ADAJ, 2022

Khuraysān is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site, dated to between the end of the 10 th millennium and first half of the 8 th millennium cal. BC. Located in the village of al-Qunayyah, by the az-Zarqāʼ river, it is 25ha in extent. To date, four occupation phases have been discovered, two corresponding to the PPNA and two to the PPNB. In Zone A, in H100, an oval sunken dwelling without internal subdivisions and with earth floors, has been dated to the end of the 10 th millennium cal. BC. In IJ100, another sunken dwelling, in transition between an oval and rectangular shape, contains two rooms divided by a mud wall; one of the rooms has a lime-plaster floor displaying the remains of red pigment. It is dated to the beginning of the 9 th millennium cal. BC, during the last phase of the PPNA. Towards the south, in Zone B, is an agglomerated ensemble of square houses that are semi-sunken into the slope of the site. These have rounded corners, stone walls and lime-plaster floors, and have been dated to the second half of the 9 th millennium BC, during the Early PPNB. The most recent occupation phase has been documented in Zone C and dates to the beginning of the 8 th millennium cal. BC, during the Middle PPNB. It is represented by rectangular houses with stone walls and lime-plaster floors (one of them painted), which are arranged parallel to one another. The abundant implements, human, animal and botanical remains, figurines and other objects recovered at Khuraysān make this a key site for understanding the first sedentary villages and the development of arable and livestock farming in northern Jordan.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean , 2019

A complex picture of the prehistory in southern Jordanian emerges from the excavations of the Jagiellonian University team, which carried out in 2018 its second season of excavation at the sites of Munqata'a and Faysaliyya, even as analyses of the previous season's finds were underway. Human communities living here between the Neolithic and early Bronze Age practiced both sedentary and mobile lifestyles. The changing landscape around them, caused by natural erosion processes and periodical climate changes, is also factored into the interpretation of the explored relics.

This article will describe and discuss the results of the 2020-2021 seasons of the excavations at Khirbet 'Aujah el-Foqa, a site in the southern Jordan Valley, north of Jericho. During these seasons, a section of the northern side of the site was excavated, including one complete structure. This structure, as well as the units around it, also contained a hasty abandonment or destruction layer from the Iron Age IIB similar to the one excavated in the southern part of the site. The article will illustrate reconstructed pottery from Area A, along with other finds. A large complex containing rooms and open areas appears to have been located in this area, although its function is still unclear. Finally, the reconstruction of the architecture will be discussed, along with the possible significance and function of the site.

Judea and Samaria Research Studies

This article will describe and discuss the results of the 2020–2021 seasons of the excavations at Khirbet ‘Aujah el-Foqa, a site in the southern Jordan Valley, north of Jericho. During these seasons, a section of the northern side of the site was excavated, including one complete structure. This structure, as well as the units around it, also contained a hasty abandonment or destruction layer from the Iron Age IIB similar to the one excavated in the southern part of the site. The article will illustrate reconstructed pottery from Area A, along with other finds. A large complex containing rooms and open areas appears to have been located in this area, although its function is still unclear. Finally, the reconstruction of the architecture will be discussed, along with the possible significance and function of the site.

This article presents the results of the 2017 excavations at Khirbet el Mastarah in the middle Jordan Valley near 'Aujah. The site was identified by Zertal in the fifth volume of his series, The Manasseh Hill Country Survey, and its main occupation was dated to Iron Age I. Ben-Yosef grouped the site as one of the main Iron Age I 'complex oval compounds', possibly representing the presence of a new pastoral population in the region. The results of the excavation so far have, however, not yielded a clear date for the structures built at the site. In general, the site was very poor in finds, which date from the Middle Bronze through to the Ottoman period. The excavation results and their implications as well as suggestions for further research are discussed.

The HLC (Heritage-Landscape-Community) archaeological metaproject, carried out since 2016 by the Jagiellonian University in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, targets the archaeological heritage of southern Jordan (Tafila region), focusing currently on remains of the Early Bronze Age and earlier cultures that were found in the region. The project has already identified and verified several previously undocumented or poorly documented sites. Its main objective is to establish chronological phasing of human activity in this microregion, particularly during the Early Bronze Age, and to assess the scale and nature of human presence in that period. Two sites, Faysaliyya and Munqata'a, were excavated within the frame of the project. The article presents the preliminary results of this work. An important side issue is the protection of Jordanian heritage in the Tafila region through the identification of natural and human agents that may damage or destroy it.