Jebel Qurma Project - Jordan

See the link below: includes a brief contribution about Jebel Qurma!

We have just published _Archaeology in Jordan_ 4, covering the 2022–2023 field seasons! Learn all about recent insights and discoveries from archaeological and cultural resource management projects across Jordan. Both whole-volume and individual report PDFs can be downloaded: https://publications.acorjordan.org/volumes/archaeology-in-jordan-4.

_Archaeology in Jordan_ is an open-access journal published by the American Center of Research every two years. Past volumes, and editorial guidelines, are available at our website: https://publications.acorjordan.org/volumes.

Good friends: Peter Akkermans (director Jebel Qurma project) and Wesam Essaid (head of Azraq branch of Jordan’s Department of Antiquities)

Good friends: Peter Akkermans (director Jebel Qurma project) and Abu Sultan (guard Jebel Qurma project)

More great rock art from the Jebel Qurma region!

New insights into the Black Desert Neolithic (c. 7000-5000 cal. BC) from Wisad Pools!

Not a place for respectable people, but the ends of the earth converge there: insights from Wisad Pools into the nature and context of Jordan’s Black Desert Neolithic New data, recovered by the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project, from substantial structures at Wisad Pools have provided insights into the nature and context of eastern Jordan’s Black Desert Neoli...

After 9 weeks in the field the time has come for us to go back home. It’s been a great and memorable season! It was not always easy, because of the relentless heat that started early this year and the occasional sandstorm, but work was exciting and always rewarding! Jordan’s eastern desert is a great area for archaeological research.
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Abu Sultan, his son Sultan and the rest of their family for their invaluable help and their friendship.

This panel from site QUR-102 depicts four camels, together with Safaitic inscriptions. On the left a female with a calf, on the right a camel whose gender is not clear (females are depicted with the tail curled upwards) with, possibly, a second calf. The circle with the dot inside is a later addition, a so-called ‘wasm’ or ‘tribal mark’. Copyright: The Jebel Qurma Archaeological Landscape Project

Ancient rock engravings are everywhere in the Jebel Qurma area. This panel from site QUR-102 shows, in the centre of the photo, a human figure on a mount (an equid), holding a lance, hunting a lion (visible in the middle, just above the crack). On the left Safaitic inscriptions are visible and directly below the crack a common geometric motive: a line of dots. On the right: a scorpion with a curved tail, encircled with Safaitic inscriptions. Copyright: The Jebel Qurma Archaeological Landscape Project.

Working on administration in camp, with the assistance of this lovely flycatcher (a chameleon)!

Last days of excavation and survey.

A special find category and a favorite of our survey teams: abandoned shoes! Surprisingly, it’s always just the one, never a pair…

This tomb was looted, we were trying to find the remains of the burial chamber. This photo is from the beginning of the season, when there was still a nice cool breeze….By now the heat is relentless, above 40 every day.