ARAM, 23 (2011) 619-644. doi: 10.2143/ARAM.23.0.2959676 WATER SYSTEMS AT YASILEH Prof. ZEIDOUN AL-MUHEISEN* (Yarmouk University) Yasileh is located 9 km east of Irbid and 5 km west of ar-Ramtha, in north- ern Jordan. The site of Yasileh has an important geographical location since the area was a crossroad sfor the ancient trading routes between Southern Syria, Jordan and Palestine, in addition to the fact that the land in the sur- rounding area is very fertile and very well suited to agriculture. The Wadi ash-Shallalih area, including the site of Yasileh, a natural basin in which to collect rainwater where the annual rainfall for the Yasileh area has been esti- mated at between 400-500 mm. A sufficient supply of water was also ensured by cisterns cut into the rocky sides of Wadi Yasileh, as well as a spring located 1 km to the north of the site. Yasileh has a variety of water sources, storage and delivery systems including springs, reservoirs, wells, dams, tunnels and canals. Since 1988, ten campaigns have been carried out by the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University. Based on the results of the archaeological activities in the site headed by the author, this article will shed light on the water systems at Yasileh. INTRODUCTION The Yasileh site is located in Wadi ash-Shallalih, which represents the lower reaches of Wadi Warran (Schumacher 1890, 108). Wadi ash-Shallalih runs through the area between Hauran and ‘Ajlun and is fed by tributaries arising in the ‘Ajlun mountains; running west of the village of Suf, it continues north- ward to reach the area of ar-Ramtha, where it is known as Wadi Warran. Schu- macher reports that the wadi descends from as-Swait mountain, but dries up in the summer season, mentioning also that the surrounding area, which is char- acterized by calcareous rocks with some granite, is inhabited by nomads and that wild pistachio and oak are common in the area (Fig. 1). Schumacher followed the course of Wadi Warran, reporting that in summer it was covered in vegetation and that the water was only a little brook (Schu- macher 1890, 20). The Wadi ash-Shallalih basin, which passes through the Yasileh site is 6.5 km2. It is worth mentioning that both Irbid and Umm Qais * Prof. Dr. Zeidoun al-Muheisen – Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology – Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan, E-mail: [email protected]. 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 619619 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 620 WATER SYSTEMS AT YASILEH Fig. 1. A map of Jordan showing the site of Yasileh. (Gadara) used to suffer from water shortages during the Roman period, which necessitated the drawing of water via tunnels from an area close to ar-Ramtha. In fact, the water used to be brought to Irbid and Umm Qais from Yasileh, which is well-served by water systems as it extends along Wadi ash-Shallalih (Fig. 2), the wadi itself being rich in water resources and particularly in springs such as “Nabe” al-Ma’alaqa (Fig. 3), ‘the hanging spring’, characterized by being relatively high up and very active (al-Muheisen 1992, 245-251). Yasileh is 5 km from ar-Ramtha and 9 km from Irbid and has a variety of water sources, storage and delivery systems including springs, reservoirs, wells, dams, tunnels and canals (al-Muheisen and Tarrier 1996, 185-196). THE SITE The pottery sherds from the excavated areas reflected a wide variety of forms and periods; the earliest sherds date back to the late Hellenistic period but are also evidenced through the Islamic periods (al-Muheisen 1994, 651-653), with a notable profusion of Roman and Byzantine sherds. This can be attributed to the prosperity and importance of the site during these periods, which is also known to have been documented at some of the other sites in Northern Jordan (al-Muheisen 1994, 29). 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 620620 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 Z. AL-MUHEISEN 621 Fig. 2. Plan of the water systems at Yasileh. 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 621621 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 622 WATER SYSTEMS AT YASILEH Fig. 3. The spring of al-Ma’alaqa. As for the geology of the site, we were able to distinguish three geological periods: During the Pleistocene there were basaltic flows and terrace graves: The Middle Eocene layers consist of chalky marl with chert layers, white, soft, upper chalky limestone with chert layers, a hard cherty limestone, dark gray to brown, and a lower chalky marly limestone, whitish to beige and soft. In the uppermost Cretaceous the rocks consisted of bituminous marl = (oil shale) dark gray to light gray with chert nodules and bands. Although Yasileh is located in an area where many surveys have been car- ried out, it does not appear to have been mentioned before the accidental dis- covery of a tomb in the spring of 1988 (Fig. 4), (al-Muheisen and Najjar 1994, 5-7); since then, however, ten campaigns have been carried out by the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University headed by the author (al-Muheisen 1989, 253-257). In addition to the necropolis, four main archaeological structures have been identified; two churches were brought to light in the southern and northern parts of the site, the first built on a terrace on the western bank of the wadi. A burial site consisting of a coffin made of large stone slabs was found in the northeastern corner of the church, and contained two male skeletons and a bone toggle from a monk’s mantle. According to various pieces of evidence, the church probably dates back to the middle of the fifthe or beginning of the sexth century AD. The second church, found during the last season, has a mosaic pavement dated to the year AD 528 (al-Muheisen and Tarrier 1996, 43). 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 622622 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 Z. AL-MUHEISEN 623 Fig. 4. Plan of tomb 1 at Yasileh. Fig. 5. Plan of the wine press. In area B located on the eastern bank, a large rock-cut wine press was uncov- ered (Fig. 5). The two-storey complex includes several rooms, with treading floors, vats and cisterns, as well as storage caves. On the same bank, below the wine press, an important structure was cleared, which building techniques as well as pottery sherds allowed us to date to the Hellenistic period (al-Muheisen and Tarrier 1992, 229). 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 623623 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 624 WATER SYSTEMS AT YASILEH Fig. 6. Arial photo of Wadi Warran and the water reservoirs. I- WATER RESERVOIRS Reservoirs at Yasileh are hewn out of the natural rock and found on the lower slopes each side of Wadi Warran (Fig. 6), next to dwellings in the resi- dential quarter of the site. Hewn from a matrix of hard calcareous rock and fed by rainwater during the winter, the reservoirs took different forms: rectangular, square, rounded, hemispherical, oval, and even as elongated tunnels. 22 reser- voirs were identified, some in a poor state of preservation due to erosion and/ or being found full of stones and silt (al-Muheisen 1990, 459-462). Some reservoirs were supplied by tunnels carrying water from the wadi while others were connected to the wadi via rock-cut canals; many of these canals could not be completely identified as they were entirely silted up, but were dis- tinguishable at the point where they joined the reservoir or through an opening in the roof, particularly those reservoirs built on the sloping sides of the wadi. These installations have been skillfully hewn and the natural rock functions as a ceiling or roof to keep them free of soil and debris. This is particularly noticeable in reservoirs built on the gradient, some of which are entirely roofed with the upper part being rounded in shape but becoming rectangular as they penetrate deeper into the rock. This technique was used to maximize the capac- ity of the reservoir. 994097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd4097_ARAM_23_29_Al-Muheisen.indd 624624 111/02/131/02/13 008:358:35 Z. AL-MUHEISEN 625 RESERVOIR I Located on the western bank of Wadi Warran, this reservoir is hewn out of hard limestone rock; although ill-defined, it appeared to be rectangular in shape with overall dimensions of 3.5 m length (east-west), 3.3 m width (north- south) and 2 m depth, with a capacity of 23.1 m3, and would have filled auto- matically during the flood of Wadi Warran. RESERVOIR II Identified west of the wadi some 3 m north of Reservoir I it is also hewn out of the hard limestone rock characteristic of the site, but is rounded in shape (1.55 m diameter). A sounding shaft (2 m ≈ 2 m ≈ 2 m) opened here showed that the reservoir is 2.5 m deep with 3.1 m3 overall capacity. The excavated fill yielded some potsherds and a filling tunnel was discovered. RESERVOIR III This reservoir was located at the bottom of the eastern slope of the wadi and natural rocks were integrated into the roof to protect it from dirt. Hewn from the hard calcareous rock it is rectangular in plan (6.5 m ≈ 4.8 m ≈ 4 m) with an overall capacity of 124.8 m3. Remnants of a rock-carved canal are still evident on the southern side of the reservoir. RESERVOIR IV This reservoir is located on the western slope, 4 m from a group of reser- voirs on its southern side; rectangular in shape with overall dimensions of 3.6 m ≈ 1.4 m ≈ 2 m and a capacity of 10.08 m3, it was hewn from the hard local limestone rock.