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.<br> <br>

Location

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.

History

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. 

Objectives

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.

History of Research

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).
Since 2002 several 9 m by 9 m trenches have been excavated (Khalil - Eichmann - Schmidt 2003). During the seasons 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 an area of nearly 2000 m2 was archaeologically acquired. By working with different scientific support like hydrology, seismology, botany as well as zoology, a complex insight into the history and cultural context of this Late Chalcolithic site can be provided. 

Previous Activities

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.
In 2002 and 2003 the archaeological work had been concentrated on opening new trenches in order to investigate architectural units and the layout of the settlement. After these campaigns more than 1000 m2 had been excavated. The exposed structural remains consist of mud brick architecture and stone walls. Large parts of the buildings were destroyed by an earthquake and a devastating fire. The rooms are highly filled with debris, ashes and dump from upper storeys (including pieces of wooden roof-beams) as well as artefacts.
In spring 2004 the next excavation had followed in order to excavate to the floor-levels; because in these buildings at least two floor levels can be expected. A seismologist analyzed the variety of damages caused by at least one earthquake.
In the vicinity of the Tell the remains of hydrological structures like channels and dams were begun to be investigated by a survey.  

Current Work

The 2005 excavation was concentrated on the remains of the hydrological structures. They are located nearby the Tall in the Wadi al-Yitim and are threatened by the extension of the modern city Aqaba. The exposed area comprises about 1000 m2. Channels, basins and dams made by different sized Wadi stones were excavated in order to get clear insights into the built direction and their technological features. A functional connection with the Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan is obvious, and the dating made by OSL (Optical Stimulated Luminescence) method is still in process. In addition, the area was extensively investigated by a group of hydrologists who surveyed and measured the complete area in order to find out its construction, functionality and primary the supply by freshwater.

During 2006 the main aims were the investigation of the stratigraphy of the site, two main sections in east-west and north-direction as well as the base levels of the buildings. The state of preservation in Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan is extraordinary, the architectural remains are preserved up to a height of 4m. Furthermore features like windows, door openings as well as a column made of a stone-mud construction had been excavated. Different building phases could be identified and separated. An earlier settlement phase within the site consists of mud brick architecture, partly based on stone formations. The later phase in the settlement consists of stone walls, set in and on the earlier mudbrick structures. Caused by the close connection between the stratigraphy of the site and the architecture the next focus was set on deepen down the rooms. Stratigrafical contexts of finds as well as indices for the date of the sites very beginning were intended to achieve.

In the next season 2007 intensive radiocarbon dating and deep soundings will be accomplished. The studies of building history are going to be continued. While investigating the stratigrafical frame of the finds the setup of activity zones and the history of the local industry within the site is planned to be compassed.  

Methods

The excavations since 2002 were carried out in thirty-six 9 x 9 m squares (Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan and Wadi al-Yitim), revealing the upper parts of the walls. In parts the buildings were excavated to floor levels and room foundations. The cleaned architecture was drawn and measured. Additionally, vertical photographs made directly above the squares were taken as a daily documentation of the excavation`s process and for final documentation of the recovered architectural remains. This simple but very effective system for vertical photos with the help of poles and ropes was developed at the joint Turkish-German excavations (Museum of Hanlıurfa and German Archaeological Institute) at the Early Neolithic mound of Göbeklı Tepe / Southeast Turkey.

Trench-sections have been documented by photogrammetry. The analysis of the small finds and the architecture has been and will continue to be carried out by staff members (Florian Klimscha, Kristina Pfeiffer, Ulrike Siegel) and several specialists: lithic artefacts (Dr. Thomas Hikade), pottery (Dr. Susanne Kerner), metallurgical remains (Prof. Dr. Andreas Hauptmann), botanical remains (Drs. Reinder Neef), zoological remains (Prof. Dr. Norbert Benecke) and 14C-dating (Dr. Jochen Görsdorf).  

Results

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.
Rectangular stone buildings are placed on highest points of the Tell. They belong to a later building phase and are constructed by medium sized wadi stones. Their connection to the earlier mud brick walls and to the building steps in between need further investigation. The intention of the buildings is yet unclear but the surface pottery and finds in these constructions do not differ from the material excavated in the mound. Therefore it might be expected that the stone buildings do not date noticeably later than the other remains.

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 are important finds for identifying the settlement as a site involved in copper production. The excavated technological equipment and the ore, mined in Timna, indicate a nearly complete metallurgical chaîne opératoire onto the site. According to the variety and density of metallurgical finds it seems clear that the local copper production was one of the most important "industrial" features within the settlement. Even trading activities with contemporary site in Lower Egypt indicate the important role of the produced copper.
A variety of copper artefacts was excavated during the campaigns 2002 - 2006. Objects like an axe, awls and chisels, pins, a copper ring and a copper ingot had been recovered within the buildings.

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 Lambis truncata [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.  

Cooperation

This project is a joint undertaking between the Oriental Department of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin (field director: PD Dr. Klaus Schmidt) and the Department of Archaeology of Jordan University, Amman ( 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 el-Fakhri). Additional administrative and logistic support is provided by the German Embassy in Amman and the directorate of the ASEZA (Aqaba Special Economic Zone Administration). Scientific cooperation efforts exist with:

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Hauptmann, German Mining Museum in Bochum (Deutsches Bergbaumuseum Bochum) (metallurgy) www.bergbaumuseum.de
• Prof. Dr. Matthias Grottker, Laboratory for Urban Water and Waste Management and Technology, University for Applied Sciences in Lübeck (Fachhochschule Lübeck) (hydr-engineering) http://www.fh-luebeck.de/content/01_31_08_20/5/0.html
• Dr. Andrey Korjenkov, Institute of Seismology at the Academy of Science at Bishkek, Kirgistan (seismology)
• Prof. Dr. Norbert Benecke, Department of natural sciences of the German Archaeological Institute (Referat Naturwissenschaften) (zoology)
• Drs. Reinder Neef, Department of natural sciences of the German Archaeological Institute (Referat Naturwissenschaften) (botany)
• Dr. Joachim Görsdorf, Department of natural sciences of the German Archaeological Institute (Referat Naturwissenschaften) (14C-analyses)
• Dr. Uwe Heußner, Department of natural sciences of the German Archaeological Institute (Referat Naturwissenschaften) (dendrochronology)
• Dr.  Thomas Hikade, Toronto (lithics)
• Dr. Susanne Kerner, Department for Oriental Archaeology at the University of Kopenhagen (Carsten-Niebuhr Institute) (pottery) kerner@hum.ku.dk
• Prof. Dr. Helmut Brückner, Phillip-University of Marburg, Institute of Geography (Phillip Universität Marburg, Geographisches Institut ) (geomorphology)
• Irmard Wagner, Oriental department of the German Archaeological Institute, photographer

Contact

Prof. Dr. phil. Ricardo Eichmann

Vorderasiatische Archäologie
Telefon: +49-(0)30-187711-0
Telefax: +49-(0)30-187711-189
Email: orient@dainst.de

Prof. Dr. phil. Klaus Schmidt

Prähistorische Archäologie
Telefon: 03018-7711-110
Telefax: 03018-7711-189
Email: urfa@orient.dainst.de
Further Email Addresses: orient@dainst.de Verweis: curriculum vitae, Veröffentlichungen

Further Contact Partners

Prof. Dr. Lutfi Khalil
Department of Archaeology
University of Jordan
Tel.: 00962-6-777229650
Email: lakhalil@ju.edu.jo

Sponsors

We thank all involved persons and institutions that have been supported the project and the cooperation between the German and Jordanian cooperation partners. Furthermore we thank the employees and the staff members, who helped this project in many campaigns becoming successful.
Financial support for the project was provided by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (German Archaeological Institute) and the University of Jordan. In 2003/2004, 2005 and 2006 the project has been partly financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) and the Higher Council of Science and Technology (HCST) in Amman/Jordan. The DAI Forschungsstelle of the Deutsches Evangelisches Institut für Altertumswissenschaften des Heiligen Landes in Amman ( DAI Research Center of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan provided logistic support.  

Bibliography

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.
- Kerner, S. 2003
The pottery of Hujeirat al-Ghuzlan 1998 to 2003 - A First Impression, Occident & Orient, Nov. 2003, 18-20.
- Khalil, L. - Eichmann, R. - Schmidt, K. 2003
Archaeological Survey and Excavations at the Wadi al-Yutum and al-Magass Area - al-'Aqaba (ASEYM): A preliminary Report on the Third and Fourth Seasons Excavations at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan in 2002 and 2003 Wadi al-Yutum, ADAJ 47, 2003, 159-183.
- Müller-Neuhof, B. - Schmidt, K. - Khalil, L. et al. 2003
Warenproduktion und Fernhandel vor 6000 Jahren. Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan bei 'Aqaba, Alter Orient Aktuell Nr. 4, Sept. 2003, 22-26.
- Schmidt, K. - Eichmann, R. - Müller-Neuhof, B. 2003
Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan 2002, Occident & Orient, März 2003, 9-11.
- Grottker, M. 2004
Wasserwirtschaftliche Anlagen am Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan, Aqaba, Jordanien. In FH Lübeck (Hrsg.) ImpulsE, 2004, 50-56.
- Khalil, L. - Schmidt, K. 2004
Excavations at the 4th millennium site of Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan / Aqaba - New Results 2004, Occident & Orient 9, 1 / 2, 2004, 12-15.
- Schmidt, K. 2004
Wandbilder aus Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan. In Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland , Bonn und dem VAM (Hrsg.) Gesichter des Orients. 10.000 Jahre Kunst und Kultur in Jordanien. Ausstellung vom 08.Oktober 2004 bis 09. Januar 2005 in Berlin, 81-83.
- Eichmann, R. - Schmidt, K. - Khalil, L. forthcoming
Prehistoric Aqaba Vol. I. Orient-Archäologie Band.


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.