June 18, 2004

Restoration and Presentation of the Site
One of the goals of this season of work at Tall Hisban is to made the site more accessible to visitors by designing a self-guided walking tour and by cleaning and restoring key areas of its architecture to make them come alive visually. Elena Ronza, who specializes in Roman architecture, directed this work. Several years ago, some signs explaining key features of the site were made in both English and Arabic, but they have become illegible over time. In addition, the site's excavation areas increased, so an update of the signs was necessary. Asta LaBianca wrote the text for the new signs and a brochure keyed to them for the tour. Qutaiba Dasouqi, surveyor with the Department of Antiquities, provided essential help for a new map in the brochure.

Restoration projects
Areas of the site targeted for restoration are as follows: 1.The ancient Ammonite citadel wall around the acropolis of the tall, which was reused by the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Mamluk residents of the site, will be exposed. 2. The SE tower of the Mamluk city wall is being rebuilt. 3. The south entrance to the acropolis has been cleaned. 4. The north gate is being exposed and restored. 5. An arch in the Mamluk governor's palace has been restored. 6. The Roman/Byzantine monumental building and church area is being cleared of stone rubble that isn't cut stone or related to the ancient architecture. 7. The stone rubble is used to create viewing platforms for visitors to the site.  The cut stones have been organized into "stone gardens" to make reconstruction work easier. This labor- intensive aspect of the project work was directed by Abed Amattey Shehan, Amer Tawfiq, and Muhammad Ali Salman from the village of Hisban. 8. New pathways and steps are being designed to make each area of the site accessible to visitors and a logical, sequential tour possible. 9. A new large sign by the main highway will draw passers-by to the site and inform them of its historical significance. This project and the installation of a new gate to the tall area are  facilitated by Hisban's mayor, Bassim Tarawneh. Mr. Tarawneh also helped form a partnership of the municipality with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities to maintain and protect the site. 10. A visitor's center is being planned.

Lauralea Banks

Crystal Bayanay

Katie and Lucy Lewis

Goodbye and Welcome
The first half of the season has ended, bringing changes in our personnel.

Carol Lewis

It's always hard to see friends leave because each one of them contributed something unique to our team. Those who have left are: Barbara Allen, Kirby Applegate, Lauralea Banks, Rick DeMaris, Mark Farmer, Tammy Grogan, Erik LaBianca, and Lizbeth Ruiz. Thank you to each one for your contribution to this project's success. Our dig director, Sten LaBianca wishes to express special appreciation to Lauralea, pottery registrar, for taking leadership in dealing with numerous details of organization and camp life, in addition to her pottery responsibilities.

Bill Majors

With the second half of the season, some new faces have arrived. We're enjoying making friends with Crystal Bayanay, Carol Lewis, Chloe Lewis, Katie Lewis, Lucy Lewis, and Bill Majors. This weekend we look forward to the arrival of Margarita Mattingly who will continue and complete the pottery registrar work.

Good Memories
As we see

Senabl and Chloe

the end of the season approaching, many of us reflected on what we'll take home from this Jordan experience. Many things came to mind - the sunrises from the tall; the exotic sounds of Arabic music; the spicy aromas of the suq (the market); the peaceful sight of a shepherd herding his animals; the grandeur of Petra; the magnificence of the ruins at Jerash; and the stark beauty of the desert. Most of all, however, we will treasure the friendships and generous hospitality of the Jordanian people. Hundreds of cups of tea and Arabic coffee have been served to us. We've sharing stories of kindnesses and warmth at every meal. Here is a small sampling.

David

David, who was part of our team the first half of the season, had trouble maneuvering his wheelchair down a short flight of stairs leading to the elevator in the residence building. The situation was mentioned to the hotel staff, and they hired a carpenter to build a ramp over the stairs.

Kjelshus and Meredith,

Kjelshus

who were separated from the survey team in the area surrounding the village of Hisban, were walking around looking confused, when a man came out of his house to see if they needed help. When he realized that they were without a ride, he offered them coffee, tea, and a ride back to Hisban. Kjelshus writes, "It was amazing because he had no idea who we were, we did not speak the same language, and he still showed us hospitality like we were old friends."

Field M has been served second breakfast and tea by their village workmen on numerous occasions. They've been given small gifts, were invited to homes for meals, were included in a huge party to celebrate the graduation of a villager, and twice have been given tours of sites in Amman by some of their workmen. One workmen, Omar, wrote out several pages of Arabic words and phrases and made a recording for pronunciation to help them learn Arabic.

Several times, people went out of their way several blocks to be sure team members found a place they were looking for. Taxi drivers, too, have been extra kind. David, Susan and Adam rode with one who, seeing David's wheelchair, wouldn't charge anything. Before leaving for Petra, Lisa wanted to see the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," which features Petra in its closing scenes. She talked about her wish to a hostess at our hotel, who in turn spoke to a taxi driver friend of hers. They drove Lisa all over Amman, looking for a video shop from which to rent the movie. The taxi fare? Nothing.

Craig and Michelle, who were on the verge of an empty gas tank in the Petra region, found the gas station had run out just before their arrival. After several attempts at finding out how far the next station was, they headed for Ma'an which they assumed was fairly close. Knowing they must be riding on the last drops, they nervously drove several kilometers and found no station. While stopping to inquire again from some men at the road side, a car stopped and a man from Ma'an, after learning of their situation, insisted he'd follow them the whole way there to see that they safely arrived and were able to fill their tank. He acted as their "guardian angel" for 30 minutes, refused any payment for his time and trouble, invited them to tea, and gave them his cell phone number, telling them to feel free to contact him if they were in the area and needed help of any sort in the future.

Aren, Desire, Sten, and Asta were served tea, enjoyed conversation, and invited to share a meal in a Bedouin tent with the family of a 15-year-old boy who had volunteered to accompany them in their car to locate several archaeological sites in the Beida area.

To our Jordanian hosts, we offer our sincerest thanks. You have truly been ambassadors for goodwill for your country and the whole Arab world. We want our friends back home to know that we've felt welcomed, protected, and treated with the greatest kindness and hospitality by you. You have dispelled media myths of the Middle East for us, and we hope to do the same by sharing our experiences with others.

 
Previous Reports:
June 8, 2004
May 31, 2004

Article edited for this site 4/6/05. tlc