Khirbat Faris: Rural Settlement, Continuity and Change in Southern Jordan. The Nabatean to Modern Periods (1st century BC - 20th century AD)

Khirbat Faris: Rural Settlement, Continuity and Change in Southern Jordan. The Nabatean to Modern Periods (1st century BC – 20th century AD) is the first of three volumes which chart the temporal, and spatial, occupational fluctuations at the site of Khirbat Faris in Southern Jordan and the stories of the communities that lived there. The detailed final excavation report follows the site and its environs throughout their many phases of use and occupation, from the 13th century BC to the present day. It provides a firm foundation for the succeeding discussions on key questions affecting our picture of the Nabatean, Late Antique and Islamic Levant. This well-illustrated book is essential reading for archaeologists, architectural historians, historical geographers, ethnographers: for anyone trying to understand the impact of varied environmental, social and economic forces upon settlement; for anyone seeking to unravel ways in which the use of ethnographic and historical data, together with archaeology and the types of excavation and analysis employed, can best respond to questions about rural settlement; for anyone eager to unpick the relationship between ‘The Desert’ and ‘The Sown’, between nomad and farmer, between tribe and state, between Christianity and Islam.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction – Alison McQuitty

Chapter 2: Excavation Methodology – Alison McQuitty

Part II: Excavations and Stratigraphy

Chapter 3: The Western Edge (Far I) – Alison McQuitty

Chapter 4: The Central Area (Far II, the Khan (Far IV) and House 2) – Alison McQuitty

Chapter 5: The Highest Point (Far V) – Alison McQuitty

Chapter 6: House 1 – Alison McQuitty

PART III: Finds

Chapter 7: Bone, Glass and Miscellaneous Finds – Holly Parton with contributions by Mouna Khoury and Alison McQuitty

Chapter 8: Metal Objects – Holly Parton with contribution by Jeremy Johns

Chapter 9: Stone Objects – Holly Parton with contributions by Douglas Baird and Dominique Collon

Part IV: Conclusions

Chapter 10: Building Materials, Architecture and Settlement Morphology – Alison McQuitty

Chapter 11: Reflections on the Archaeology of Khirbat Faris and Rural Jordan – Andrew Petersen

Concluding Remarks – Alison McQuitty

Bibliography

Appendices

Appendix 1: Context, Sub-Group and Phase Concordance

Appendix 2: Sub-Group Descriptions

Appendix 3: Group Descriptions

Appendix 4: Sub-Group Matrices

Appendix 5: Ceramic Survey of Site

Appendix 6: The Small Finds Catalogue

Appendix 7: The Small Finds Tables

Index

Alison McQuitty is an archaeologist who has worked on projects in England, Jordan and Syria with a particular interest in the post-mediaeval period, ethnoarchaeology and vernacular architecture. Alison became the first Director of the Council for British Research in the Levant. Alison is co-director of the Khirbat Faris Project.

Holly Parton is an archaeologist specialising in finds processing and storage management. She has worked on projects in Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Levant, Libya, Central Asia and Qatar, covering a wide range of periods from prehistoric through to the 19th century AD. She is particularly interested in mills, of all kinds, and is a longstanding member of The International Molinological Society (TIMS).