Re-contextualising the prehistoric central place Hujayrat al Ghuzlan (Jordan)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ricardo Eichmann
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies ; Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442798733

Multidisciplinary research was carried out from 1998 – 2010 on the prehistoric settlement Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (4100-2500 B.C.) by the University of Jordan and the German Archaeological Institute in cooperation with Marburg University (geoarchaeology) and Lübeck University of Applied Sciences (archaeohydrology). This site is located on the northern outskirts of the modern city of Aqaba (Jordan) on the alluvial fan of Wadi Yutum. The fieldwork financed by DFG from 2003 to 2010 ceased after completion of the documentation work, and in 2015 the excavation trenches were systematically filled in to protect the fragile clay brick architectural findings, which in some cases still exceeded 4 m in height. Thanks to its significant water resources in a hyper-arid environment, Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan was an oasis settlement at the top of a complex, hierarchic settlement system with partly palaeobedouin aspects; it was one of the region’s earliest metal producing locations. The site experienced two construction periods and was destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the older period in the fourth millennium B.C. For this region it represents an important phase of cultural history characterized by technical innovations in the areas of copper metallurgy, hydraulic engineering and fortification technology, and it has only been inadequately researched to date. In the meantime, numerous contributions have appeared on the settlement’s chronology and cultural imprint, as well as some provisional syntheses. No verifiable statements can as yet be attempted about cultural changes, particularly those taking place during the first construction period (commencement of settlement, beginning of metallurgy, effects of a natural disaster), since the documented finds and findings have not yet been re-contextualised on the basis of stratigraphy. The local project director had intended to take on this task as his own contribution, but was unable to tackle it because of his early death (2014). This pending work is now to be taken over by a postdoctoral researcher and an assistant. It is also suggested that available samples collected during the 2002-2010 field campaigns be analysed for the first time with tools available in the natural sciences in order to make possible chronological studies in greater depth, and to subsequently present the results.The project goal is to analyse the local stratigraphic situation to enable more indicative, context-related interpretations of the finds and then to publish the results. Stratigraphic pinpointing of the finds and find groups will in addition lead to deeper insights into activity patterns as well as economic strategies and processes of urbanisation, and lay the foundation for specialized studies on various find categories.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants