Weekly reports from the field – Hisban 2007

(week of June 17-24)

The 2007 field season began with the arrival of members of the advance team the weekend of June 8^th and the remainder of our students, faculty, and staff on the 14^th. The full team – represented by current students, faculty, and alumni of Andrews University, Grand Valley State University, Calvin College, and Oklahoma State University; volunteers from Michigan, California, and Jordan; and paid labor from the village of Hisban – is over eighty members strong. We are happy to have Ms. Sabah Yousef Damra return as our representative from the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Our objective this season is to answer questions about the use of the citadel and surrounding settlement during the Roman (2^nd c. B.C. – 3^rd c. A.D.), Mamluk (13^th – 16^th cs. A.D., and Mandate (1922-1946 A.D.) periods and about the function and date of the original fortifications on the summit of the tall. To this end, we are working in four large fields: C – the “medieval village” on the western slope (Dr. Benjamin Dolinka, field supervisor), M – the northwestern corner tower on the summit (Aren LaBianca, field supervisor), O – the “turn-of-the-century” village component on the southwestern slope (Jason Shilling, field supervisor), and Q – a new field at the entrance to the citadel (project architectural restoration director Maria Elena Ronza and Darrell Rohl, joint field supervisors).

This week in the field was devoted to clearance of excavation areas and laying out the 14 squares. Removal of topsoil in all four fields made visible the significant remains of standing architecture which included a monumental building constructed with large boulders, possibly classical or pre-classical in date (Field C); a previously unknown farmhouse, of possibly late Ottoman or Mandate periods (Field O); and evidence of medieval reuse of Roman and Byzantine architecture on the summit and a series of barrel-vaulted rooms adjacent to the medieval entrance towers at the citadel entrance (Field Q). We are also dismantling the medieval walls and vaults in Field M to explore the architectural context of caches of Byzantine and Roman pottery discovered during the 2004 season. We got a very good start in the field this week, despite a heat wave the last few days.

Excavation produced not only impressive architectural remains, but also a few surprises. A fragmentary Ayyubid-Mamluk fils (bronze coin of either Damascene or Cairene mint) from the citadel entrance, early Islamic Iraqi ceramics (Abbasid period), and a wide range of late 19^th and early 20^th century pottery from Syria and Palestine hint at the far-flung exchange networks of medieval Hisban. In addition, we have identified numerous early Roman and Nabatean sherds, reconfirming earlier discoveries of classical occupation at the site.

Logistically, the first week was devoted to setting up camp and labs. Administrative and lab staff worked hard to purchase equipment and supplies (a daunting task for a project so large); get the computer lab and internet access up and running; organize the object, pottery, and bone labs; and assemble equipment for flotation.

Our academic schedule began with an evening lecture by Dr. LaBianca on the theoretical concepts that guide our work at Tall Hisban. This weekend’s field trip included the impressive Roman Decapolis cities of Jerash and Umm Qeis in northern Jordan.

On a final note, the directors and staff have devoted time to planning the July fifth celebration of 40 years of excavation at Tall Hisban, the first site of excavations for what later became named the Mababa Plains Project. Invitations have been sent and plans are well underway for speeches by various dignitaries, related social and community events, and media coverage.

Jointly submitted by

Walker and LaBianca

(June 24, 2007)