Late spring at Khirbet al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya, Jordan - Part 1

Posted on: 18 May 2022 by Diederik J. H. Halbertsma in 2022 posts

Diederik documenting the massive tower structure with the wadi in the background

Hi everyone! I thought I’d write a blog post as we’re currently doing some quite exciting work out in Jordan. First, for those that don’t know me, I’m Diederik Halbertsma, a 2nd year PhD student in archaeology at ACE. I specialise in the Iron Age period (ca. 1200 – 550 BCE) of the Levant, specifically the early Iron Age in the country of Jordan. It is this research which brought me out to Jordan with a small team of colleagues this year. It was originally planned to be done before I started my PhD (which I did in 2020), but due to Covid-19 complicating all forms of travel the past several years our work here was postponed several times. We are very grateful to be out here now, however!

As part of my PhD research, I investigate processes of state formation during the early Iron Age of the Levant region. This period follows a cataclysmic time of societal collapse commonly known as the ‘Late Bronze Age collapse’ (ca. 1200 BCE) which saw the demise great empires such as the Hittites, the Mycenaeans, and New Kingdom Egypt. The Levant, which had largely been governed by the Hittites and the Egyptians, suddenly found itself in a power vacuum with new possibilities. It is this period of rebuilding and reconfiguring which I’m investigating for my PhD research.

I do this specifically through the example of the archaeological site of Khirbet al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya (KMA for short). It is a 2.3 ha. site located in south-central Jordan near the city of al-Kerak, in what is often called the region of Moab (as known from the Bible). The site was excavated by ACE’s own Dr Bruce Routledge during several seasons between 1994 and 2004. These investigations showed that it was a regular Iron Age village which contained around 60 houses, in which people led very regular lives. People herded their sheep and goats, and foraged fresh-water crabs and grew crops in the wadi (river) located below the site. Excavations at the site yielded very little suggesting social hierarchy, long-distance trade, or other signs indicating anything other than a regular Iron Age village. That is, however, excluding the massive fortification structures which surrounded the site. KMA is surrounded by a so-called casemate wall (a double-wall with rooms in between), which follows the contours of the promontory the site is situation on (see fig. 1). The only area of access to the site, which is from the west, is guarded by massive tower overlooking a dry moat. To say that the site was constructed to keep its inhabitants safe, would be somewhat of an understatement.

Map of the site of KMA

I find this juxtaposition of a regular village with massive fortifications a fascinating dilemma to solve, for why would these Iron Age people have invested all this effort to guard a small regular village? If we zoom out a little bit here, we see that KMA is not an isolated phenomenon. There are several more sites which look very similar to KMA and, based largely on pottery typologies, seem to fall in the exact same period as KMA. These are all situated on promontories overlooking water sources along the Wadi Mujib, and its tributaries. The Wadi Mujib is one of the most dramatic features in the landscape of Jordan, being a very deep gorge cutting through the Moabite plateau region. The Wadi Mujib most always contains a stream of water, which is logically very important for a dry region such as this.

KMA was securely dated through 14C samples of the site’s construction and eventual destruction. Interestingly, these dates show that the site was constructed around 1050 BCE and abandoned around 980 BCE. This leaves roughly 80 years for the construction of this massive site and its very sudden abandonment, raising many questions I try to find answers for during my PhD. Who constructed this site and how? Why was it abandoned after only 80 years? How does the site fit with the many other fortified villages around the Wadi Mujib? Was this part of an early Iron Age kingdom, or are there other social dynamics at play which could explain the sudden investment in labour?

Check back in for part 2 of Late spring at Khirbet al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya, Jordan to find out Diederik's conclusions.