Conservation and presentation of Neolithic Beidha, southern Jordan. (News & Notes).

Conservation and presentation of Neolithic Beidha, southern Jordan. (News & Notes). The early Neolithic in the Levant Levant(ləvănt`)[Ital.,=east], collective name for the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean from Egypt to, and including, Turkey. , and specifically within Jordan,is critical to our understanding of the transition fromhunter--gatherers to farmers, the beginnings of agriculture, the birthof religion and the emergence of community life. One of the mostimportant changes directly documented in the material evidence is therapid development of architecture associated with increasing sedentismand community size, both central to most models of the transition.Despite remarkably good preservation on some sites, constructiontechniques, overall form and function of the buildings remain poorlyunderstood, severely limiting our understanding of important socialdevelopments. One of the key early Neolithic sites in southern Jordan is Beidha,just 5 km north of Petra (FIGURE 1). It was excavated in the 1950s,'60s and '80s by British archaeologist Diana Halbaek-Kirkbride(Kirkbride 1966a; 1966b; 1967; 1968; Byrd 1994). This revealed a seriesof complex occupation horizons from the Natufian and early Neolithic(Pre-Pottery Neolithic B). Unfortunately no conservation measures weretaken during or after excavation and therefore the site, includingstanding walls and fragile plaster, is collapsing under the strain fromlivestock, tourists and weather. The Beidha Project was initiated in2001 to conserve the site and present the complex remains to the public.The project is a joint collaboration between the Council for BritishResearch in the Levant The Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) was formed in 1998 with the amalgamation of the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. (CBRL CBRL CBRL Group, Inc (stock symbol)CBRL Council for British Research in the Levant (UK)) and the Department of Antiquities Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. inJordan with a strong emphasis on community involvement. Two localBedouin tribes, the Ammarine and the B'dul, are involved at manylevels from providing labourers to skilled craftmen, accommodation andsite guards. Both have an interest in the long-term future of the siteas a tourist attraction Noun 1. tourist attraction - a characteristic that attracts touristsattractive feature, magnet, attractor, attracter, attraction - a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts; "flowers are an attractor for bees" . [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] In addition to the routine conservation and presentation, a seriesof experimental reconstructions of Neolithic structures, based onevidence from the excavation, is being made. The first will also serveas a visitor centre (FIGURE 2).The project will examine the problems ofconflicting interpretations made by archaeologists Archaeology is a discipline that was virtually unknown until the 19th century. Archaeology, originally an amateur pastime, is becoming increasingly popular, and it is now possible for archaeologists to become minor celebrities as a result of media exposure. and of adapting theseinterpretations for a wider audience. These structures can help provideinsights regarding the continuing debates concerning structure size andorganization, function of individual buildings, site location,organization of interior space and inter-site variability over time.They will consequently help our understanding of significant patterns ofsocial organization of settlement types, domestic activities and storagespace and settlement population. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] The first of a series of reconstructions is based on one of theearliest PPNB PPNB Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (era)structures at Beidha. The semi-subterranean structure is 5m in diameter with walls 1.20 m high and 0.50 m thick. The wall, builtof stones from the wadi bed, consists of three main parts: inner wallmud and stone fill and the outer wall, all built simultaneously to allowthe mud and stone to bond (FIGURE 3). The timber roof, yet to beconstructed, will be lashed to the upright timbers that have been placedwithin the stone wall (FIGURE 4). [FIGURES 3-4 OMITTED] Acknowledgements. We are grateful to the British Embassy in Ammanfor their support. We would also like to thank the many volunteers thathelped carry hundreds of stones and a thank you to the Ammarine andB'dul for all their efforts and hospitality. References BYRD, B. 1994. Public and private, domestic and corporate: theemergence of the southwest Asian village, American Antiquity 59/4:639-66. KIRKBRIDE, D. 1960. The excavation of a Neolithic village at SeylAqlat, Beidha near Petra, Palestine Exploration Quarterly The Palestine Exploration Quarterly (abbreviated PEQ) is the main publication of London's Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), issued (despite the name) twice each year to individual and institutional subscribers and supporters of the Fund. 92: 136-45. 1966a. Five seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic village of Beidhain Jordan, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 98: 5-61. 1966b. Beidha, an early Neolithic Village in Jordan, Archaeology19/3: 199-207. 1967. Beidha 1965: an interim report, Palestine ExplorationQuarterly 99: 5-13. 1968. Beidha 1967: an interim report, Palestine ExplorationQuarterly 100: 90-96. SAMANTHA DENNIS, BILL FINLAYSON & MOHAMMED NAJJAR * * Dennis & Finlayson, Council for British Research in theLevant, Po Box 519, Jubaiha 11941, Amman, Jordan. samjodennis@lycos.comdirector_cbrl@nets.com.jo Najjar, Department of Antiquities, PO Box 88,Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan.