Gadara Region Project
The " Gadara Region Project" is an archaeological project in northern Jordan, south of the ancient Decapolis city of Gadara in the modern village of Umm Qais. It focuses on about 25 square kilometers in the areas of Wadi al -'Arab and the Wadi al-Zahar. The project is supported by the Biblical Archaeological Institute Wuppertal (BAI ) and the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in the Holy Land ( DEI ) Jerusalem and Amman, at the same time Research Centre of the German Archaeological Institute.
Location and population
The under investigation area includes the catchments of Wadi al -'Arab and the Wadi al-Zahar, which open into the upper Jordan Valley. Of great importance for archeology are mainly three settlement hill, the Zira'a Tall, Tall Qaq and Tall Kenise, all of which have a long settling time. Of these, the Tall Zira'a appeared for an excavation on the most promising because it best reflects the development of the area and the external relations because of its over 5,000 years of settlement time and as a central location in the region.
There is hardly an area in Palestine, where the region's history can be explored in such a concentrated environment. The approximately five kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Gadara located deep valley is in its diversity a godsend for archeology. Numerous sources, fertile soil and a temperate climate provide excellent living conditions. On the all-conquering Tall Zira'a offers a artesian best settlement options. Here people have therefore settled more than 5,000 years continuously. The other two major Talls - Tall Tall Qaq and Kenise - are located in the immediate vicinity of this central location.
In addition, an important trade route runs through the valley of Egypt with Syria and ultimately joined Mesopotamia. More than a hundred sites of human settlement from the Palaeolithic to the Islamic period are known so far. Settlements, canals, water mills, tanks, oil presses, wine presses, watchtowers, grave sites and the Tall Zira'a with more than 5000 years of ancient settlement activities offer a wide range of research fields of activity.
History of Research
The first to recognize the archaeological importance of the Wadi el -'Arab, was Gottlieb Schumacher. His observations give an impression of abundance of water and a now unimaginable flora and fauna, as she was still in the last century to be found in this area. " About a dozen sources occur here on the slopes out, overgrown with reeds and oleanders, and flow into a stream that in June 1885, with a width of 4.2 m, a depth of 25 cm and had showed delicious, clear water. .. As a result of the steep slope of the river is well suited to drive a number of mills ( scil. 14! ) ... They are very primitive construction, and usually have only a millstone; with better equipment they would throw their owners a handsome profit. The banks of the river are abundant overgrown with oleanders, raspberry bushes and reeds. Small, natural ponds, which, incidentally, full of fish, provide an opportunity for a refreshing swim. "
Nelson Glueck visited the area in 1942. He also reported on the " singularly imposing and completely Call isolated hill of Tell Zera'ah ..." and mentioned the source on the plateau of the mound as the "result of a natural siphon phenomenon leading the underground flow of the water from the higher level of the hills beyond down to below the bottom and, as through a pipe piercing its center, up to the top of Tell Zera'ah ".
An archaeological rescue investigation of the area was undertaken prior to the construction of the Wadi al -'Arab dam on 14 and 15 March 1978. The team fell far short of the insights of his predecessors, discovered only three spatial layers, including the non -overlooked Tall Zira'a, the one identified as colonized early Bronze Age and spätbyzantinisch.
In September 1983, the first campaign planned by Jack Henbury Tenison surface survey in the Wadi al -'Arab was performed. Here, during 18 days field work 102 archaeological sites of interest were documented. The survey was discontinued.
The Gadara Region Project followed up on this study in 2001 commissioned by the Biblical Archaeological Institute Wuppertal (BAI ) under the leadership of Dieter Vieweger on since 2004 in cooperation with Jutta Häser. The project intends to interdisciplinary exploration of Gadara region. It was in the years 2001 and 2002, the Survey of the capital Tall Zira'a, its sub- cities and its immediate surroundings in the center. Since 2003, unearthed here continuously. In the years 2004-2006 also made exploring prehistoric and ancient and medieval paths and road systems an important focus. Since March 2009, a survey explored the Wadi al -'Arab and the Wadi al-Zahar completely. The survey will be completed in 2011, the entire project is scheduled for 2020.
Objectives
One focus of the project is to explore the settlement history of the settlement area south of Gadara. It will examine the ways in which the Gadara region was inhabited in pre-classical period, and how the settlement system changed during the time of the Decapolis, Gadara was as the new center of the region. And finally, is asked how and why the settlement focus in the 8th century AD there was a shift back to the Wadi al -'Arab on Tall Zira'a.
In connection with the discovered artifacts, the topography and settlement patterns in the course of contemporary history the multiple change of trade routes is investigated.
Furthermore, interested in how adapting the residents in the course of millennia while quite different climatic conditions their survival strategies on the inherent requirements of the valley and responded to the changes in their resources.
This includes the study of the technical possibilities of the inhabitants of the Talls in different periods of its population, especially the small-scale developments in the manufacture of ceramics, glass, faience and quartz frit and in metalworking.
In addition, the agricultural conditions, flora and fauna, and geology (water, rock formations and soil types ) of Wadisystems be explored.