The Excavation Of An Umayyad Period House At Pella In Jordan

Abstract

The systematic archaeological excavation of domestic areas in the major urban centres of classical, late antique or Early Islamic date in the Levant has not been a priority of most research programs, with only a few notable exceptions. In part to redress this imbalance, and to further our understanding of urban change in the late antique-Early Islamic transitional period, a sizable area of housing was uncovered at the eastern end of the main archaeological mound ( tell ) at Pella in Jordan. The excavations of the eastern tell encompassed an area of almost 2000 m 2 . Work progressed by establishing a 10m 2 grid, and excavating a square of 9 × 9 m within the grid. A planned housing quarter first constructed in the mid-6th c. A.D. was thereby exposed, which originally consisted of contiguous houses but was rearranged into more independent two-storied units opening out onto courtyards in the mid-7th c. Keywords: archaeological excavation; domestic areas; Jordan; late antique period; Levant; Pella