Jordan, Aqaba - Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan

Excavation at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan: A joint project between the Department of Archaeology of the Jordan University, Amman, and the Orient Department of the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin.

The excavations at the Late Chalcolithic - Early Bronze Age Site Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan are part of the ASEYM-project (Archaeological Survey and Excavation in the Yitim and Magass Area - Aqaba). As a joint project of the Department of Archaeology of the Jordan University, Amman, and the Orient Department of the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, archaeological surveys and excavations have been carried out in the Aqaba-region since 1998, that have focussed on it's prehistoric occupation.

Lage

The modern town of Aqaba is situated on the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba at the base of dramatically ascending mountains and at the junction of the sea and desert [Fig. 1]. The prehistoric site of Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan is located on the northern edge of the modern town in the middle of the Wadi al-Yitim fan, close to the contemporary site of Tall al-Magass, in an area planned to be developed into a residential district.

Geschichte

Aqaba is the only "living city" on the Red Sea with more than 6000 years of history [Fig. 2]. Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan and Tall Magass are the oldest known permanent settlements in the direct vicinity of Aqaba, dating to the transitional period from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC). Habitation from the Iron Age (I) until the Persian period (1st millennium BC) in Aqaba is testified by Tall Kheleifeh, located close to the border to Israel and to the shoreline of the Red Sea (Pratico 1997). The excavated ruins of Aila demonstrate the Late Roman and Byzantine periods in Aqaba (Parker 1997) and, in addition, Early Islamic times are represented by the excavated ruins of Ayla (Whitcomb 1997). The Ottoman fortress relates to later occupation in the area of modern Aqaba. 

Ziele

This project is focussed on several goals which should be achieved together with our collaborative partners within the next few years. These goals involve research on:

• Trade and "international relations": trade-relations with Predynastic Egypt and the relationship with the desert regions north of Aqaba.
• Metallurgy: analysis of copper remains and -artifacts with reference to the origin of the raw-material and additionally the technology of smelting and casting.
• Architecture, settlement structure and activity-areas: investigation of the mudbrick and stone architecture, site layout and mapping of different activity areas at the site (e.g. storage, copper-smelting, textile industry, domestic activities, etc.)
• Seismology: analysis of the destroyed parts of the architecture with reference to the strength and the location of the earthquake.
• Hydro-engineering: investigation of the technology of irrigation and flood protection in the close vicinity of the Tall.
• Ecology: reconstruction of the environment and subsistence economy in the area during the 4th millennium B.C.

Forschungsgeschichte

The contemporary sites Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan and Tall al-Magass were first mentioned by the German scholar F. Frank (1934, 245 and plan 27). In 1985 archaeological research was initiated by Lutfi Khalil (Department of Archaeology, Jordan University) at Tall al Magass (Khalil 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995). In 1990 Khalil started a small scale excavation at the site Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan. Since 1998 archaeological research at both sites has been conducted by the joint German-Jordanian ASEYM-project, beginning with an intensive archaeological survey of Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (Khalil - Eichmann 1999, 2001; Eichmann - Khalil 1998, 1999) and followed by a small scale excavation in 2000 (Khalil - Eichmann 2001). 

Bisherige Arbeiten

The 1990 excavation of Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan, which encompasses c. 0,8 ha and rises nearly 4 m above the surrounding Wadi al-Yutum fan [Fig. 3], concentrated on two small trenches at the edge of the tall. In 1998 an intensive site-survey was carried out and a topographical map of the site produced. Small scale excavations in 2000 were aimed at site-stratigraphy and were able to determine the complete stratigraphy that comprises several distinct building levels, including the beginnings of the settlement. The site was inhabited at the time when systematic copper metallurgy first appeared in southern Jordan, according to a series of 14C-dates between 3900 and 3500 BCcal. 

Aktuelle Arbeiten

The goal of the 2002 season was to excavate a large area of c. 650 m² [Fig. 4] in order to investigate the layout of a section of the settlement. The exposed structural remains consist of mudbrick architecture and the rest of stonewalls [Fig. 5]. Large parts of the buildings were destroyed by an earthquake and a fire, the rooms filled with debris from upper storeys (including pieces of wooden roof-beams) and artifacts. No floor-level has been reached until now.

In the next field season of 2003 the excavated area will be enlarged by another c. 650 m², the rooms will be excavated down to the floor-level, the damages of the earthquake will be analyzed and remains of channels and dams in the vicinity of the tall will be investigated. 

Methoden

The excavation in 2002 was carried out in eight 9 x 9 m squares, revealing the upper parts of the walls. The exposed architecture was drawn and, additionally, vertical photographs made directly above the squares were taken as a daily documentation of the excavation's progress and for final documentation of the recovered architectural remains [Fig. 6, 7]. This simple but very effective system for vertical photos with the help of poles and ropes was developed at the Joint Turkish-German excavations of the Museum of Sanliurfa and the German Archaeological Institute at the Early Neolithic mound of Göbekli Tepe / southeastern Turkey. The analysis of the small finds has been and will continue to be carried out by several specialists for lithic artifacts (Dr. Thomas Hikade), pottery (Dr. Susanne Kerner), metallurgical remains (PD Dr. Andreas Hauptmann), floral remains (Dr. Reinder Neef), faunal remains (Prof. Dr. N. Benecke) and 14C-dating (Dr. J. Görsdorf). 

Ergebnisse

Architecture and areas of specific activities
The architecture is characterized by a planned layout of several large buildings, most constructed with mudbrick walls. The northern part of the excavated area is characterized by a storage building, incorporating several smaller and larger compartments [see Fig. 7] and built with at least two storeys. Concentrations of various categories of small finds (spindle whorls, crucibles and moulds, copper artifacts, fan-scrapers etc.) and botanical material (e.g. grain and flax) are probably indicative of activities (storage measures, domestic activities, metallurgy, textile production etc.) that were carried out in different parts of the settlement.

Pottery
The pottery found at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan is generally of quite a coarse fabric with chaff and mineral temper. Burnished wares are sparse, and polished or painted pottery is non-existent. Very few pieces are decorated with incised lines, however decoration as rows of finger imprints is common. Pottery shapes include plates, bowls and large jars, often with small handles or lugs. The rims are simple in profile. Few parallels for the pottery are known from Teleilat Ghassul or other sites of the central Jordanian Chalcolithic culture.

Lithics
Large tabular flint implements with a cortical back are typical for the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age in the Levant, although their function is yet unknown [Fig. 8]. In Predynastic Egypt they are known only from Maadi, where they appear in great number and are regarded as an import from the East (Schmidt 1993, 270). Find-sites of blanks of these fan-scrapers are known in eastern Jordan (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut 2001, 684-685) and the Jafr basin (Quintero - Wilke - Rollefson 2002). The so-called twisted bladelets are common in both regions, however no bladelet cores have been found in Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan. The twisted bladelets discovered in Hujayrat were produced elsewhere in the southern Levant or perhaps in Egypt.

Ground stone tools and "miracle bowls"
At Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan ground stone artifacts such as mace heads [Fig. 9], hammers and grinding stones are as common as stone vessels of different shapes. One dish-like fragment [Fig. 10] is decorated in geometric relief. Similar objects were noted in the ASYEM survey campaign 2000 in Wadi Yitim (site 244, Yitim A, fig. 38) and in Khirbet Rizqeh, until now a unique ritual site in the desert east of Aqaba. At Rizqeh such vessels appear in great number (Kirkbride 1969). One of these vessels has been called "miracle bowl", since one fragment was found when the site was discovered, and a second, joining part five months later in the mountains (Kirkbride 1969,192). We hope that the two fragments found in the ASEYM Project will prove to be "miracle bowls" as well and that we will find the missing parts somewhere in future.

Egyptian import
A fragment of an Egyptian basalt vessel was found in the debris fill of building B at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan [Fig. 11]. Examples of similar vessels, so-called "Libyan vases" made of basalt or other hard stone, are known, among others, from Maadi, a Predynastic settlement in Lower Egypt (Rizkana - Seeher 1988 pl. 107, 1 and pl. XI, 11).

Metallurgy
Pieces of copper ore and crucibles with traces of copper slag as well as clay moulds [Fig. 12] are important finds for identifying the settlement as a site involved in copper production. Finds of copper artifacts have been quite rare so far, with only a few objects: an axe [Fig. 13], some awls and a small copper ring found in 2002.

Small finds of molluscs
Ornaments made of molluscs from the Red Sea were most preferred in the southern Levant and in Egypt during this period. Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan was a production site for these ornaments. It seems very probable that copper was not the sole valuable product made there, but bracelets from Tridacna [Fig. 14] and other shells, for example, as well. This is documented by various stages of the chaîne opératoire noted in the excavation material.

Fauna remains
The largest part of the faunal remains (around 80%) derives from domestic animals with sheep and goat being the dominant species. Domestic cattle could also be identified. The evidence of young animals (calves) may indicate either that this species was actually raised in the area under investigation, or that living animals were brought from other regions for slaughter at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan. The wild fauna is represented by onager, gazelle, ibex, deer and hare. Surprisingly, there were no remains of carnivores nor fish. Molluscs were used only for ornaments, not for food.

Flora remains
Several flotation and dry-sieved soil samples were taken. Remains of typical desert plants were found, such as the bitter apple (Citrillus colocynthis) a cucumber-like plant [ABB. 84]. Hence, the climate and precipitation during the late Chalcolithic did not differ significantly from that of today (less than 50 mm). Most of the botanical remains preserved were carbonized, but due to the very low, annual precipitation some materials like the wood of tamarisk were preserved in uncarbonized state as well. Cultivated plants are represented by barley, emmer, wheat and flax. Species of shrubs and trees include acacia, tamarisk, wild fig, Phoenician juniper and wild pistachio.

Trade-relations with Egypt?
Two types of clay moulds were found at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan. Both are open moulds, one rectangular in shape, the other oval [Fig. 12]. Similarly shaped copper ingots with similar dimensions are known from Maadi (Rizkana - Seeher 1989 pl. 4, 9 -10). Future research, especially the analysis of copper objects found in Maadi and Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan, will help in proving whether these sites represent links in a chain that connects Near Eastern Chalcolithic cultures with the emerging Pharaonic Civilization. The fragment of the above mentioned "Libyan vase" [see Fig. 11] is a hint of the reverse direction of trade with Egypt.  

Kooperationen

This project is a joint undertaking between the Orient Department of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin (director: Prof. Dr. Ricardo Eichmann, field-director: PD Dr. Klaus Schmidt) and the Department of Archaeology of Jordan University, Amman (director: Prof. Dr. Lutfi Khalil).
Administrative cooperation is maintained with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoA) and its director general Prof. Dr. Fawwaz al-Khraysheh and the Aqaba office of the DoA and its director Mrs. Sawzan Fakhri. Additional administrative and logistic support is provided by the German embassy in Amman, the honorary counselor to Germany in Aqaba Mr. Abdulaziz Kabariti and the ASEZA (Aqaba Special Economic Zone Administration) under the directorate of Mr. Aqel Biltaji.

Scientific cooperation efforts exist with:

Ansprechpartner

Prof. Dr. phil. Ricardo Eichmann

Vorderasiatische Archäologie
Telefon: 01888-7711-0
Telefax: 01888-7711-189
Email: orient@dainst.de

Prof. Dr. phil. Klaus Schmidt

Prähistorische Archäologie
Telefon: 01888-7711-110
Telefax: 01888-7711-189
Email: urfa@orient.dainst.de
weitere E-Mail Adresse: orient@dainst.de Verweis: curriculum vitae, Veröffentlichungen

externe Ansprechpartner

Prof. Dr. Lutfi Khalil
Chairman of the Department of Archaeology
University of Jordan
Tel.: 00962-6-5355000
Email: lakhalil@ju.edu.jo

Förderung

Financial support for the project was provided by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (German Archaeological Institute) and the University of Jordan. In 2003 and 2004 the project will be partly financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) and the Higher Council of Science and Technology (HCST), Amman/Jordan. The Deutsches Evangelisches Institut für Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes in Amman (German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan provided logistic support.  

Literatur

Selected bibliography

Publications on previous and current activities at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan:
- Brückner, H. et al. 2002
Brückner, H. - R. Eichmann - L. Herling - H. Kallweit - S. Kerner - L. Khalil - R. Miqdadi, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Sites near Aqaba, Jordan, in: R. Eichmann (Hrsg.), Ausgrabungen und Surveys im Vorderen Orient, OrA 5 (2002) 215-339.
- Eichmann, R. - L. Khalil 1998
German-Jordanian Archaeological Project in Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey and Excavation in the Yitim and Magass Area 1998 (ASEYM 98), OO 3.1,1998,14-16.
- Eichmann, R. - L. Khalil 1999
Archaeological Survey and Excavation at al-Yutum and Tall al-Magass Area - Aqaba (ASEYM). A Preliminary Report on the First Season 1998, ADAJ 43,1999, 501-520.
- Kallweit, H. 2002
Archaeological and Geomorphologic Survey to the East, Southeast and South of Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan, in: Brückner et al. 2002, 228-240.
- Khalil, L. 1987
Preliminary Report on the 1985 Season of Excavation at el-Maqass - Aqaba, ADAJ 31,1987,481-483.
- Khalil, L. 1988
Excavation at Maqass - Aqaba, 1985, Dirasat 15.7, 1988, 71-117.
- Khalil, L. 1992
Some Technological Features from a Chalcolithic Site at Maqass - Aqaba, in: G. Bisheh (Hrsg.), SHAJ IV (1992) 143-148.
- Khalil, L. 1995
The Second Season of Excavation at al-Magass - Aqaba, 1990, ADAJ 39, 1995, 65-79.
- Khalil, L. - R. Eichmann 1999
Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Wadi al-Yutum and Tall al-Magass Area - Aqaba (ASEYM). A Preliminary Report on the First Season 1998, ADAJ 43, 1999, 501-520.
- Khalil, L. - R. Eichmann 2001
Archaeological Survey and Excavation at the Wadi al-Yutum and Magass Area - al-Aqaba (ASEYM): A Preliminary Report on the Second Season in 2000, ADAJ 45, 2001, 195-204.
- Khalil, L. - R. Eichmann - K. Schmidt 2003
Excavations at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan / Aqaba, 2003, in prep.
- Müller-Neuhof, B. - K. Schmidt - L. Khalil - R. Eichmann 2003
Ausgrabungen in Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (Jordanien), Alter Orient Aktuell 4, 2003, 22-25.

Other publications mentioned in the text and publications referring to archaeological activities in the Aqaba region:
- Brückner, H. 1999
Paläogeographische Küstenforschung am Golf von Aqaba im Bereich des Tell el Kheleifeh, Jordanien, in: A.Dittmann - J.Wunderlich (Hrsg.), Geomorphologie und Paläoökologie. Festschrift für Wolfgang Andres zum 60. Geburtstag, Frankfurter Geowissenschaftliche Arbeiten, Serie D, Physische Geographie 25 (1999) 25-41.
- Deutsches Archäologisches Institut 2001
Jahresbericht 2000 des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, AA 2001, 613 - 723.
- Frank, F. 1934
Aus der 'Araba I: Reiseberichte, ZDPV 57,1934,191-280.
- Herling, L. 2000
Archaeological Survey and Excavation at Wadi al-Yutum and Tall al-Magass Area - Aqaba (ASEYM). Field Season 2000 - The Survey, OO 5.1-2, 2000, 52-53.
- Kirkbride, D. 1969
Ancient Arabian Ancestor Idols. Part I: Archaeology 22.2, 1969, 116-121; Part II: Archaeology 22.3, 1969, 188-195.
- Parker, S.T. 1997
Preliminary Report on the 1994 Season of the Roman Aqaba Project, BASOR 305, 1997, 19-44.
- Pratico, G.D. 1997
Kheleifeh, Tell el-, in: E.M.Meyers (Hrsg.), The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Archaeology in the Near East 3 (1997) 293-294.
- Quintero, L. - P.L. Wilke - G.O. Rollefson 2002
From Flint Mine to Fan Scraper: The Late Prehistoric Jafr Industrial Complex, BASOR 327, 2002, 17-48.
- Rizkana, I. - J. Seeher 1988
Maadi II - The Lithic Industries of the Predynastic Settlement, AVDAIK 65 (1988).
- Rizkana, I. - J. Seeher 1989
Maadi III - The Non-Lithic Small Finds and the Structural Remains of the Predynastic Settlement, AVDAIK 80 (1989).
- Schmidt, K. 1993
Comments to the Lithic Industry of the Buto-Maadi Culture in Lower Egypt, in: L. Krzyzaniak - M. Kobusiewicz - J. Alexander (Hrsg.), Environmental Change and Human Culture in the Nile Basin and Northern Africa until the Second Millennium B. C., Proceedings of the International Symposium at Dymaczewo near Poznan, 5-10 September, 1988, Studies in African Archaeology 4 (1993) 267-277.
- Whitcomb, D. 1997
The Town and Name of Aqaba. An Inquiry into the Settlement History from an Archaeological Perspective, SHAJ 6 (1997) 359-363.