OCCIDENT & ORIENT Newsletter of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman The Institute 2001/2002: Strengthening German-Jordanian Cooperation - News and Activities Since the publication of our last Kingdom and present them to a Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2002 Newsletter in September 2001 the broader public. CONTENTS institute was involved in a variety of Turning to 2002 one of the main scientific activities. Among others it • Ancient Settlements in the projects planned by our institute will Plain of Akkar/ Northern Le- 2 was hosting the European Salon, a be an archaeological excavation at banon round organized alternately by the • New Touristic Sign-Posts Tell Johfiyeh, an Iron Age site situ­ French (IFAPO), British (CBRL) and Inaugurated at Umm ated some 7.5 km southwest of German (DEI) archaeological insti­ Qeis/Gadara and Rujm el- 4 Irbid, in northern Jordan (Fig. 1). Malfuf (Amman) tutes in Amman, a DAAD (German The project is planned as a coop­ • The Tell Halaf-Restoration- 5 Academic Exchange Programme) Project erative effort between our institute committee interviewing and select­ • Donors to the Library 6 and the Institute of Archaeology and ing candidates for a scholarship in • The Jerash City Walls Project: Anthropology (IAA) at Yarmouk Excavations 2001 7 Germany and last but not least a University, Irbid. A workshop con­ • Arrival of a New Cultural reception welcoming provost M. Attache at the German Em- 9 cerning scientific restoration of dif­ Reyer and his wife, who only re­ bassy ferent materials which had to be cently arrived in the region. • New Discovery in Jordan at cancelled in 2001 due to the events Beit-Ras Region (Ancient 9 A further, very important event of 11/09/01 should be made up this Capitolias) • Fellows in Residence and 12 during the last months was the in­ year in close cooperation with the Associated Fellows auguration of new trilingual (Arabic, Goethe-Institute, Amman, a restau- • The Engagement of the Fried- German, English) sign-posts put up ration laboratory from Konstanz, the rich Ebert Foundation in the at the major archaeological monu­ Department of Antiquities of Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jor- 13 dan ments at Umm Qeis and the so Amman, and Yarmouk University, • The ash-Shudayfah Plateau called Rujm el-Malfuf building, Irbid. North of Petra (Jordan) 15 which is situated in the heart of • A Newly Discovered Byzan­ Furthermore, our varied activities Jebel Amman just opposite the tine Laura Near Jordan River 17 all over the country, e.g. in Umm building of the Department of Anti­ • The Region of Gadara/Umm 18 Queis and its hinterland, will con­ Qeis Project quities (DoA). The work done by the tinue. Logistical support will be • A Nabataean Castle at Rujm 19 German Protestant Institute of Ar­ Taba given among others to visiting chaeology in Amman (DEI) and the • Farewell to a great friend 21 scholars and excavation teams German Archaeological Institute working in Tell Zera'a and Umm (DAI) in Berlin in close cooperation • Published twice a year by the Ger­ Qeis. • man Protestant Institute of Archaeo­ with the Department of Antiquities logy in Amman. of Jordan is aiming at a better un­ POBox 183, Amman 11118, Jordan. derstanding of the ancient monu­ . Tel. 06/5342924, Fax 06/5336924. ments and might become an exam­ E-mail: [email protected]. ple for more archaeological sites • Editors: Roland Lamprichs and Arnd within Jordan. Kulla. Inspired by the fruitful cooperation • Technical and editorial assistance: between German and Jordanian Susanne Helbig, DEI Hannover, partners our institute is looking for­ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. ward to further close cooperation • Newsletter logo above by Samir with the concerned authorities in Shraydeh. order to help to protect the archaeo­ Fig. 1: Tell Johfiyeh from the south­ logical remains in the Hashemite east 2 OCCIDENT & ORIENT- March 2002 Ancient Settlements in the Plain of Akkar/Northern Lebanon. First Results of Archaeological Survey Work in 1997 and 1999 By: Karin Bartl, Freie Universitat Berlin in cooperation with Anis Chaaya, Direction Generate des Antiquites du Liban Introduction (N/S) x 20 km (S/W-N/E) x 17 km BC (Helck 1962; Klengel 1992), (E/W) which descends gently from and the later periods since the Northern Lebanon represents a re• west to east and is bordered by a formation of the Roman province gion which is divided by its topo• chain of flat hills which form the Syria. The last period of supra- graphy into several units: the rather northern spur of the Lebanese regional importance was the narrow coastal strip, bordered by a mountains. The permanent water Crusader's period, when the plain hilly region and the high mountains supply of the region is mainly of Akkar became part of the county to the east, the highest peak being guaranteed by large springs and of Tripoli (Runciman 1958; Qornet es Saouda. Like the adja• several rivers which traverse the Salame-Sarkis 1980; Leriche cent regions to the south and north plain in a southeast-northwestern 1983). the coastal and hilly regions offer direction. The most important of very favourable settlement condi• the perennial water courses is the tions which led to development of Preliminary Results Nahr el Kebir, today the border line rather dense occupation since the between Lebanon and Syria. To• In total, more than 70 places at the earliest times. gether with the adjacent Buqaia plain and the adjacent hilly region to However, systematic archaeologi• plain the Akkar region forms one of the south and east could be defined cal research focused rather late on the most important routes con• as archaeological sites, i.e. settle• northern Lebanon. It was only dur• necting the Mediterranean coast ments, tombs, necropoles and ing the early seventies that ar• and inland Syria. worked rocks (Fig. 2). Besides, chaeological fieldwork at Tripoli nd many spots with sherd concentra• (Salame-Sarkis 1975-76, 1980, From the 2 mill. BC on• tions along the main river courses 1983), Tell Arde (ancient Ardata) wards, the area is mentioned (Nahr Aarqa, Nahr Estouene and (Salame-Sarkis 1972, 1973) and repeatedly in written sources Nahr el Kebir) were discovered thus Tell 'Arqa (ancient Irqata, resp. which show the involvement of pointing to former houses or farm• Area Caesarea) (Thalmann 1978a, the region in international politi• steads which are now totally de• 1978b, 1990, 1997; Hakimian, cal affairs. At various periods stroyed by agricultural activities like Salame-Sarkis 1988) started. Be• the plain of Akkar became a deep-ploughing. For example, one side this, archaeological surface in• border region between different of those spots was site no. 129.1 vestigations of the entire area were spheres of influence or was in• which is marked on the map Liban carried out during that period but corporated into larger political 1:20.000/Beyrouth 1962-63 as a had to be discontinued (Saidah units. It seems that for only a small tell but today is not recog• 1969; Sapin 1978-79; Thalmann, few centuries it was politically nizable any more. Maqdissi 1989). The results of this autonomous and independent. research, which already had shown Concerning the the rich archaeological potential of written evidence, the region, led to the systematic periods of spe• survey of one of the most favour• cial interest are the second half able settlement areas of northern nd Lebanon, the plain of Akkar, which of the 2 mill. was carried out in 1997 and 1999 BC when the as a joint project of Free University area was invol• Berlin and the Direction Generale ved in the Egyp- des Antiquites du Liban (Bartl, tian-Hittite strug• Chaaya in press a, b). gle for domina• tion in Syria and The plain of Akkar represents a later became very fertile landscape which is part of the newly nowadays divided into two parts: established king• the northern part in Syria and the dom of Amurru, southern part in northern Lebanon the period of (Fig. 1). The Lebanese part of the Assyrian pres• Akkar plain is a nearly triangular ence since the area with an extent ofca. 15 km end of the 8th cent. Fig. 1: The plain of Akkar OCCIDENT & ORIENT- March 2002 3 t-H the 9th cent. BC. tombs of different shapes: shaft Till HoMn |ii : Ml lb. Surface finds of graves, chamber tombs and red-slipped Iron age cave-like structures. As already pottery indicate that mentioned none of tnese yielded f:..i<. period. any pottery sherds or other finds. It might be that most of them date to ill Among the settle• the space of time between the Hel• ments which are lenistic and Byzantine periods since occupied since the the settlement density of the Akkar Early Bronze age, plain increased during these centu• Tell Hmaira/AS ries. Moreover, it seems that during 140.1 seems to be PLAIN OF AKKAR that period the hilly flanks have the most important been settled for the first time. Sites one. Like other like Nfeisse/AS 164.1 and El ««.< sites mentioned Qlouaa/AS 27.1, today totally de• above it has con• stroyed by agricultural activities, tinuously been oc• point to the existence of small vil• cupied from the 3rd lages of the Roman/Byzantine peri• mill. BC to the 1st aft n* mmm ods in that area. The lack of earlier -1 mill. AD. Of special sites in the hills might be connected interest are several with a still dense wood coverage in finds of almost the 2nd and beginning 1st mill. BC. completely preser• ved Late Bronze •»r • » :j0 age vessels deriv• ing from robbery • trenches and kept by villagers nearby (Fig.