roman and byzantine settlements in the region of west irbid

© Palestine Exploration Fund 2007 doi: 10.1179/003103207x227300

Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 139, 3 (2007), 166–185

ROMAN AND BYZANTINE SETTLEMENTS IN THE REGION OF WEST IRBID

Lamia El-Khouri

It was always clear that for practical reasons any new region-based study of the Roman and Byzantine periods in north-western Jordan would have to rely on existing evidence from archaeological surveys and excavations. The concentration of previous archaeological survey work in parts of the region of West Irbid in Jordan, and especially the surveys made by N. Glueck in the 1940s and S. Mittmann in the 1960s, made this area especially attractive for archaeologists. In this paper, the aim was to analyze the results of the West Irbid survey, particularly of the Roman and Byzantine periods, made during September 2005. The informa-tion gathered was of great help, enabling the classifi cation of sites into groups according to the nature of occupation, and analyzing the discovered architectural remains to provide a broader context for interpretation of the nature of Roman and Byzantine settlements in the surveyed region.

This paper is written on the basis of the results of the West Irbid archaeological survey made in September 2005 (Table 1) by a joint team from Yarmouk University in Jordan and the French Institute of Oriental Research in Damascus. During the four weeks of fi eldwork in the region of West Irbid (Fig. 1), efforts were dedicated to carrying out a regional survey, in order to clarify the chronological development of the region. This fi eldwork was designed to explore continuity in the pattern of settlement in the region from the beginning of the Roman period to the end of the Byzantine period.

Fifty-one archaeological sites were registered, twenty-two of them for the fi rst time; the other sites were recorded or mentioned in previous researches (Glueck 1951; Mittmann 1970; Hanbury-Tenison 1984; Burckhardt 1822; Schumacher 1890; Lenzen and McQuitty 1988). Among the fi fty-one recorded sites, thirty-three (66% of the sites) were Roman, and forty-fi ve (88% of the majority) were Byzantine; all of the Roman sites continued to be occupied during the Byzantine period. This was a clear sign that the majority of the sites were occupied in the Roman and Byzantine periods, more than any other period, as is shown in Fig. 2. This indicates the importance of the region during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

The defi nition of chronological terms of the Roman and Byzantine periods in Jordan is not uniform. ‘Roman’ is used by British scholars to apply to the entire period from 63 BCE to 637 CE (date of the Battle of Yarmouk). On the other hand, Americans subdivided it into Roman and Byzantine, but sub-divisions are always varied. For the purpose of this paper, chronological terms can be defi ned as follows:

Roman 63 BCE–324 CE

Byzantine 324 CE–637 CE

geographical context

The survey area is about 71 km2 and located in the north-western corner of the Jordanian plateau, west of Arbila, the modern city of Irbid (Figs. 1 and 3). The area is a centre of a populated cereal-growing region. It has a Mediterranean climate characterized by long moderate rainless summers and relatively short, cool rainy winters. The coldest month is January with average temperatures ranging from 6 to 15 °C, and the hottest months are

Lamia el-Khouri, Department of Archaeology, Yarmouk University, Jordan, email: [email protected]

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July–August at 22 to 33 °C. Average annual rainfall exceeds 480 mm, more than 70% of which falls between November and March.

Several small wadis (valleys) cut across the highlands roughly from east to west. Eleva-tion ranges from 300 m in the east to 700 m for the hills in the most westerly part of the surveyed region, 5 km south of Irbid. The plateau is very heavily dissected by the succession of wadis draining steeply to the Jordan Valley.

The soil is of terra rossa type, which is reddish-brown with a lime content. Moist, adhesive and of moderate high fertility, this is a region of grain production, such as wheat and barley. These kinds of crops have been the chief winter crops through the ages as attested by archaeo-botanical remains. Other main agricultural products are grapes and olives, which are still planted today. Remains of ancient olive and wine-presses are still seen in some sites.

Fig. 1. Location of Jordan and the city of Irbid (north-west Jordan) (http://www.1stjordan.net/content/map.html).

Fig. 2. Density of settlements (Roman and Byzantine sites were the majority) (WIS 2005).

http://maney-prod.literatumonline.com/action/showImage?doi=10.1179/003103207x227300&iName=master.img-000.jpg&w=214&h=232


171roman and byzantine settlements in west irbid

roman and byzantine settlements

The attraction of the region of north-western Jordan for archaeological examinations is based on a number of factors, such as agriculture, moderate climate, and strategic location. Overall, a number of pre-classical sites was recorded in the region. These sites took the form of dolmen fi elds and small settlements, the latter sometimes in the form of small tells exhib-iting abundant Bronze and Iron Age artifacts together with some later occupation. On the other hand, survey of the ridges and hilltops overlooking the small valleys revealed that archaeological sites were indeed common but were consistently Roman and Byzantine. The majority of these sites were occupied continuously in the Islamic periods. This shift in the cultural landscape and settlement type, from the forms of small tells into detached patterns of numerous small rural settlements, occurs in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine peri-ods, at which time the whole Levant was experiencing major economic growth. This was particularly evident in the form of the extension of small villages, and temporary settlements. The development of these settlements, with their numerous traces of cultural remains, appears to have been stimulated by a major growth in the economy that was geared toward the export of agricultural products as well as the supply of these commodities to nearby fl ourishing cities or urban centres, in particular Capitolias (modern Beit Ras) and Arbila (modern Irbid).

As shown in Fig. 3 the region was very densely settled. The distance between sites ranges between one and three kilometres. These settlements could be identifi ed not by com-plete structures but rather by the extensive spread of cultural materials, especially of well-cut building stones, tombs, pottery sherds, wine or olive presses, ancient wells, cisterns, tesserae pavements, pits and postholes (Fig. 4).

The nature of Roman and Byzantine sites seems to be similar in the surveyed region, primarily kinds of rural settlements. Some were small and indicated only by scattered pottery sherds (Fig. 3, group 2). These settlements might have been seasonal and connected to one of the larger permanent settlements in the surrounding area. Inhabitants probably lived in

Fig. 3. Distribution of Roman/Byzantine sites in West Irbid Survey.


172 palestine exploration quarterly, 139, 3 , 2007tents or cottages, although no obvious structures or building remains were found; even the collected potsherds were small. Some of these sites are associated with a small winepress and a well, as in sites Bier SDardeq / al-Waqf (1), Wadi NatDfeh, N (27) and ‘Aban (37). Examples of these settlements are sites Bier SDardeq / al-Waqf (1), Kasayer (2), N-W Jijjin (7), Al-QatDatDiem & Rjele (15.2), Nkhele (16), Wadi NatDfeh, N (27), al’Abar esh-Sharqi (30), Abu ez-Zeit (35) and ‘Aban (37).

Other sites were larger in size with traces of water installations, well cut stones, rock-cut burials and large quantities of pottery sherds (Fig. 3, group 1). These sites are: Sum (3), Jijjin (6), Dwqara (8), Khirbet ‘Awwar (9), ZahDar (10/3), Kufr RahD ta (12), Jamulta, ZD uherieh (13), Wadi el-MarsDad-East (14), TasDarrief (14/1), Barsinia (18), Harm (19), Deir es-Se’neh (20/2), N-W Tell Beit Yar far (22), Al-Ghrabiat al-Mqawwara (26), ‘Esrin (28), Kufr ‘An (29), JumhDa (31), Umm hDannar (32), Dharet Sauqa’h (33), Qasr el-Ghul, N (38), Wadi el- Kherbeh (40) and Umm el- ButDm (14/1a). These settlements could control large swathes of the surround-ing agricultural lands and the small settlements. They showed continuity in occupation throughout the Islamic periods, and some of them like Harm (19), Kufr RahD ta (12), Sum (3), Jijjin (6), JumhDa (31), Dwgara (8) and Kufr ‘An (29) are still occupied, which is one reason why most of the Roman and Byzantine remains were reused in later times and no intact structures were found except for some tombs. More examples of these sites are Barsinia (18) and Umm el- ButDm (14.1a). Barsinia (18) seems to be abandoned at the end of the Ottoman period, and had been occupied earlier than the Roman period. Umm el- ButDm (14.1a) had evidence for later occupation in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods as well. Barsinia (18) in particular showed dense archaeological remains and appears to be one of the largest Roman/Byzantine occupations in the whole surveyed region. The most common features of these prominent sites are the rock-cut tombs, large amount of pottery sherds, well-cut stones, pieces of tesserae, quarries, and numbers of large wells.

Another type of rural settlement could be recognized at the foot of the ancient Bronze and Iron Age tells (Fig. 3, group 3). These settlements exhibited a relatively poor preservation of architectural remains as well as other cultural fi nds, and seem to have been abandoned in the Late Byzantine or Umayyad periods. Examples of these settlements are Tell Kufr Yuba (15/1), Tell esh-Shiqarq (17), Tell Beit Yar far (23), Tell esh-Shi’ir (4), and Tell Deir es-Se’neh (20/1).

Fig. 4. The frequency of Roman/Byzantine material culture WIS 2005.



architectural remains

Architectural remains were hard to recognize in most of the sites owing to recent changes made to the landscape. Churches and wine- or olive-presses were the best preserved or most recognizable monuments; however, well cut stones were spread in many places and sometimes reused in recent buildings or agricultural terraces. Tesserae of different sizes were used in paving Byzantine and Umayyad fl oors, but the small-sized tesserae were typically for the construction of church mosaic fl oors, hinting at the existence of Byzantine churches in the region (Fig. 5). Large numbers of Byzantine tesserae were found at 12 sites Dwgara (8), Wadi Khalla, S-E ZahDar (10), Kufr RahD ta (12), Jamulta (Zuherieh) (13), el-Kanieseh (14.1), Umm el-ButDm (14.1a), Barsinia (18), Harm (19), Tell Deir es-Se’neh (20.1)1, al-Ghrabiat (al-Mqawwara) (26), Umm hDannar (32), and Wadi el-Kherbeh (40). Structures of Byzantine churches, however, were obvious at only three sites; Jamulta (Zuherieh) (13), Tell Deir es-Se’neh (20.1) and al-Ghrabiat (al-Mqawwara) (26) (Pl. 1).

Another indication of architectural remains are stone quarries (Fig. 6) distributed in the rocky areas around the sites, such as at Tell esh-Shi’ir (4), N-W Jijjin (7), Khirbet ‘Awwar (9), Wadi Khalla, S-E ZahDar (10), Wadi Khalla, N-W ZahDar (11), Jamulta (Zuherieh) (13), el-Kanieseh (14.1) and Umm el-Bowab (36) (Pl. 2).

Olive and wine presses characterized by small basins of square or rounded shapes were uncovered at eight sites (Fig. 6); one press at Bier SDardeq (1), two presses at al-We’reh or Biaret esh-Shomar (5) (Pl. 3), one press at N-W Jijjin (7), one press at khirbet ‘Awwar (9), one press at Al-Ghrabiat / al-Mqawwara (26), two presses at ‘Esrin (28), one press at Umm el-Bowab (36) (Pl. 4) and one press at ‘Aban (37). They were all carved in the rock and covered in some places with dumps.

water installations

The region contains no perennial streams or water springs, except one with a very fl ow Wadi NatDfeh (24) (Fig. 7). Rain water was thus a critical factor for daily activities as well as for a

Fig. 5. Distribution of churches and tesserae.



successful agricultural year. Ancient settlements were entirely dependent on winter rains to fi ll the cisterns and wells. Remains of water installations such as wells, basins, and pools were very obvious in many places (Map 5), especially by the small wadis. Only one big pool (called the Roman pool by the locals) in Beit Yar far had been registered previously by Glueck (1951: site no.11) and is now completely fi lled. Although none of the numerous wells in the area

Fig. 6. Distribution of caves, presses and quarries.

Fig. 7. Distribution of water installations.



175roman and byzantine settlements in west irbidcould be dated with confi dence, they are not obviously modern. Forty-six ancient wells have been registered in the surveyed region. They were distributed in 22 sites but the vast major-ity (13 wells) were found at (28) ‘Esrin, overlooking a wadi called by the locals Wadi el Ji’ah (Valley of Wells). The other wells were distributed at Bier SDardeq /al-Waqf (1), N-W Jijjin (7), Khirbet ‘Awwar (9), Wadi Khalla, S-E ZahDar (10), Jamulta (13), Umm el- ButDm (14.1a), Barsinia2 (18), Harm (19) (Pl. 5), Tell Deir es-Se’neh (20.1), Deir es-Se’neh (20.2), Wadi Deir es-Se’neh (21), N-W Tell Beit Yar far (22), Tell Beit Yar far (23), al-Ghrabiat / al-Mqawwara (26), Kufr ‘An (29), al-’Abar esh-Sharqi (30), JumhDa (31), Umm hDannar (32), Umm el-Bowab (36), ‘Aban (37) and Wadi el-Kherbeh (40). Due to recent expansion of modern occupation some of these wells were blocked by large stones but others are still in use, with the addition of cement entrances or metal covers.

Other obvious water installations are reservoirs, appearing at three sites: Kasayer (2), Wadi Khalla, N-W ZahDar (11), and Kufr ‘An (29). Basins also appeared at three sites: Jamulta, Zuherieh (13), Harm (19), and Wadi Deir es-Se’neh (21).

tombs

Burials of Roman/Byzantine character were the most obvious feature of Roman/Byzantine settlements and found at many sites. Many more graves are likely to exist in the area, but are very hard to detect on surface survey alone. Nevertheless, the uncovered tombs can be classifi ed into three main types: rock-cut chamber tombs, shaft tombs and rock-cut indi-vidual cist graves (Fig. 8). These were established mostly on the slopes of the hillocks close to the settlements. They contain variable sedimentary fi lls related to colluvial slope wash and aeolian deposition.

Rock-cut or cave tombs (74 tombs in total) usually contain a number of graves carved into the sides or the fl oor of the rock-cut chamber. Examples of this tomb type were found in Sum (3), Wadi Khalla, S-E ZahDar (10), Kufr RahD ta (12), Jamulta or Zuheirieh (13), el-Kanieseh (14.1), Umm el- ButDm (14.1a) (Pls. 10–11), Barsinia (18), Harm (19) (Pl. 8), Wadi Deir es-Se’neh (21), Wadi NatDfeh (24), Al-Ghrabiat or al-Mqawwara (26) (Pl. 6), Esrin (28), Kufr

Fig. 8. Distribution of tombs


176 palestine exploration quarterly, 139, 3 , 2007‘An (29), Umm hDannar (32), Umm el-Bowab (36), ‘Aban (37), and al-Ghawayieb (39) (Pls 6–11). Most of these tombs have been looted recently. This kind of tomb was usually closed by decorated stone doors; examples of these doors were still seen in two sites, Wadi NatDfeh (24) and S–E ZahDar (10). Only two stone doors at ZahDar (145x85x20 cm) (Pl. 13) and ‘Esrin (28) (Pl. 12) were intact, both decorated by small geometrical rounded and fl oral designs.

Most of the surveyed cave-tombs have been found at al-Ghrabiat or al-Mqawwara (26), located along Wadi NatDfeh about 2 km south-west of the recent village of NatDfeh. At least 19 rock-cut tombs were recognized, varying in both shape and size. One of these tombs was looted recently (Pl. 6). Measuring 7 m (length) x6.5 m (width) x4 m (height), this tomb contained 14 loculi hewn within the walls and dug into the fl oor. An arcosolium was visible in the central part of the front wall. The stone doorway of the tomb has been destroyed and some broken parts were found inside. However, the door-frame is in situ and is decorated with fl oral leaves and vines (Pl. 7). Some loculi are two-storied. This tomb had room for at least 32 corpses.

A Roman rock-cut chamber tomb, previously mentioned by Mittmann (1970: 173–174), was found north-west of Sum (3); a bilingual inscription, dated to the Roman Period, was found on it. The interior walls of the tomb are painted with frescoes of fl oral motives and mythological scenes (Wagner-Lux 1986: 289). Another example was found at Harm (19) and excavated by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities in 1984 (unpublished report). The tomb is well hewn and contained limestone sarcophagi of different sizes inside (Pls. 8, 9).

Shaft-tombs could be recognized in seven sites; Dwgara (8) (Pl. 14), Wadi Khalla, N-W ZahDar (11), Kufr RahD ta (12), Jamulta (13), Barsinia (18), ‘Esrin (28), and al-Ghawayieb (39). The majority (fi ve tombs) were found at Barsinia (18), and are characterized by a rectangular vertical cut in the ground. All were full with dumps.

Nine cist-tombs have been uncovered. They are simple individual rock-cut graves, rec-tangular in shape and dug into the ground in different directions. They were found at four sites: six of them at ZahDar (10.3) (Pl. 15), one at JumhDa (31), and two north of Qasr el-Ghul (K’eber) (38) (Pl. 16).

conclusion

The West Irbid Survey project suggests an agricultural landscape coming into existence in the Classical periods, especially in the Roman period, and lasting into the Byzantine and Islamic periods. This change in cultural landscape from previous settlements in the Bronze and Iron Ages to detached patterns of numerous small rural settlements was determined by a large population increase and played a pivotal role in the fl ourishing agricultural economy which pushed the economic situation to a larger scale. The majority of the settlements could be classifi ed into three groups of permanent and seasonal rural settlements. The fi rst group includes major rural villages with architectural remains recognized mostly by well cut stones, large amounts of potsherds, water installations, and different kinds of tombs. The second group could be defi ned as simple rural settlements at the foot of the ancient Bronze and Iron Age tells. These settlements showed a relatively poor preservation of architectural remains as well as other material cultural evidence, and seem to have been abandoned by the Late Byzantine or Umayyad periods. The third group is seasonal settlements. These were tempo-rary occupations situated close to permanent settlements and economically inseparable from them. These settlements could be recognized by the small amount of potsherds and left no trace of preserved architectural remains. People living in these settlements might have been living permanently in a village, settling in these settlements seasonally, most probably, for agricultural reasons such as pasturage, land preparation for agriculture, crop growing and harvesting.

177roman and byzantine settlements in west irbidnotes

1 The church at Deir es Se’neh had been excavated in 1996 (Unpublished report in the Department of Antiquities by Salameh Fayyad)

2 During the fi rst season of excavation (2006) at the site by the author, more wells were uncovered.

bibliography

Glueck, N. 1951. Explorations in Eastern Palestine, IV, Parts I and II. AASOR vols. 25–28.Kamlah, Jens. 2000. Der Zeiraqon — Survey 1989–1994. Mit Beiträge zur Methodik und geschichtlichen Auswertung

archäologischer Oberfl ächenuntersuchungen in Palästina. Wiesbadan: Harrassowitz VerlagLenzen, C. 1992. ‘Irbid and Beit Ras interconnected settlements c. A.D. 100–900’. SHAJ 4, 299–301.Lenzen, C. and McQuitty, A. 1983. ‘A preliminary survey of the Irbid-Beit Ras Region, north-western Jordan’,

ADAJ 27, 656.Lenzen, C. and McQuitty, A. 1988. ‘The 1984 survey of the Irbid / Beit Ras region’, ADAJ 32, 265–274.Lenzen, C. and McQuitty, A. 1989. Irbid (Tell), pp. 298–300; Beit Ras, p. 193–195; Burz (Khirbet el), p. 196–197,

in Homés-Fredericq, D. and Hennessy, J. B. (eds) Archaeology of Jordan II/I–2. Field Reports, Surveys and Sites. Akkadica, Suppl. No. 7–8. Leiden.

Lenzen, C. Gordon, R. and McQuitty, A. 1985. ‘Excavations at Tell Irbid and Beit Ras’, 1985. ADAJ 29, 151–159.

Mittmann, S. (1966) ‘The Roman road from Gerasa to Adraa’, ADAJ 11, 65–87; (1970) Beiträge zur Siedlungs- und Territorialgeschichte des nördlichen Ostjordanland (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästinavereins). Wiesbaden.

Mittmann, S. 1970. ‘Zenon im Ostjordanland’ in Festschrift kurt Galling, 199–210. Tübingen.Schumacher, G. 1889. Abila of the Decapolis. PEF (Palestine Exploration Fund). London: Harrison and Sons.Schumacher, G. 1890. Northern Ajlun, within the Decapolis. PEF. London: Alexander P. Watt.


Pl. 1. Remains of a Byzantine Church at al-Ghrabiat /al-Mqawwara (26).

Pl. 2. Quarries at Umm el-Bowab (36).




Pl. 4. Press and well at Umm el-Bowab (36).

Pl. 3. Press at Biaret esh-Shomar (5).




Pl. 6. Cave-tomb at al-Ghrabiat or al-Mqawwara (26).

Pl. 5. Well and basin at Hamm (19).




Pl. 7. Door-frame at al-Ghrabiat or al-Mqawwara (26).

Pl. 8. Cave-tomb at Hamm (19).




Pl. 10. Cave-tomb at Umm el-ButDm (14/1a).

Pl. 9. Stone sarcophagi at Hamm (19).




Pl. 12. Stone-door of a cave-tomb at ‘Esrin (28).

Pl. 11. Cave-tomb at Umm el-ButDm (14/1a).




Pl. 13. Stone-door of a cave-tomb at Wadi Khalla, S-E ZahDar (10).

Pl. 14. Shaft tomb at Dwgara (8).




Pl. 15. Cist tombs at ZahD ar (10.3).

Pl. 16. Cist tombs at Qasr el-Ghul, N (38).



roman and byzantine settlements in the region of west irbid

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