Tell Madaba Archaeological Project
| Preliminary Report - 2001 Field Season (June 1st to July 31st) |
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Click below to see archival footage of excavations at Tell Madaba in 2001.
INTRODUCTION: FIELD C CONSOLIDATION AND RESTORATION (Debra Foran):
We began cleaning the area to the west of the Late Ottoman house on the northern edge of the site, so that a wall and terraces could be constructed as a northern border to the site later in the season. However, it became clear after the first week that most of the soil on the northern edge of Field C would have to be removed, not only for presentation purposes, but also for safety reasons. There were several large boulders protruding from the soil that were in danger of falling. Removal of this soil also permitted greater exposure of the exterior face of the pre-classical fortification wall. The soil removal in the northern section of Field C also resulted in the uncovering of a large modern wall that forms part of the northern border of the site. A foundation trench extended approximately 1 m south from the wall. The wall appeared to have been founded on an earlier structure, but this has yet to be determined. In order to stabilize and solidify the wall, cement was inserted between the stones of the wall, and a layer of mortar applied over the cement.
The second objective for the 2001 field season in Field C was to clean the lower portion of the northern edge of Field C, to the north of the flagstone floor excavated during the 2000 season. The modern field walls that marked property lines were removed in order to construct a more stable wall line along the northern border of the site. During this operation, the western extension of the flagstone floor and the wall that delineates its northern border were uncovered (image right). The water channel that runs under the step in front of this wall extends further west. A carved stone threshold was discovered in this northern wall, and opens northward into the property located adjacent to the site. The flagstone floor appears to represent part of a large courtyard located within the Late Byzantine/Early Islamic building complex.
In conjunction with the Field C consolidation efforts, further documentation of the monumental fortification wall also was completed during the 2001 season. This included creation of a detailed top plan of the wall , and a plan of its vertical profile (see below). Further analysis was also carried out on the phasing of the extant architecture in Field B, to the east of the fortification wall . The results of this analysis will be incorporated in a more thorough preliminary report of the 1998-2000 field seasons that will be submitted shortly for publication in ADAJ.
As part of the broader TMAP research objective to develop a regional database, and in keeping with our commitment to document the visible archaeological remains at sites in the Madaba region that face expanding modern development, intensive mapping and surface collection efforts were initiated during the 2000 field season at a series of hinterland sites to the west and south of Madaba. This initiative was continued during the 2001 field season, with the primary focus aimed at completing mapping and surface surveys begun in 2000 at Libb, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and Masuh. LIBB SURFACE SURVEY (Dayle Elder):
KHIRBAT AL-MUKHAYYAT SURFACE SURVEY (Andrew Graham):
MASUH TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY (Jonathan Ferguson):
Funding for the 2001 field season was provided by a research grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The excavations were conducted in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, which provided guidance and access to field equipment. The season’s results would not have been possible without the dedicated help of Dr. Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, Director General of the Department of Antiquities, and Hazem Jaser, Director of the Department of Antiquities Office in Madaba. I wish also to thank the Mayor of Madaba, who unhesitatingly offered his assistance and freely made available the resources of the Municipality of Madaba, including use of an end loader and several dump trucks.
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To date, the architectural remains uncovered in Field C consist of a series of rooms, several paved with mosaic floors, belonging to a single large complex, possibly a private residence. Some of the architecture was repaired and reconstructed during the 1999 and 2000 field seasons.
Thus we began the removal of the soil north of Square 5L22T4 and west of the city wall. The top portion, measuring approximately 1.5 m thick, contained modern debris, several ash pockets, and some Late Ottoman remains, represented by the fragments of several tobacco pipes. A deposit of reddish brown soil was located under this modern debris. A limited portion of this layer was removed to determine the date of its deposition, which appeared to have occurred sometime during the Early Islamic period, as the soil contained only Late Byzantine and Early Islamic pottery. There were several large stones in this layer, some of which had been carefully cut (image right). The provenience of these stones is as yet uncertain. They may have come from the fortification wall, some other structure on the upper tell, or from a structure that remains buried below the reddish brown soil.
The northern extension of the fortification wall was also exposed during soil removal in Field C. In addition, the top of a wall oriented in an east-west line from the city wall was uncovered (image left). It is plastered on both sides, and it may represent the northern wall of the Late Byzantine/Early Islamic building. The lower courses of this wall may form the foundation for the modern wall that borders the northern property line of the West Acropolis area.
Libb is situated on a large oblong khirbat oriented on a southwest-northeast axis and located approximately 13 kilometers south of the modern town of Madaba. The population of the modern town is about 10,000. The site appears to be positioned atop two terraces. The Wadi Libb is located to the north and east of the site. Numerous cisterns are located within the site boundaries, which are used for the collection of water in winter, during the rainy season. A local resident informed the field crew that the water collected within the cisterns, along the lower portion of the site, is often used to saturate the crop fields located at the bottom of the slope. Surrounded by low sloping hills, the site sits in a fertile valley located on the southwest edge of the Madaba Plain, virtually in a bowl-shaped landform. At the time of the survey, olive trees, fig trees, tunas, and grapes were observed growing in the fields that surround the site. Fallow fields were used for grain crops. Large exposures of limestone bedrock are also present along the slope of the khirbat. The khirbat contains a combination of modern houses, which make up the villageof Libb, and archaeological ruins consisting of Ottoman houses and exposed wall lines. As a result of bulldozer activity and non-archaeological excavations within the site, deep cultural deposits have been exposed. A number of different time periods were represented by the pottery observed within these cuts. Libb sits along the modern route commonly known as the King’s Highway, and follows the Roman Via Nova Traiana, often believed to have been based on the older biblical King's Highway. Libb may have benefited greatly from the fertility of its surroundings, and it might have also been used as an entrepot located along these ancient trade and travel routes. Much of the site has been disturbed or completely destroyed due to modern construction. All of the Ottoman houses have suffered severe damage in one form or another, and many have been destroyed completely and are no longer visible on the surface.
The 2000 surveying effort resulted in a detailed topographic map of Libb, with all identifiable premodern houses also included on the site plan. The surface survey resulted in the collection of 3,705 sherds from 49 survey squares. The sherds were washed, read, and registered in Madaba. The diagnostics were separated and will be shipped to Torontofor further study. The major periods represented in the current ceramic corpus from Libb are Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad and Mamluk. The sherd collection revealed approximately 131 Iron Age, 282 Roman-Byzantine, 105 Umayyad, and 391 Mamluk diagnostics. One possible Abbasid, and two Nabataean sherds were also identified. Ottoman period ceramics were also recognized. The volume of Mamluk pottery was extensive, and suggests the existence of a significant settlement at the site during this period. The 2000 survey was brief and isolated to only the upper segment of the site. However, it provided much needed information concerning the archaeological record preserved at Libb. A total of 22 Ottoman houses, 20 cisterns, 11 caves, and 74 wall lines were located and mapped. A total of 49 units were systematically inspected, and all visible cultural material was collected. The materials collected included pottery, lithic debris, and a variety of fragmentary basalt ground stone tools.
The survey of Libb indicates that the site likely was inhabited almost continually from the Iron Age to the present day. Wall lines located at the base of the north side of the site may have been part of a reservoir fed by the seasonal wadi. The surrounding fields were likely reserved for agricultural cultivation throughout the occupation of the site. Installations for the production of olive or wine were probably maintained in the exposed bedrock hills that surround Libb. Questions regarding the date and function of a series of "ring roads" that encircle the site were resolved during the 2001 survey season. On the southeast side of the site, a modern road has cut a clear cultural deposit over two meters in depth. This deposit continues under the road. A quantity of Iron Age sherds, including painted Moabite Ware, was collected from two squares located on the lower road cut. Therefore it is likely that these ring roads, once thought to have been ancient terraces reused as modern roads, are entirely of modern construction. Pottery collected in the 2001 season does not significantly differ from that of the previous season. The dominant periods identified so far from Libb remain the Iron Age, Roman-Byzantine, and Mamluk periods. While Iron Age and Roman-Byzantine sites are well known in the Madaba Plain, Mamluk settlements have not been as well documented. Excavations at Libb, therefore, with its extensive remains from this period, would add important information to the history of this poorly understood period. Given the extensive archaeological history documented by the survey at Libb, it is recommended that measures be taken to minimize the loss of this important archaeological record. The development of the summit of the site seriously threatens the archaeological remains preserved there. While such efforts likely would not take the form of full-scale excavations, due to the modern buildings and standing Ottoman houses, a series of test units, however, could recover important information about the archaeology of small settlements in the region, particularly during periods of limited sedentary activity. Consequently, it is recommended that limited scale excavations take place at Libb, especially before more of the site is irrevocably lost to modern development.
The site of Khirbet al-Mukhayyat (ancient Nebo) lies some 9 km northwest of Madaba, on the southeastern spur of the Nebo ridge. Situated on a steep limestone promontory, Mukhayyat commands an impressive view overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan valley to the west. Most famous for its Byzantine mosaics and ecclesiastical architecture, Mukhayyat also boasts an extensive array of tombs, caves, cisterns, various agricultural installations and a well-preserved fortification system. Despite the abundance of this material, previous archaeological research at Mukhayyat has generally concentrated its efforts towards the examination and preservation of the Byzantine occupation at the site. While such research has been a significant contribution to the understanding of Byzantine culture in this region, the exclusion of earlier material has left a gap in our understanding of the occupational sequence at Mukhayyat. Modern exploration of the site began in 1863 with a brief visit by Félicien De Saulcy, who is generally credited with being the first to record the name, Khirbet al-Mukhayyat. In the summer of 1901, Alois Musil was the first to explore Mukhayyat systematically, identifying the Churches of Lot, Procopius, Amos and Kasiseus. In addition he also created the first topographic plan of the site. Nelson Glueck visited Mukhayyat in 1932, comparing the well-preserved fortifications with those of the al-Mashhad fortress near ‘Ain Musa and el-Medeiyineh to the south. He is also to be credited with the first identification of the rock cut towards the southern end of the site as a moat. Much of our current understanding of Mukhayyat comes from the efforts of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Systematic explorations by the Franciscan’s began in 1933 with Brother Jerome Mihaic’s work uncovering the mosaics in the Chapel of the Priest John on the eastern slope of the tell, and in the Church of Saint George on the acropolis. In the 1960s an expedition led by J. Ripamonti conducted excavations at Rujm al-Mukhayyat, as well as a survey of the area that produced two Iron Age tombs, both of which were subsequently excavated by Saller in 1965. Work continued in the early 1970’s at Mukhayyat under the direction of Fr. Piccirillo. It was during this time that a comprehensive preservation and conservation program began that would involve all of the excavated mosaics and related architecture at the site. In the late 1980s and early 1990s this work continued with detailed excavations on the acropolis and surrounding area, resulting in the primary data that has afforded our current understanding of the occupational sequence at Mukhayyat. 
The 2001 survey follows on the topographic survey completed in 2000. The principal goal of the 2001 season was to randomly recover 20% of the extant surface remains (lithics, pottery, etc.) in order to produce a density and distribution profile of the occupational history of the site. A second objective was to continue observation and documentation of extant architectural remains at Mukhayyat, the purpose of which is to provide additional data in support the analysis of the cultural material collected.
While no final conclusions can be made without more in-depth analysis, some preliminary observations of the cultural material recovered are possible. It is clear from the distribution of ceramics by period type that Mukhayyat shows a significant density of ceramics dating to the Byzantine and Iron Age periods across the entire survey universe. While the majority of pottery recovered is attributable to the Byzantine period (16,096 sherds), significant quantities of Iron Age ceramics (7,074) have been identified. While other periods were represented in the recovered material, their sherd counts demonstrated only ephemeral, sporadic occupation generally restricted towards the northern end of the site. It is expected that future analysis will incorporate the topographic information contained within the GIS alongside the recovered material culture in order to suggest more tightly defined occupational zones across the site during the Byzantine and Iron Age periods. More traditional ceramic analysis will be performed on the diagnostic material with the goal of inserting the recovered ceramics into the wider morphological sequence of the region. Finally, petrographic and chemical analysis on selected diagnostic material may provide additional information with regard to ceramic production technology, as well as points of contact between other sites within the region. Ultimately it is anticipated that the results of these analyses will support further fieldwork and excavation at Mukhayyat as part of a larger research effort to continue to fully document and discover the history and importance of one of Jordan's most spectacular cultural resources.
The site of Masuh is located approximately 10 km north of Madaba, 3 km east of Hesban by road. Masuh is also known in the archaeological literature (see the bibliography below) as: Masouh, Khurbet Masuh (or Hirbet Masuh), Massuh (or El-Massuh) and Tell Masuh. The site includes a necropolis (with olive presses and water facilities) to the southwest, two churches, a temple and numerous other architectural remains. The main area of the site lies on a hill rising to the north of the road from Hesban, and is characterized by a large number of crater-like pits, many of which have cisterns or subterranean arch-roofed structures at their bottoms. The length of occupation at Masuh extends from the Iron II or Persian period until the present day, although probably not continuously. C. R. Conder, who visited the site in 1881, wrote the earliest archaeological assessment of Masuh. Other archaeologists visited the site, but excavations did not begin until 1970, under Bastiaan Van Elderen, who studied a church (referred to by this study as the “East Church”) and its mosaics. In 1982, Fr. Michele Piccirillo began excavations at the same church, removing part of the upper mosaic floor (now in the Madaba Archaeological Park) and exposing the lower mosaic floor. R. D. Ibach also studied the site, as part of the Hesban Survey in 1973, collecting 315 sherds. This surface collection included Iron II/Persian, Late Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Ayyubid/Mamluk/Otttoman and modern sherds. In the summer of 2000, Hazem Jaser, Director of the Madaba office of the Department of Antiquities, excavated another church (here the "North Church"). Hazem Jaser kindly provided a copy of the plan of this church, as yet unpublished, for this study.
A total of 2,822 topographic points were taken in the settlement area of Masuh (i.e. excluding the necropolis), to the north of the modern road from Hesban. These were imported into ArcView GIS to produce an accurate topographic map of the site, over which digitized plans of the excavated churches were superimposed. A general surface collection of sherds and other objects was collected for further research. The total collection included 60 sherds, 2 lithics, 2 tesserae, as well as fragments of a steatite bowl, an Ottoman pipe, and a piece of glass. Of these, a study collection was assembled which includes all but 30 of the sherds and the tesserae, which were discarded. The items in the study collection will be studied and drawn at a later date, in order to complete a preliminary assessment of the occupational history of Masuh and compare these results with those of the Hesban Survey. Digital and print photographs were taken of some of the more important architectural remains and other features such as the inscriptions. These points also were geo-referenced with the total station. The resulting photographic archive will help to more fully document the site. Conclusions from the topographic and ceramic studies of Masuh will be used to determine what activities may be feasible in future research seasons. It is hoped that the site map produced by the 2001 Masuh topographic survey will help both to document the site, and serve as an aid for future researchers. The results of modern looting at the site for stone and artifacts was observed during the mapping process, and increases the need for enhanced cultural resource management at this important Late Antique and Mediaeval site.