Bulletin for the Council for British Research in the Levant

ISSN: 1752-7260 (Print) 1752-7279 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ycbr20

Long-term Landscape, Environment and Climate

Change Studies, from the Past through to
Predictive Models for Future Developments

Stefan L. Smith, Adam Allentuck, Louise Martin, Joe Roe, Matthew Jones,
Tobias Richter, Gary Rollefson, Hussam Hussein, Catherine Longford, Kyra
Reynolds, Bernd Mller-Neuhof, Robert Bewley, David Kennedy & Rebecca
Banks

To cite this article: Stefan L. Smith, Adam Allentuck, Louise Martin, Joe Roe, Matthew Jones,
Tobias Richter, Gary Rollefson, Hussam Hussein, Catherine Longford, Kyra Reynolds, Bernd
Mller-Neuhof, Robert Bewley, David Kennedy & Rebecca Banks (2015) Long-term Landscape,
Environment and Climate Change Studies, from the Past through to Predictive Models for
Future Developments, Bulletin for the Council for British Research in the Levant, 10:1, 65-82,
DOI: 10.1179/1752726015Z.00000000034

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1179/1752726015Z.00000000034

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Long-term Landscape, Environment and Climate Change Studies, from the
Past through to Predictive Models for Future Developments
Patterns of Sedentism and Nomadism in the Semi-
Arid Syrian-Jordanian Steppes: A Remote Sensing
Survey
Stefan L. Smith (CBRL); email: stefan.smith@dunelm.org.
uk
The regions of Northern Mesopotamia and the Levant,
covering parts of modern-day southern Turkey, Syria,
northern Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine,
consist of an extremely varied climatic geography.
This ranges from fertile lands with over 350–400 mm
annual precipitation in the north and west, where
stable diversified wheat agriculture is feasible, to
arid desert with less than 200 mm rainfall in the
south and east towards the Arabian Peninsula, suit-
able only for seasonal sheep or goat pastureland.
Between these two extremes is the semi-arid steppe,
an area of uncertainty with up to 50 per cent year-
on-year rainfall fluctuation, and which is heavily
affected by regionwide long-term climate variation.
This provides an economic niche which has the poten-
tial to allow for risky rain-fed agriculture, but also pas-
tureland in an abundance not existent in fertile regions
of heavy agricultural land use. These regions and their
settlements are largely unknown, and have thus far
only been investigated in distinct regions in a
“keyhole approach”, focussing on specific processes
involved in each location. Despite being limited in geo-
graphical scope, these have revealed that in each area
significant urbanisation and subsequent abandonment
processes occurred during the Late Chalcolithic (LC;
ca. 4400–3100 BC) and the Early Bronze Age (EBA;
ca. 3100–2000 BC).
This project was therefore devised in order to study
the shifting settlement patterns of the semi-arid
steppes, as well as the social, economic, and political
parameters involved. Its framework is derived from
and associated with the Fragile Crescent Project
(FCP) at Durham University (http://bit.ly/fragile_
crescent). This interdisciplinary research group has
developed methodologies for collating several archae-
ological surveys in the Near East (many of which
utilise disparate recording and interpretation prac-
tices) into a single overarching database. Despite
ambitious goals, the FCP has been very successful at
achieving these aims, though invariably some areas
remain better investigated than others. Thus the
study detailed in this article intends to fill in some of
the significant knowledge gaps remaining.
The project comprises three case study areas which
cover the majority of this region: the Greater Western
Jazira in north-eastern Syria, the Shamiya in western-
central Syria, and the Northern Badia in north-eastern
© Council for British Research in the Levant 2015
Jordan. Beginning with the former, a systematic
“remote sensing” study was conducted using satellite
images from declassified US-military programmes of
the 1960s and 70s, known as CORONA. These black
& white photographs were taken at a time before the
majority of urban development occurred in semi-arid
areas of the Near East (which subsequently obscured
or destroyed many sites), yet at a high enough resol-
ution to recognise even small sites of around 10 m in
diameter. Modern images from the GeoEye satellite
(accessed via the GoogleEarth platform) were used to
complement these when necessary, as was digital
elevation data. By a combination of these datasets,
the entire landscape was covered in the highest resol-
ution available.
Results from the Greater Western Jazira have revealed
complex settlement trends during the LC-EBA, negat-
ing a view of this being a “marginal region”. While
some of the sites identified on remote sensing, such
as the large sub-circular fortified settlements known
as “Kranzhügel”, are already fairly well known from
surface investigations, numerous others were discov-
ered for which no prior record exists. By extrapolation
of data from the few sites which have been conclus-
ively dated, most notably the extensively excavated
80-hectare Kranzhügel Tell Chuera (http://bit.ly/tell_
chuera), two distinct trajectories of urban settlement
were identified. These divide into an earlier northern
instance beginning ca. 3100 BC, and a later southern
emergence from ca. 2550 BC onwards. However, the
entire Greater Western Jazira saw a similar pattern of
moderate settlement during the early LC (ca. 4400-
3700 BC) giving way to a dearth of settlement that
lasted until each region’s respective EBA urbanis-
ations. When these occurred, they were rapid and
extensive, with the establishment of many large forti-
fied cities and smaller towns, villages, and hamlets
in their vicinities. Both the northern and southern
settlement zones of the Greater Western Jazira were
abandoned again by 2100 BC at the latest.
The identification of these processes made it evident that
this particular semi-arid region of the Syrian-Jordanian
steppes was far from “marginal”, and instead formed
an integral component of regional and inter-regional
settlement dynamics. By extension, the systems that
enabled settlements to survive in this uncertain environ-
ment, including combined animal pastoralism with
limited agriculture, and trade, must have constituted
an important part of the wider economy. More specifi-
cally, the earlier trajectory of EBA urbanism is particu-
larly notable, as it represents an opposite pattern to the
simultaneous deurbanisation processes occurring in
Northern Mesopotamia during the early EBA. Accord-
ing to researchers from the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
DOI: 10.1179/1752726015Z.00000000034
66 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10

Topographical map showing the extent of Northern Mesopotamia and the Levant, with precipitation levels and regions of semi-arid and
arid steppe indicated. Elevation data is from ASTER, a GDEM product of METI and NASA. Rainfall data represents annual averages
from 1980 to 2010 from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC), processed by Louise Rayne of the University of Leicester.

am Main, this is accounted for by a probable long- similarity in material culture, leading to the establish-
distance migration from the Upper Euphrates region ment of a separate developmental enclave within North-
to the northern Greater Western Jazira, evidenced by a ern Mesopotamia.

With this region of the Syrian-Jordanian steppes pro-

viding such varied and wide-reaching results, the
next step of this project will be to examine its other
two case study regions. Of these, the Shamiya has pre-
viously been investigated on the ground as part of the
Mission des Marges Arides project of the Université
Lyon 2 (http://bit.ly/marges_arides). This has
shown the existence of several large fortified settle-
ments and many smaller sites from the period of
study in the Shamiya, all of them dating to no earlier
than ca. 2400 BC, and becoming abandoned simul-
taneously with the Greater Western Jazira a mere three
centuries later. This temporally starkly different
pattern, which however resulted in sites of broadly
similar morphologies, makes the Shamiya an interest-
ing comparative case. Once an equally intensive
remote sensing survey of the area has been conducted,
relationships between its economic and cultural pro-
cesses and those of the Greater Western Jazira will be
ascertained.

The same remote sensing survey remains to be carried

out for the Northern Badia, however with the added
dimension of a ground survey to be conducted in
Map showing the locations of the three case study regions that October-November 2015 by the author; the only field-
form this study. work directly realised by this project. This will cover a
 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10 67

CORONA satellite image of the Greater Western Jazira showing previously documented and previously undocumented LC-EBA sites
identified by this study, as well as the rough division between its two settlement trajectory zones. CORONA data available from the
U. S. Geological Survey; rainfall data from the GPCC, processed by Louise Rayne.

large area of the volcanic Harra sub-region, and will
focus on LC-EBA features identified on satellite
imagery such as the distinctive stone structures
dubbed “wheels” dated to this period by the Jebel
Qurma survey of the Universiteit Leiden (http://bit.
ly/JQ_wheels). Previous results from the excavations
of the early EBA site of Jawa, and the nearby surveys
focused on the LC-EBA periods recently conducted
by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (http://
bit.ly/jawa_survey), will also be incorporated.
It is hoped that the final results of this project will be able
to answer questions such as the variety of methodologies
employed by LC-EBA inhabitants of the Syrian-
Jordanian steppes to enable their survival in an uncer-
tain region, the level of co-relational interaction
between various sub-regions, and the extent to which cli-
matic factors affected their settlement patterns, econom-
ies, and cultures. Further ramifications relevant through
time to the present day may also emerge from this study.
Of these, the most impactful on topical issues is the ques-
tion of whether universal strategies for coping with
changing climates are applicable across comparable
environments over a wide geographical area, indepen-
dent of social or political parameters – or whether it is
individually tailored methodologies that appear to
have greater chances of succeeding in not merely the sur-
vival, but the flourishing of societies.

Refuse Disposal in the Early Epipalaeolithic?

Preliminary Zooarchaeological Evidence from
Kharaneh IV, Eastern Jordan
Adam Allentuck (University College London),
Louise Martin (University College London) and
Joe Roe (University College London); email: a.allentuck@
ucl.ac.uk

In an influential 2004 paper by T. Hardy-Smith and

CORONA satellite image of Tell Chuera, showing the concentric
fortifications that typify the Kranzhügel settlement type. Data
available from the U. S. Geological Survey.
P. Edwards, entitled ‘The Garbage Crisis in Prehistory’
(Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23), the origin of
systematic refuse disposal in the Near East is attributed
to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period when sedentary
villagers devised novel ways of reducing the burden
of accumulating trash. They argue that waste manage-
ment practice before the Neolithic was indifferent and
they offer the material assemblages of the Early Natu-
fian site of Wadi Hammeh 27 as a case in point.
68 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10

Map showing the approximate area to be covered by the ground survey of the Harra.

In this brief preliminary report, we present evidence
that challenges a Neolithic origin for refuse disposal
practices. The evidence from the large Early Epipa-
laeolithic aggregation site of Kharaneh IV in the
Azraq drainage basin predates the Early Natufian
by at least 3000 years and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
by more than 7000 years. We present preliminary
results of zooarchaeological analysis showing that
hunter-gatherers made modest efforts to remove
refuse from an Early Epipalaeolithic dwelling struc-
ture at a site in the eastern steppe of Jordan.
Renewed excavations at Kharaneh IV by the Epipa-
laeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP) are
focused on issues of mobility, subsistence, long-term
settlement, and environment in eastern Jordan. Khara-
neh IV is divided into two principal excavation areas.
Area A comprises Middle Epipalaeolithic deposits that
overlay Early Epipalaeolithic occupations. Faunal
samples from this area are currently under investi-
gation by A. Spyrou (CBRL Bulletin 7). Excavations
in Area B have revealed a stratified succession of
Early Epipalaeolithic midden and exterior occu-
pation deposits, in addition to three dwelling struc-
tures and several hearths, pits and caches. Middle
Epipalaeolithic deposits have not been detected in
Area B. Structure 1, the only dwelling that is com-
pletely excavated to date and the focus of this brief

Kernel density plots of piece-plotted fauna from Area B at Kharaneh IV. (A) small game (fox, hare and tortoise); (B) gazelle; and (C) gazelle
horn cores.
 CBRL Bulletin 2015
Overview plan of the principal features in Area B at Kharaneh IV.
report, is among the earliest and best preserved
brush hut structures known from the Late Pleisto-
cene Near East. Structure 1 is comprised of five stra-
tified layers: a succession of three compacted floors,
a burnt superstructure, and a capping deposit. Struc-
ture 1 was destroyed by fire after its abandonment,
then capped with a large, flat rock surrounded by
large pieces of red ochre and hundreds of pierced
marine shells, and finally covered with layer of
sterile orange sand.
The Area B faunal assemblage comprises an array
of steppic fauna typical of eastern Jordan during
the late Pleistocene. Ongoing analysis of the Area
B faunal material has produced 1,969 identified
mammal, bird and reptile remains and a little
over 7,000 unidentified animal remains. Gazelle
are the dominant taxon and other animals such as
equid, aurochs, wolf or dog, cat, fox, hare, tortoise,
hedgehog, and ostrich, comprise minor components
of the assemblage. All regions of the gazelle carcass
are well represented, but horn cores are the most
abundant skeletal part observed in the Area B
sample.
In order to illustrate the spatial variability of faunal
abundance within Structure 1, we converted the
piece-plotted data into kernel density maps. The
darkest shading in the colour gradient denotes
the highest concentration of faunal remains. Gazelle,
which comprise over 80% of NISP in most contexts,
are not as common within Structure 1 as they are
outside the Structure. Instead, small game animals
(fox, hare and tortoise) are collectively equal to
gazelle in Structure 1.
VOL 10 69
The deposits of Structure 1 yielded several notable
anatomically articulated specimens that could have
been hanging inside the structure, such as a wolf or
dog skull, fox paw, hare paw, and three tortoise
shells. The high incidence of articulated bone elements
of fur-bearing animals and tortoises in Structure 1 is
not found in exterior contexts. Articulating gazelle
elements, particularly conjoining left and right horn
cores, are prominent in external features such as the
hearth, cache and pit, but are rare in Structure 1.
A broadly contrasting pattern is found between Struc-
ture 1 and the middens in terms of element complete-
ness, which describes the preserved fraction relative
to the original skeletal element. Here, Structure 1 is
characterized by high relative frequencies of complete
and nearly complete elements, with the exception of
the uppermost (capping) layer, which is mainly com-
prised of skeletal fragments broken into pieces
between one-quarter and half of the original element.
The more fragmented nature of fauna from the
capping superstructure is consistent with a deposit
that was exposed to the elements much like the exterior
deposits. The element completeness data from Structure
1 suggest that the taphonomic agents and mechanisms
responsible for the higher rates of fragmentation in the
exterior contexts were not a factor inside the structure.
The contrasting pattern is most clearly seen in the
middens. Here, specimens 10% of their original size or
smaller are the most frequent size class. This relatively
high rate of fragmentation in the middens may have
been produced from greater surface exposure, tram-
pling or food processing.
These preliminary findings persuade us to consider
the case of Early Epipalaeolithic Kharaneh IV as a
counterpoint to the assertion that systematic refuse
disposal practices originate no earlier than the Pre-
Pottery Neolithic B. The intra-site spatial analysis
shows that refuse disposal practices relied on prin-
ciples of taxonomic and anatomical selectivity, which
resulted in distinct faunal deposits. This patterning
suggests that refuse discard behaviours of seasonally
aggregating hunter-gatherers were highly structured.
We present this conclusion with caution and restraint,
however, as our results are liable to change with
additional data, particularly those from the heavy frac-
tion flotation residues that we have only begun to
examine. Finally, although our findings may not
prove resistant to additional data, we hope in the
very least to have raised the possibility of Epipalaeo-
lithic refuse disposal practices.
Palaeoenvironments of the Late Glacial Transition
in the Eastern Desert of Jordan
Matthew Jones (University of Nottingham),
Tobias Richter (University of Copenhagen) and
Gary Rollefson (Whitman College); email: matthew.jones@
nottingham.ac.uk
This project aims to further our understating of Late
Pleistocene and early Holocene environments in
70 CBRL Bulletin 2015
Jordan’s eastern desert, the time of the last glacial-
interglacial transition (LGIT), between 20,000 and
7,000 years ago. Working at two sites, Shubayqa and
the Wisad Pools, and drawing on our work at other
sites in eastern Jordan we hope to use these environ-
mental reconstructions to improve our understanding
of the resource base populations in the region had at
their disposal during this time, and how changes in
environments match regional patterns of climatic
and environmental change.
Following a successful field season at Shubayqa in
2013, the second year’s fieldwork for this team-based
award took place at the site of the Wisad Pools, at
the southern edge of the eastern basalt, 100km east
of Azraq. Archaeological excavations and survey
over the last 6 years, directed by Gary Rollefson,
Yorke Rowan and Alex Wasse, have found evidence
of occupation of the area from the Epipalaeolithic
onwards, with significant stone hut structures of
Late Neolithic age suggesting semi-permanent occu-
pation 8–8.5 ka BP. This project concentrated work
on the pools themselves, a series of small basins in a
c. 1 km long wadi, and the qa at the bottom of the wadi.
Fieldwork included detailed mapping of the wadi and
the pools using differential GPS. This detailed
mapping will be used for hydrological modelling of
the site to look at the potential of the site to hold
water for prolonged periods of time at the time of
site occupation. To fully understand this we also
need to know how deep the pools were in the past
so trenches were dug into a number of the larger
pools. Samples for optically stimulated luminescence
(OSL) dating were taken from these trenches to ascer-
tain the age of the sediment fill. Some pools contained
in the region of 1 m of sediment, others contained very
little, although these may have been mainly filled by
debris flows of basalt into the wadi, leaving little
room for finer sediments to accumulate.
The qa at the base of the wadi also holds a sedimentary
archive of how the wadi system has changed through
time. Preliminary dates from the qa suggest that the
lower sediments predate the occupation sites of
Looking down the Wadi Wisad
VOL 10
The dig ‘house’: home sweat home!
interest here by at least 100,000 years, but further
dating of the more recent sediments will help us
understand what this qa looked like 10,000 years ago.
OSL samples were also taken from the sediments
underlying hut structures on the archaeological site
to help understand what the land surface at the site
may have been like in the early Holocene, and if
there was a substantial soil cover on the basalt at this
time. This hypothesis will form the basis of on-going
palaeoenvironmental work at the site.
The core samples taken from the Qa Shubayqa, 25km
north of Safawi, in 2013 continued to be processed
through the second year of the project showing
changes in grain size, mineral composition and
organic content consistent with an infilling basin. As
mentioned in our report last year our initial dates
from these cores show that much of this sediment
infill is Holocene in age and we will need further age
estimate from lower in the sequence to establish
when the current basin fill began, and how this
relates to the middle Epipalaeolithic occupations at
the site in particular.
Preliminary pollen analyses from both sites have
shown that pollen preservation is variable in the qa
and on-site sediments, but there are sufficient pollen
grains preserved to help us reconstruct the vegetation
of the site alongside charcoal and archaeobotanical
remains from the archaeological sites themselves.
We are therefore building up a picture of hydrological,
landscape and vegetation change. These three factors
are closely linked; for example a suitable climate
with a potential thin soil cover could help vegetation
to establish, especially without the overgrazing that
may impact this landscape today, which would in
turn help stabilise the landscape, reducing the
amount of sediment that water would carry and
deposit through the wadi and qa systems. As today,
regional environments were likely finely balanced
with small changes in climate, vegetation cover, or
potentially human population density having substan-
tial impacts on local environments. The initial
 CBRL Bulletin 2015
environmental pictures we are getting from theses
sites, when compared to those from elsewhere in the
eastern Jordan desert such as at Kharahneh IV or in
the Azraq Oasis, suggest the region had a dynamic
patchwork of environments that changed, potentially
relatively rapidly in time and space through this
17,000 year time window.
Thanks this year in-particular to Haroon Ikram, whose
participation in the field season was funded by the
Royal Geographical Society, and Richard Mason for
their help in the field. We’d also like to take this oppor-
tunity to formally acknowledge and thank the CBRL
for their support of this work over the last 2 years.
The Water Scarcity Discourse in Jordan
Hussam Hussein (University of East Anglia); email: h.
hussein@uea.ac.uk
Most reports on the water sector in Jordan start with
alarming headlines about Jordan being the second,
third or fourth most water scarce country in the
world. Population growth, refugees, and climate
change are then usually mentioned as causes. The
vital and strategic solutions identified for the Jorda-
nian water sector are usually desalination, the Disi,
and the Red Sea Dead Sea projects. My PhD aims to
understand how the decisions over water policies are
taken in Jordan. My research adopts a discursive
approach to water scarcity, as I believe that while a
reality exists out there, this is interpreted differently
according to peoples’ perceptions and understanding.
Decisions and policies are taken to solve problems,
which are perceived in a particular way. If they were
framed, and therefore perceived, differently, the sol-
utions adopted would be accordingly different. Dis-
courses are key in constructing people’s perceptions
Water and agriculture in Jordan
VOL 10 71
and understandings of issues. In a nutshell, the
power lies in how the problems are framed; the
power belongs to who decides, frames, and shapes
the discourses.
My PhD research focuses therefore on how the dis-
course of water scarcity shapes transboundary water
governance in Jordan. This can be divided in three
parts: unpacking the discourse and analysing how
the discourse of water scarcity is constructed, and
identifying what interests and agents lie behind this;
how the discourse shapes and influences national
water policies and strategies in Jordan; and how
these strategies and policies impact bilateral relations
over water between Jordan and its neighbouring
countries.
The travel grant allowed me to spend four months in
Jordan to conduct initial data collection in order to
unpack the discourse of water scarcity. This was
done mainly through semi-structured interviews
with policy makers, donors, water utility companies,
academics, NGOs, MPs, farmers, and Bedouins.
Another important source of data were reports from
donors and international organisations, academic
articles, policies and water strategies.
I have found that in Jordan there is a dominant dis-
course of water scarcity, which can be seen as a com-
bination of two sub-discourses. The first one argues
that water scarcity is due to reasons external to Jorda-
nian direct responsibility: immigration and refugees;
unfair distribution of the transboundary water
resources with the neighbouring countries; climate
change; and the aridity of the region. This sub-
discourse results in solutions to be found mainly on
the supply side, meaning new projects to produce
more water: over-pumping the groundwater
72 CBRL Bulletin 2015
resources, for instance from the Disi aquifer in the
southern part of the country; desalination through
the Red Sea Dead Sea project; construction of new
dams; and wastewater treatment plants. The second
sub-discourse argues that the water scarcity dis-
course is mainly due to mismanagement of the
current water resources and bad governance: lea-
kages and water losses; illegal uses and wells; and
an unsustainable and unwise agricultural sector.
This sub-discourse suggests adopting water demand
management solutions in the face of water scarcity,
meaning using existing water resources more
effectively.
The supply-oriented sub-discourse puts the blame on
nature, neighbouring countries, refugees and immi-
grants. The demand-oriented sub-discourse, instead,
blames the water utilities, governmental water
agencies, large farmers, and influential individuals
who benefit from illegal water use and agricultural
businesses. The actors identified behind and around
the sub-discourses are governmental institutions who
mainly back the first sub-discourse, and donors and
international organisations who back the second one.
Politically, it is understandable that for the govern-
ment it is easier to increase the supply rather than
take strong decisions to reduce water consumptions
in Jordan through unpopular decisions such as tariff
increases, subsidy cuts, or tackling misuse by the influ-
ential elite benefiting from the status quo, for instance
in the agricultural sector.
In next year’s report, you will hopefully read how the
discourse impacts transboundary water governance in
Jordan.
Plant Economy and Environment of Tel Bet Yerah
Catherine Longford (University of Sheffield); email:
c.longford@sheffield.ac.uk
In September 2014 I travelled to Israel to continue my
investigations into the plant economy of Tel Bet Yerah.
Tel Bet Yerah is a large Early Bronze Age (3500-2300
BC) site on the edge of the Sea of Galilee with evidence
of connections to disparate cultures from across the
Near East. High status Egyptian artefacts were found
within local houses at in the Early Bronze I and II
periods at Bet Yerah. During the EBI it is thought
that Tel Bet Yerah was an important supplier of olive
oil for the Egyptian trade routes. Over the course of
the Early Bronze II period, Tel Bet Yerah developed
into a major regional centre with extensive fortifica-
tions, planned street layout, and a monumental
storage building. By the end of the Early Bronze II,
the well organised urban society had collapsed and a
new pottery tradition, Khirbet Kerak Ware, appeared.
The Khirbet Kerak Ware is interpreted as the southern
extension of the Kura-Araxes cultural horizon which
originated in the Caucasus and north east Anatolia
in the late fourth millennium BC. What this expansion
represents socially and culturally is uncertain. At Tel
Bet Yerah, the intrusion of Khirbet Kerak Ware at the
VOL 10
Flotation at Tel Bet Yerah 2013. Charred plant remains are
retrieved from the soil by water separation in a flotation
machine. (file: Longford1.jpeg)
beginning of Early Bronze III, together with areas of
non-permanent occupation, has been interpreted as
an influx of migrants ‘squatting’ in open areas contem-
poraneously occupying the site with ‘local’
inhabitants.
Archaeobotanical analysis of the site is beginning to
expand our understanding of the economy and
society of the inhabitants of Tel Bet Yerah throughout
these periods. In particular, my research has focused
on assessing any continuity or discontinuity in agricul-
tural practices and crop selection between the Early
Bronze II and III periods. My research builds on the
initial study of the plant remains by Alice Berger
(MA Tel Aviv University) and indicates that there
was change in the crops cultivated between the two
periods, which may relate to the appearance of
Khirbet Kerak Ware at the site. This is highly signifi-
cant for understanding changes in the economic and
administrative structures of Tel Bet Yerah between
the Early Bronze II and III and the relationship
between the Khirbet Kerak and the broader Kura-
Araxes cultural horizon.
The CBRL travel grant I received enabled me to spend
a week in Tel Aviv working at Tel Aviv University on
the archaeobotanical material in the Tel Bet Yerah
archive. I collected all the plant remains from the
2009-2011 seasons and processed the 2012-2013
heavy residues for the wood charcoal and other
charred material. I brought the material back to the
archaeobotany laboratory at the University of Shef-
field, UK, for analysis. This research is currently still
in progress.
Whilst in Israel, I was also able to meet with other
members of the Tel Bet Yerah team from Tel Aviv Uni-
versity, the University of Haifa and the Hebrew Uni-
versity of Jerusalem to discuss excavation results and
plan future research priorities for the site. I delivered
two presentations on my current research, one
lecture on the plant economy of the Kura-Araxes and
 CBRL Bulletin 2015
the other on the Tel Bet Yerah plant remains, to the
excavators and specialists who are working on differ-
ent aspects of Tel Bet Yerah archaeology.
I am very grateful to the CBRL for funding my travel
to Israel for researching the plant economy of Tel Bet
Yerah. Without the support of the CBRL I would not
have been able to conduct this research into the subsis-
tence strategies and agricultural practices of Tel Bet
Yerah in the Bronze Age.
A Socio-Environmental Study of the Separation
Barrier in Israel/Palestine: The Political Ecology of
Segregation
Kyra Reynolds (University of Ulster);; email: reynolds-k4@
email.ulster.ac.uk
Until now, academic attention pertaining to Israel’s
Separation Barrier in the West Bank has focused
largely on whether or not the structure is legal or
upon its implications for final state solutions to the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict. United Nations agencies
and Non-Governmental Organisations have provided
reports concerning the structure’s impacts upon Palesti-
nian livelihoods and human rights. However, the
environment has received little mention beyond the iso-
lation of agricultural land and water infrastructure on
the wrong side. After completing an undergraduate dis-
sertation which aimed to unravel the environmental
impediments of the barrier, I began to realise that the
environmental impacts were much more diverse and
complex than this ‘natural resources here, population
there’ story. It was also clear that a social lens on the
environmental impacts was necessary, given the inse-
parable connections between human subsistence and
the natural environment, particularly in a region
where there is a high dependency upon agriculture
and apparent issues of water scarcity.
The barrier winding through the landscape next to olive groves and residential areas (Photograph: Kyra Reynolds).
VOL 10 73
With the help of a CBRL travel grant and accommo-
dation at the Kenyon Institute, I was able to travel to
the West Bank for 10 days in order to complete a recon-
naissance visit for my PhD. I visited numerous barrier-
affected communities in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem
governorates where I conducted semi-structured inter-
views with representatives from relevant NGOs as
well as Palestinian residents I encountered. I also par-
ticipated in political tours of the barrier with both
Palestinian and Israeli tour guides to gain a broad
overview of the narratives and experiences that sur-
round the barrier and its impacts. This included politi-
cal taxi tours in Bethlehem, a Study Tour of East
Jerusalem by the Israeli NGO Ir Amim, and a tour
around Abu Dis and surrounding areas by a local
Palestinian tour guide.
During these excursions, it became clear that the bar-
rier’s impacts upon the environment were complex
and sometimes unexpected. For instance, it was clear
that the separation of farmers from their lands was
not as simple as being entirely cut off, but rather these
farmers often became locked in a battle to obtain the
necessary permits that would allow them to access
their lands during certain times, times which I was
told are often unpredictable. The Ir Amim tour guide
explained how the barrier has also revived old Absen-
tee Laws which declare private lands as state lands if
they are not cultivated within a certain time frame.
My Palestinian tour guide also claimed that some
farmers no longer bother trying to harvest their
produce on the other side of the barrier since they can
face trouble with soldiers or settlers when trying to do
so. Furthermore, it is not just the struggle to tend iso-
lated agricultural lands that farmers face, but I was
also told that access to agricultural markets is severely
restricted given the mobility impediments the barrier
causes. One taxi driver informed me of how he could
no longer get to Jerusalem to sell his olives. Such
74 CBRL Bulletin 2015
restrictions were seemingly evident when my tour
guide claimed that from the barrier at Abu Dis, I
would be able to get to Damascus Gate in 5 minutes
at a walk had the barrier not existed, and yet, I had to
take an approximately 30 minute long bus journey
from Damascus Gate that morning to get to Abu Dis.
These mobility restrictions also affect natural processes.
For example, numerous interviews raised issues of
obstructed water flows causing floods, the genetic iso-
lation of plants and animals, and interrupted wildlife
migratory corridors. The stuffed hyenas at the Environ-
mental Education Center in Bethlehem were apparently
the result of the barrier having caused hyenas to
encroach upon populated areas.
The Ir Amim tour stopped at the settlement of Har
Homa where it was clear that construction was
booming. Some Palestinians I spoke to believed that
the confiscation of their lands to the Israeli side of
the barrier is a means for the settlements to expand,
thus potentially jeopardizing agricultural areas. Such
potential loss of open areas is also caused by the move-
ment of blue ID holders to areas inside the barrier in
order to retain their residency status or due to chan-
ging urban nexuses (e.g. Ramallah). This seems to
have increased population density and urban sprawl,
again affecting open green areas. I was also informed
about the deterioration in waste management as a
result of the barrier’s mobility impediments and terri-
torial fragmentation, which serves to inhibit centra-
lised waste management. Indeed in the Abu Dis
area, I witnessed Palestinians dumping waste onto
open agricultural lands and waste filled streams
flowing through agricultural areas. The owners of
the latter lands, I was told, are now struggling to sell
their produce since consumers are concerned about
the polluted stream nearby.
After having witnessed these environmental issues,
the situation was summed up in the words of a Pales-
tinian I met during a visit to Battir, a village whose
Roman era agricultural landscape is threatened by
the barrier’s construction. She claimed that “the wall
takes everything that is green and natural …
always”. However, I also learned of some acts of resist-
ance to these impacts. For instance, Battir was seeking
UNESCO World Heritage Status (now achieved), a
farmer in Abu Dis had apparently moved a mobile
home to his lands which had been cut off by the
barrier, and the Ir Amim tour guide spoke of how set-
tlers in the Gush Etzion bloc were apparently petition-
ing against the structure on environmental grounds.
This only serves to complicate the complex web of
socio-environmental impacts that the barrier appears
to have created.
An article pertaining to this research project has been
published in the International Journal of Environmental
Studies and is entitled ‘Palestinian agriculture and the
Israeli separation barrier: the mismatch of biopolitics and
chronopolitics with the environment and human survival’
(DOI: www.dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2014.991546).
VOL 10
Evidences for an Early Bronze Age (EBA)
Colonization of the Jawa Hinterland: Preliminary
Results of the 2015 Fieldwork Season in Tulul al-
Ghusayn
Bernd Müller-Neuhof (Deutsches Archäologisches Insti-
tut); email: bernd.mueller-neuhof@dainst.de
One of the major results of the recently completed
‘Jawa hinterland project’, which focused on the
basalt (al-harra) and limestone desert (al-hamad) in
NE-Jordan, was the identification of various traces
for an intensive socio-economic utilization of the
harra in the Chalcolithic / Early Bronze Age (C/
EBA). Pastoral groups in particular seemed to have
been involved in these activities, as demonstrated,
with other factors, by the large number of C/EBA
camp sites identified in this region (see http://www.
dainst.org/projekt/-/project-display/47285).
While the existence of camp-sites in this steppe-desert
was predictable in the first place, due to the fact that
the aridity of the region usually permits only seasonal
residency during winter and spring, the discovery of
the two fortified EBA hillfort settlements, Khirbet
Abu al-Husayn and Tulul al-Ghusayn, in the eastern
part of the harra during these surveys took the
author by great surprise, because they show that
even full sedentary communities were able to exist in
this steppe-desert.
These discoveries led to the development of a three-
year follow-up project on ‘The colonization of the
Northern Badia (NE-Jordan) in the Late Chalcolithic
and Early Bronze Age (4th to 3rd millennium BC): a
contribution to archaeological settlement geography
in the arid regions of Southwest Asia’, which started
in January 2015 and focuses on these two settlements
of Khirbet Abu al-Husayn and Tulul al-Ghusayn.
This project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsge-
meinschaft (Az MU 3075/3–1) and is affiliated to the
Council of British Research in the Levant.
The major aims of the project are:
1. The establishment of a chronological framework
for the colonization of the Northern Badia, including
Jawa, based on radiocarbon dates.
2. The characterization of the socio-economy of
these communities, with particular reference to
their subsistence base.
3. The identification of water procurement and
water storage strategies and technologies at these
sites and in their immediate vicinity.
The first fieldwork season was carried out in April
2015 in Tulul al Ghusayn, which is located on a
volcano c. 70 km east of Jawa. This site was initially
discovered by David Kennedy and Robert Bewley
during one of the aerial reconnaissance flights of the
APAAME project in 2011. Both colleagues kindly pro-
vided the author with photos and coordinates, which
enabled an initial visit of two half days to the site for
 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10 75

Map of the northeastern Badia, indicating the probable Early Bronze Age sites of Jawa, Tulul al-Ghusayn and Khirbet Abu al-Husayn (©J.
Meister and B. Müller-Neuhof, DAI-Orientabteilung)

a preliminary inspection and rough documentation of Dwelling architecture

the structures visible on the surface in 2013.
Small double apsidal double-cell structures and larger,
more or less sub-rectangular dwelling structures are
The site of Tulul al-Ghusayn consists of four dwelling
the common building types in Tulul al-Ghusayn and
areas which are located in the crater, on top of the
especially in the densely inhabited dwelling area on
southern ridge (here surrounded by a fortification
the southern footslopes of the volcano. The small
wall), on the southern footslopes and the adjacent
double apsidal double-cell buildings consist of a
southerly terrace, and on the eastern footslopes of
small main room and a small anteroom or ‘forecourt’.
the volcano. In addition, large areas with terraced
Their length is 3.00 to 4.50 m and their width 1.00 to
gardens have been identified in the crater and on the
1.40 m. The walls are sometimes preserved up to
southern and eastern outer flanks of the volcano.
height of 0.5 m and their double-faced masonry

Fortification
The fortified dwelling area on the southern ridge of the
volcano probably served as a refuge fort for the inhabi-
tants of the entire settlement. The fortification wall is
constructed as a ca. 0.75–1.00 m wide double faced
masonry wall, which is partly preserved to a height
of almost one meter and which especially fortifies
the long northern and southern edge of the ridge.
The remaining segments on the eastern and western
edge of the ridge are naturally fortified by basalt
cliffs creating very steep slopes, which were incorpor-
ated into the fortification. Five to six gates or posterns
gave access to this area of the settlement. At least two
clear access routes leading to the fort were identified.
Small double apsidal double-cell buildings are Aerial view of Tulul al-Ghusayn (©B. Müller-Neuhof, DAI-
located within the fortified area. Orientabteilung).
76 CBRL Bulletin 2015
walls are carefully constructed. All double apsidal
double-cell buildings in Tulul al-Ghusayn are orien-
tated SW-NE, with a SE orientated entrance.
The larger sub-rectangular buildings also consist of a
forecourt or anteroom and a main room, with lengths
between 3.50 m to 4.50 m and widths around 2.00 m.
During this season soundings have been made in two
double apsidal double-cell dwellings (G 024 and G
042). A third double apsidal double-cell structure (G
138) and one of the larger sub-rectangular dwelling
structure (ST 24) were fully excavated.
The excavations revealed some in situ finds: In ST 24 a
complete jar was discovered, which shows strong affi-
nities to the EBA I (EBA IA) pottery in Jawa and Tell
Umm Hamad (here possibly genre 31). Additionally
a cortical scraper was retrieved and a fireplace was
identified. In structure G 138 two large grinding
slabs were discovered in situ, as well as a fireplace.
Charcoal remains and bone fragments from both fire-
places are currently undergoing radiocarbon analyses
Standing stones
The area on the southern slope and on the adjacent
terrace is also characterized by a large flat empty
space on its southern end, on the south western edge
of which three different standing stone structures are
located, orientated towards the setting sun.
View of the excavated double apsidal double-cell building G 138
(from south) (©B. Müller-Neuhof, DAI-Orientabteilung).
VOL 10
Comparable structures are known from southern
Jordan and also from the Sinai and the Negev. Con-
trary to the results of soundings in the Sinai structures,
our soundings in two of these structures (SS 001 and SS
002) did not reveal any offerings such as cortical scra-
pers or grinding stones placed below platforms in con-
nection with these standing stones. However, the
layout of these structures cannot be attributed to dom-
estic or economic (e.g. garden terraces, animal pen
walls) utilization. Their layout is characterized by the
position of the highest upright standing stone slabs
placed in the centre, a series of adjacent stones at one
of the standing stones structure, and clear orientation
of all of these structures towards the west (sunset),
because the view to the east (sunrise) is blocked by a
nearby hill. This orientation allows a hypothetical
interpretation of these rows of standing stones as
most probably relating to a cultic calendrical function.
Terraced gardens
The terraced gardens, which are located in the crater,
on the southern and on the eastern outer slopes of
the volcano, are particularly noteworthy. Some
remains of walls on the western slope might hint at
further garden structures, however these have either
been destroyed by colluvial processes or were never
finished. During the survey of the garden terraces a
number of overflows between upper and lower
gardens have been identified, which would have
enabled the distribution of water according the
Standing stones structure no. 1 view of the consecutive set rows of
stones (©B. Müller-Neuhof, DAI-Orientabteilung).
 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10 77

cascade principle. This system is also known from the

terraced gardens in Jawa.

Discussion
The material culture of Tulul al-Ghusayn suggests a
date in the EBA I. The fortified character of this site,
which suggests a permanent occupation at least for a
part of the population, and the terraced gardens,
which point to intensive agricultural activities here,
are both important features. The importance of agri-
culture is also confirmed by the abundant discovery
of (fragments of) grinding stones and grinding slabs
all over the site. The identification of agricultural View of the terraced gardens in the crater (©B. Müller-Neuhof,
activities so far east in the harra is entirely unexpected DAI-Orientabteilung).
and has significant implications for the dynamic of
relationships between settled and nomadic popu-
which are catalogued during the fieldwork season and
lations in the EBA. The discovery of agricultural activi-
are available via www.apaame.org. The 2014 season
ties at Tulul al-Ghusayn definitely needs further
was one of the most successful in terms of geographical
investigation, part of this will be achieved by soil ana-
coverage, flying as far north as Irbid and to the far
lyses which is already underway.
south-eastern point of Jordan within 8 nautical miles
of the border with Saudi Arabia.
Another interesting discovery has been the standing
stones, which show affinities to similar structures in
This was the eighteenth consecutive year of the Aerial
southeast Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Sinai and the
Archaeology in Jordan project. It remains the only pro-
Negev. This might point to extensive long distance
gramme of Aerial Archaeology in the Middle East and
connections between different groups occupying the
North Africa. Despite the turmoil in the wider region
steppe deserts neighbouring the Fertile Crescent,
permission was again granted by Major General
perhaps indicating a cultural entity. However, these
Prince Feisal, Commander of the Royal Jordanian Air
hypothetical thoughts need further data, which will
Force (RJAF), brother of His Royal Highness King
hopefully be produced in the coming analyses of the
Abdullah. Aircraft (the ever reliable Huey helicopters)
material cultural remains, the radiocarbon dating
were made available for every day requested.
and the planned excavations and surveys within the
framework of this project in the coming years.
Special permission was granted for flights in distant
parts of Jordan, involving logistical planning for re-
My thanks are going to the Department of Antiquities
fuelling and over-night stops, for which we are
of Jordan and its director Dr. Munther Jamhawi, to the
immensely grateful to the RJAF. Firstly this included
Badia Research Programm and its director Dr. Odeh
reconnaissance into the ‘panhandle’ to areas seldom
al-Meshan, CBRL Amman, the German Protestant
surveyed from the air (or on the ground) in support
Institut of Archaeology in Amman, the Deutsche For-
of a proposed German archaeological project which
schungsgemeinschaft and especially to the participants
has now received funding. Secondly, having flown
of this year fieldwork season Dr. Wael Abu-Azizeh,
down to Aqaba we were able to undertake a sortie to
Tobias Schmidt M.A. and the DoA representative
the east of Aqaba and then north to the eastern side
Khaled Janaida, for their work and their ability to
of the Al-Jafr Oasis which we had never previously
bear dust and three days of a strong storm on the
visited.
site and in the camp.
During October we photographed over 1,000 sites,
Aerial Archaeology in Jordan, Summary Report for
some of them for the first time (i.e. Cover Photo and
2014
23); in addition we made a number of new discoveries
Robert Bewley (University of Oxford),
such as a stone quarry east of Amman containing aban-
David Kennedy (University of Oxford) and
doned unfinished columns. We also devoted time to
Rebecca Banks (University of Oxford); email: robert.
monitoring the condition of sites, and this year in par-
bewley@arch.ox.ac.uk
ticular we photographed a number of sites where it is
Aerial Reconnaissance for Archaeology in Jordan
known extensive looting has taken place; this work
The current aerial reconnaissance for archaeology was done in support of the ‘Follow the Pots’ Project.
project began in Jordan in 1997, with further seasons Each year we ask archaeologists and scholars working
every year, and on occasions twice a year (in 2005 in Jordan for their needs in terms of sites and areas to
and 2010), achieving a total of almost 316 flying hours. be flown; for example we were able to re-visit
Machaerus to record recent changes there.
The 2014 season ran for the month of October. We
undertook 31 flying hours for reconnaissance over six This year’s programme of flying saw us monitor sites
days taking c. 9,500 high-resolution aerial photographs, from the prehistoric period, such as the kites and stone
78 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10

Distribution of the photographs taken on each flight in 2014.

Roman quarry c. 13 km east of Amman with abandoned columns in situ. Until now the quarries of Philadelphia were assumed to be those
once visible in and around the hills of the ancient city.
 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10 79

Extensive looting of the small fort at Fifi (left of centre) and associated cemeteries. The site was revisited at the request of Morag Kersel
whose project, Follow the Pots, is monitoring looting pits in the region (APAAME_20141013_RHB-0199).

structures in the basalt desert, to the Bronze Age tells in
the Jordan and Dead Sea valleys, to the remnants of the
modern era – for example Ottoman trenches (Cover
photo) and the Hejaz railway. Sites photographed
often represent good examples of not only well pre-
served features, but rare examples of what were pre-
viously more common features in a fast changing
landscape (i.e. the milestones of the Via Nova Traiana).
Flying Hours and Photography
The graph sets out the achievements of the project
since its inception and underlines the increase in
efficiency of recording and photographing in the air
since moving to digital photography and the generous
increase in funding from the Packard Humanities
Institute (PHI) in 2008.
Sites Recorded
Careful pre-planning of flights continues to make our
reconnaissance and photography highly cost-effective
in terms of the number of sites (targets) recorded per
hour of flying. This, and the number of photographs
taken per hour, has remained consistent since the
introduction of digital photography, improved pre-

Totals for hours flown and total numbers of targets in 2014.

80 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10

Udhma – a Late Islamic site in process of destruction (APAAME_20141012_RHB-0055).

flight planning (using Google Earth) and the
additional funds from PHI since 2008. The graph
shows the total number of hours flown each year
and the increase since 2008 up to 2014. Funding for
2015 is in place and we are planning similar levels of
flying and photography this autumn.
Roman large village/small town of Yajuz, north of
Amman (with recent aerial photography) enabled
us to report to the Director of Antiquities on the
continued threat to this important and increasingly
rare type of site. A further day involved
locating and exploring the remarkable Roman
quarry discovered while flying east of Amman.

Associated Fieldwork
Fieldwork to investigate sites on the ground was
again an important component of the project, and
in 2014 we visited sites around the Azraq Oasis
where rapid expansion of the town and extensive
clearance of the landscape has destroyed scores of
sites and is threatening more. A further visit to the
Funding
The financing of the 2014 season was provided by
grants from the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI)
and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust. The project is
supported by the University of Western Australia, the

The Roman roadside fortlet of Rujm Faridiyyeh (WHS 406) with extensive damage caused by bulldozing. The Via Nova Traiana passes to
the left of the site. Modern tracks use the same route and overly the road (APAAME_20141019_RHB-0153).
 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10 81

Kh. Titn 2 – a previously unphotographed site on higher ground in a remote water-course southeast of Aqaba. We were requested to photo-
graph the site by Dr. Kristoffer Damgaard (APAAME_20141020_DDB-0071).

University of Oxford and is an affiliated project of the
Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL).
As in the past, approval was granted by Major General
Prince Feisal, authorized by Jordan Army HQ and over-
seen by the commander of the Air Lift Wing at RJAF
Marka, Amman, Col Ibrahim Ya’la. 2014 flights were
arranged by Lt. Col. Khalil Bjadough, CO of No. 8 Squa-
dron and provided by the crews of that unit. We enjoyed
the logistical support in Amman of the Council for
British Research in the Levant and its Director,
Dr Carol Palmer, and the efficient and enthusiastic co-
operation and involvement of its Administrator,
Nadja Qaisi.
Participants
Kennedy and Bewley shared the flying season with a
major overlap in the middle including two shared
flights. In addition, the project was supported in the
field by Mr Matthew Dalton, Mr Don Boyer,
Ms Rebecca Banks, Mr Travis Hearn and Mrs Nadja
Qaisi.
Cataloguing
All new photographs continue to be catalogued
immediately and mainly while still in the field. An
additional aspect of cataloguing this year was to
include MEGA-Jordan, JADIS and Pleiades/Pelagios
references in the image keyword metadata to make
our photographs more accessible to users of those
databases, and this is being applied retrospectively
across the APAAME collection. The Aerial Archaeol-
ogy in Jordan project photographs are made available
through the APAAME Flickr page (see www.apaame.
org). The APAAME archive is now officially located
in the School of Archaeology at the University of
Oxford.

A ‘Milestation’ on the Via Nova Traiana. A rare example of what was a common feature a century ago – well-preserved Roman roads and
standing milestones (APAAME_20141019_DLK-0203).
82 CBRL Bulletin 2015 VOL 10

The Roman mausoleum and farm at Kh Ain is well-known. Illicit digging has taken place (left of centre) confirming what a ground visit
had previously suspected was an underground tomb (APAAME_20141012_MND-0261).

Web Database/ Access Portal
By 31 December 2014 some 90,000 images (photos and
maps) were online and available to the public, and a
further 1,000 to professional colleagues, almost all
geo-referenced. Average daily views on the Flickr
site have increased from a few hundred per day to
c. 4000–5000 daily. The total of ‘View Counts’ (as of
6 March 2015) now stands at over 4 million.
Our blog and twitter ‘following’ has continued to
stimulate a number of people worldwide to notify us
of parallel material or interpretations, and provides
up-to-date material on our on-going research, confer-
ence attendances and publications.
http://www.apaame.org/ or https://twitter.com/
APAAME

http://www.flickr.com/photos/APAAME/
collections/