four such abandoned cave villages to those already discovered and studied during previous seasons (see Plate 3). 8The ethnoarchaeological survey was carried out primarily by Dorothy Irvin (Durham, North Carolina) and Azar. They were assisted part-time by LaBianca, Qussous, and Neife Issa (University of Jordan). 210 YOUNKER GERATY, HERR AND LABIANCA The second correlate had to do with the process of abandon- ment of cistern-use in favor of reliance on the integrated water network. To this end "water interviews" were carried out to learn more about what the project area's present-day residents could tell us about how they used to provide for their water needs before the integrated water network came into use. Interviews included questions about the different kinds of cisterns that had previously been maintained, and which in some cases continue to be main- tained. Who owned them and who had the right to use these cisterns? How were they cleaned and filled? Why had the majority of cisterns been abandoned? What did it cost to repair abandoned cisterns? What were the pros and cons of relying on cisterns vs. relying-on the integrated water system? Perhaps the most significant insight gained from these interviews was that connecting to the integrated system led villagers to gradually cease maintaining their cisterns; thus, increasingly they gave up personal responsibility for collecting and storing rainwater. This situation has led to increased pressure on the underground aquifers on which the integrated system depends for its supplies, while rainfall and surface runoff is going to waste to a greater extent than was the case when individual households used to collect and store rainwater. Consequently, in some villages, when the integrated water system is shut off due to shortages, the poor are worse off today than they used to be when they had access to cistern water, because they cannot afford to buy water as often and are, therefore, forced to make do with less.' Khirbet Ru feisah Inscription Cave (Site 22:6, Field A)10 During the second week of July-in the course of a routine search for habitation caves-Dorothy Irvin and Hanan Azar came upon what may be the largest assemblage discovered to date in Jordan of pre-Islamic Arab alphabet characters, tribal signs, and 9 hese "water interviews" were spurred in part by efforts underway to obtain funding for "Project Rainkeep." This project entails a plan for development of incentives for local residents to clean, repair, and bring back into use their abandoned cisterns as a way to improve water security and socioeconomic conditions in the project area. Funding for the project is being sought from USAID, NORAD, and other potential sources of support. 10Excavation of the inscription cave at Khirbet Rufeisah was carried out by LaBianca, assisted by Zayyadin and Qussous, both of the Department of Antiquities. Two students assisted: Sameh Foud Khamis (University of Jordan) and Ibrahim Feyome (University of Jordan). The Department of Antiquities supplied wheelbarrows, picks, and other equipment, along with assistance in dealing with press inquiries about the discovery. JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 211 pictographs. Inscribed on a 25 m long and 1.5 m high black-painted plastered panel located inside an otherwise unremarkable habitation cave at Khirbet Rufeisah, near Jadoudeh, were well over 1000 engraved characters and pictographs (see Plate 4). Preliminary reading of the inscription by Fawzi Zayyadin of the Department of Antiquities and David Graf of the University of Miami indicated that it contains characters belonging to a succes- sion of pre-Islamic Arabic alphabets. The panel with engravings appears to be a palimpsest which, in addition to the most recent set of inscriptions, contains the partially erased remains of earlier ones. Thus, the panel appears to have been used by Arab tribesmen as a sort of "tribal bulletin board" throughout most of the Classical Era. Because of the obvious significance of the inscription, the entire cave complex was cleaned of all debris, and excavations were undertaken in order to establish a chronological framework for the site and to ascertain more precisely by whom and for what the cave had been used. To this end excavations were undertaken immediately inside the walled-off entrance to the cave (Squares 1 and 2) and immediately outside the opening (Square 5). Square 1 covered approximately 10 square m; squares 2 and 5 covered approximately 4 square m each. Eleven loci were isolated in Squares 1 and 2 primarily on the basis of soil composition and texture changes. On the same basis, Square 5 was subdivided into eight loci. Due to the short time between the finding of the cave and the expedition's closing date, excavations ceased in all three squares before bedrock could be reached. Square 1 yielded a total of 345 sherds, of which only 95 were judged diagnostic; Square 2 yielded 181 sherds of which only 30 were diagnostic; and Square 5 produced 411 sherds, of which 165 were diagnostic. The periods represented by these sherds include Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Late Islamic, and Modern. Two sherds were judged to be possibly Iron Age. More analysis will be # needed before any successional patterning can be said to exist on the basis of the sherds recovered to date. The most interesting objects recovered in the excavations were one tent pin, one needle fragment, and one earring. These objects `' are consistent with the interpretation of the site as having been used primarily by tent- and cave-dwelling bedouin. Further archaeological investigations are planned in order to try to learn more, about past users of this cave complex. i 212 YOUNKER, G'ERATY, HERR AND LABIANCA Bronze Age Cemetery Excavations" In 1987, a survey team working south of Khirbet Bisharat, Site 73, observed several shaft openings in the ground, made visible by recent robbings. Preliminary observations led us to believe that a few of these shafts were examples of Early Bronze shaft tombs. The tombs' locations and type, along with the sites, were recorded and noted for future work. We went back to this site in 1992 because of new encroaching construction near the cemetery and because of the possibility of documenting Bronze Age tombs there. Since no tombs from this period had been documented yet within the project area, and since the nature of the area's Bronze Age occupation has remained elusive, it was deemed all the more worthwhile to devote some time to careful excavation of this site. fE' Of more than a dozen tombs in the cemetery, three were I excavated. The first excavated was Tomb 1. Even though it had I been robbed, it was cleared to gain a fuller understanding of its architectural type and to document the history of its use. The rock- cut chamber (3.25 x'2.30 x 1.60 m), which exhibited tool marks and t a small ledge around three of its sides, was semicircular with a ' sloping ceiling. Most of the pottery in the chamber was Iron age, although older sherds were found. The chamber also had a plaster- ~' like substance on the wall, thus supporting a theory of reuse. In an area marked by a slight depression in the bedrock a probe revealed a shaft designated as Tomb 11. The bottom of the _ shaft opened into two chambers, on the north and south sides. The entrance to the north chamber was blocked by nari stones, which crumbled quite easily. The north chamber (3.20 x 2.81 x 1.8 m), square with rounded corners, was filled with soil that almost reached the ceiling. Tool marks were evident where the stone had fps: , been cut. The fill contained fragmentary skeletal remains. The grave goods consisted of two globular, strap-handled vessels; one ' rounded-base four-spouted lamp; and one small hemispherical cup (see Plate 5a). This kind of globular jug is well attested in Jordan. I The lamps with the rounded bottom have parallels in Dhar i Mirzbaneh, El Husn, and Amman. All the pottery, including the ~' "Excavation of the Bronze Age cemetery was carried out by Howard Krug (Rochester, NY), Doug Waterhouse (Andrews University), Jalal Abu Hamdan (University of Jordan), and Stacy Knapp (Dubuque, IA). i i f k 1 JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 213 i little cup, are common and characteristic of the EB IV tomb repertoire. The second chamber, on the south side of the shaft, was somewhat larger than the north chamber. While it was similar in design, only a few sherds dated the construction of the tomb to the EB IV period. The grave assemblage, indicative of a later Bronze Age period, consisted of four ovoid jars, a burnished juglet, a small juglet, a carinated bowl, and a toggle pin (see Plate 5b). The chamber contained a secondary and a tertiary commingled burial of at least seven adults. Due to significant roof collapse in the area around and involving the shaft, the last tomb, Tomb 12 (4.10 x 2.60 x 1.16 m), was accessed through a hole in the west wall of the north chamber of Tomb 11. The chamber contained only disturbed fragmented skeletal remains and a typical EB IV assemblage, which included three four-spouted lamps, a cup, one globular strap-handled jug, and one bronze dagger. The dagger is in very good condition, with rivets still evident on each side of the blade above the tang, although the handle is missing. While the analysis is preliminary, Tomb 11's north chamber and Tomb 12 seem to date to the EB IV period, while Tomb 11's south chamber was probably reused in a later period. More detailed analysis of the tombs's contents, including its skeletal remains, will be forthcoming. 12 i 1 Subsurface Mapping Project13 Using a variety of technologies-including seismic refraction i (SR), ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic 4 induction (EMI)-the subsurface mapping team collected data for eight different projects during the summer of 1992. On Tell el-`Umeiri, the extent of the western defense system was investigated, using GPR transects. This investigation was a continuation of a 1989 season project in which GPR was used along the southern balk of the Field B excavations for correlation of radar 12A preliminary study of the human skeletal remains from Tombs 11 and 12 has been supplied by Knapp. Her report indicates that Tomb 11 contained at least seven individuals, one of which appears to be a secondary burial, and the rest of which appear to be tertiary burials. Tomb 12 contained the remains of only one person in a primary burial arrangement. ,, 13The subsurface mapping project was done by ion Cole (Walla Walla College) and Gerald and Scott Sandness (Richland, WA). i 214 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERR AND LABIANCA signals with observed structural features. GPR was also used during the 1992 season to extend the measurement area in the region south of Field A, to a total of approximately 350 square m on a 0.6-m grid. layout. The location of a possible gate and approach on the upper south slope of the tell was investigated by a 1.0-m GPR grid pattern over a 30 by 45-m section. Electro- magnetic induction was used along a 150-m transect on the south hillside of the wadi south of the tell to locate possible tombs in an area of rock outcropping. At Site 73 (Khirbet Bisharat), a variety of data was collected in order to be able to evaluate the efficacy of various techniques for locating tombs. Electromagnetic induction data were obtained on S+; a 900-square-m area in a 1 x 1-m grid using Geonics model EM31. > ~ ;l << V ~/ / \ W 1 ' J ’ 1 ~ w s a N I F -- I- I I I i a .r- Yr WVI t, JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 231 z Plate 10. Aerial photo of Tell el--`Umneiri at conclusion of 1992 season. Y~ 232 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERR, LABIANCA r I i E rv ~ i t ~ ` ar Plate 11,. Early Bronze remains from Field D. k f i JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 233 t t a i 1s R ~ k ,. + ~ v h ... !f J y a Plate 12. Trench in Field A showing fortification system. f 1 3-4 r1_ - G 7 E 8 9 10 \ ~ II 13 IS 0 5M 1 ~~ 12 14 Plate 13. Cross section of fortification system in Field A. xx ! , y r, r. ! rot 3 I Yl x JOINT MADABA PLAINS PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT 235 i t 9 . v All ~Plate 14. Field A: Late Bronze pottery found below three large boulders in lower right corner of photo; north is at top of photo. i 236 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERR, LABIANCA i 3 v y US ~1) O a~ z N c c) f y, 1 1 r P u% R3 P6 } Lf r • t _ . F R9 w u ~~ t v Vic lit won I, NMI Ply Oak - 4-k Plate 16. Excavations in Field F. ~ ' ~ C f 238 YOUNKER, GERATY, HERB, LABIANCA r + i. 1 rf t k5,S Fw 9 i a + Plate 17. Faience seal from Field F reading: "lnsr'l bn 'lmsl ('belonging to Nasar'il son of 'Ilmashal" ). 3