The objective of Walking through Jordan is to acknowledge and honor the singular achievements and wider impacts of Jordan's most prominent survey archaeologist, Burton MacDonald. MacDonald is a biblical scholar by training who has written extensively about the Iron Age and early Christianity. However, unlike many biblical scholars, MacDonald has also undertaken large regional survey projects which encompass the entire gamut of Jordanian prehistory and history. Thus, his work is unique in that it attracts the interest of a wide range of scholars.Contributing scholars from around the world reflect on three important areas of MacDonald's archaeological contributions: on archaeological survey in general, including those focusing on methodology and/or field projects that depend to a large extent on surveys, MacDonald's five major surveys- papers that incorporate data from his field projects and sites tested or excavated by others that were first identified by his work, and the archaeology of the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the Roman Period and the early Christian era. Despite his important contributions to prehistoric archaeology, the early historical periods constitute the main emphasis of Burton's scholarly output.

This concise and illustrated book highlights the contributions of North American archaeologists to the archaeology of Jordan - a critical transition zone along the Levantine corridor that links the continents of Africa and Asia. For over 150 years, North American researchers have played a pivotal role in the exploration of Jordan, the development of archaeological methods there and the construction of theoretical approaches to study the deep-time archaeological record of this key part of Middle East. The volume focuses on the many peoples and cultures that have crossed Jordan from the earliest prehistoric times to the present. In this sense, this book contributes directly to the conservation of Jordan's heritage. The chapters are written primarily by the North American archaeological expedition directors giving this book an authoritative and 'cutting edge' view of the most recent discoveries and interpretive models of archaeology in Jordan today.By looking at the archaeology of the southern Levant through the lens of North American archaeological research in Jordan, the entire history of this crucial part of the Middle East's Fertile Crescent is highlighted - from Prehistory to Ottoman times. As a richly illustrated book with the best photographs produced by over 50 archaeological expeditions, Crossing Jordan is the most up-to-date guide to the archaeological heritage of Jordan and an important resource for scholars, students, citizens, NGOs, embassy personnel, and tourists.

This concise and illustrated book highlights the contributions of North American archaeologists to the archaeology of Jordan - a critical transition zone along the Levantine corridor that links the continents of Africa and Asia. For over 150 years, North American researchers have played a pivotal role in the exploration of Jordan, the development of archaeological methods there and the construction of theoretical approaches to study the deep-time archaeological record of this key part of Middle East. The volume focuses on the many peoples and cultures that have crossed Jordan from the earliest prehistoric times to the present. In this sense, this book contributes directly to the conservation of Jordan's heritage. The chapters are written primarily by the North American archaeological expedition directors giving this book an authoritative and 'cutting edge' view of the most recent discoveries and interpretive models of archaeology in Jordan today.By looking at the archaeology of the southern Levant through the lens of North American archaeological research in Jordan, the entire history of this crucial part of the Middle East's Fertile Crescent is highlighted - from Prehistory to Ottoman times. As a richly illustrated book with the best photographs produced by over 50 archaeological expeditions, Crossing Jordan is the most up-to-date guide to the archaeological heritage of Jordan and an important resource for scholars, students, citizens, NGOs, embassy personnel, and tourists.

The Encyclopedia of Material Culture in the Biblical World (EBW) builds on the German "Standardwerk" Biblisches Reallexikon (BRL), edited by Kurt Galling 1937, second edition 1977 (2BRL). It is a reference book for biblical scholars, historians, and archaeologists. The EBW focusses on the material culture from the Neolithic Age to the Hellenistic period, giving attention to the material from the Bronze and Iron Ages, including the Persian period. The geographic regions covered by the entries include primarily the records of Palestine (= the Southern Levant) limited by (excl.) the southern fringe of Lebanon and Hermon (North), the Wadi al-Aris, the Sinai peninsula and North-Arabia (South), the Mediterranean Sea (West) and the Transjordanian desert (East). If appropriate to the entry, the neighboring evidence from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Mesopotamia is included. The Encyclopedia presents and documents the material culture based on the archaeological, epigraphical, and iconographical data in historical order and documents the state of current research. The entries do not only list or mention the most important material data, but try to synthesize and interpret it within the horizon of a history of Southern Levantine culture, economy, technical development, art, and religion. The EBW consists of around 120 articles and an introductory part pertaining to the chronology of the EBW, archaeology and cultural History, epigraphy, and iconography, written by specialists from 15 different countries.

Major recent excavations have shed much light on the complexity of Iron Age society and religion in southern Palestine, a region where both Judeans and Edomites lived. However, it is not clear whether the religious practices attested at these sites were a reflection of localised customs or were common rituals for peoples of Cisjordan and we do not know their extent. An isolated shrine site at Wadi ath-Thamad Site WT-13 in northern Moab which contained numerous finds of Iron Age figurines and statues has been the subject of detailed excavation. The rich harvest of figurines, ceramic statues, beads, miniature ceramic vessels, architectural models, faunal remains and shells and fossils constitutes the evidence for repeated cultic activities. Although dating to the Iron Age at the time of the consolidation of the kingdom of Moab, there is insufficient evidence at present to determine the full range of cultic practices and deities venerated by the peoples of the lands within ancient Moab and by those visitors to the shrine. The links between WT-13 and the surrounding town sites is only now coming to light with excavation at Atarus and Khirbat al-Mudayna, as well as at the Ammonite site of Tall Damiyah in the Jordan Valley, where a comparable shrine has recently been uncovered. WT-13 clearly serves as a link between the Jordan Valley and the Negev, adding to our knowledge of local and foreign influences in the region during the Iron Age.

The World of the Aramaeans is a three-volume collection of definitive essays about the Aramaeans and the biblical world of which they were a part. Areas of interest include the language, epigraphy and history of the Aramaeans of Syria as well of their neighbours, the Israelites, Phoenicians, Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites. The third volume, on language and literature, includes essays by Michael Weigl, William Marrow, Grant Frame, James M. Lindenberger, Pierre Bordreuil, Amir Harrak, Theodore Lutz, Josef Tropper, Dennis Pardee and Clemens Leonhard.>

The World of the Aramaeans is a three-volume collection of definitive essays about the Aramaeans and the biblical world of which they were a part The World of the Aramaeans is a three-volume collection of definitive essays about the Aramaeans and the biblical world of which they were a part. Areas of interest include the language, epigraphy and history of the Aramaeans of Syria as well of their neighbours, the Israelites, Phoenicians, Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites. The second volume, devoted to history and archaeology, includes contributions by Brian Peckham, Wolfgang Rollig, Carl S. Ehrlich, Guy Couturier, Stafania Mazzoni, Timothy P. Harrison, Michael Heltzer, John S. Holladay Jr., Michele Daviau, Paolo Xella, Emile Puech, Piotr Bienkowski, Bezalel Porten and John Gee.

Located in a strategic position on the southern flank of the Ammonite hill country, overlooking the Madaba Plain, the earliest settlement at Tall Jawa dates to the Iron I period (1100-900 BC). This settlement was redesigned during Iron Age II (900-600 BC), and consisted of a walled town, surrounded by a casemate style fortification system and a multi-chambered gate complex. Major buildings, standing to the second storey, are described in detail with their furnishings and contents. A marked change in architecture, ceramic technology, and high status artefacts mark the high point of Tall Jawa during the period of the Assyrian empire (730-600 BC). The major features of each structure are illustrated both in the text and on a CD-ROM.
This volume presents the final report of six seasons of excavations at Tall Jawa in central Jordan. The particular focus of this report is the architecture and stratigraphy of the settlements which occupied the site during the Iron Age (1100-600 BC).