Southern Jordan Research Articles

Nabonidus, as-Silaʿ, and the Beginning of the End of Edom

The collapse of the Iron Age polity of Edom is often attributed to the western campaign of the Babylonian king Nabonidus, who traveled through Edom en route to the desert oasis of Tayma. The campaign is mentioned in several Babylonian texts, and his entrance into Edom is typically dated to 553 B.C.E., based on several fragmentary lines in the Nabonidus Chronicle. With the discovery and publication of a heavily eroded rock relief of Nabonidus at as-Sila˛ in the mountains of southern Jordan, it is confirmed that Nabonidus campaigned through the region of Edom. This article argues that, based on the few fragmentary lines of the accompanying inscription, the attack of Nabonidus on Edom can be more precisely dated to his fifth year, or 551 B.C.E.

Risk factors associated with camel brucellosis in Jordan

During the period between February, 2004 and December, 2006, a cross-sectional study was performed to investigate some epidemiological aspects related to camel brucellosis in Jordan. Four hundred twelve camel sera from 37 herds were randomly collected and analyzed using Rose Bengal plate test and complement fixation test. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect information on camel herd health and management. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to investigate risk factors associated with seropositivity to Brucella antigens. Moreover, the incidence of Brucella-specific abortion was investigated in 7 camel herds located in different locations in Southern Jordan. The true prevalence of Brucella-seropositive in camels was 12.1%. Thirteen (35.1%) herds had at least one positive camel. The seroprevalence ofbrucellosis in camels was significantly higher in the southern part of Jordan than that in central or northern Jordan. The multivariable logistic regression model on both individual and herd levels revealed large herds and contact with small ruminants as risk factors for Brucella seropositivity. On the other hand, using disinfectants was identified as a protective factor (OR = 0.8; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9) only on the camel herd level. The incidence of Brucella-caused abortion was 1.9%. Brucella melitensis biotype 3 was isolated from 4 aborted camel fetuses.

Assessment of the spring water quality in The Shoubak area, Jordan

The present study investigates the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of spring water samples in Shoubak area in the southern Jordan. The samples were collected from May 2004 to May 2005. All samples were analyzed for temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+), major anions (Cl−, NO 3 − , HCO 3 − , SO 4 2− , PO 4 3− , F−), and trace metals (Fe2+, Al3+, Mn2+, Cu2+, Cr3+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Cd2+). Water quality for available springs showed high salinity through long period of contact with rocks. The ion concentrations in the water samples were from dissolution of carbonate rocks and ion exchange processes in clay. The general chemistry of water samples was typically of alkaline earth waters with prevailing bicarbonate chloride. Some springs showed elevated nitrate and sulfate contents which could reflect to percolation from septic tanks, cesspools, and agricultural practices. The infiltration of wastewater from cesspools and septic tanks into groundwater is considered the major source of water pollution. The results showed that there were great variations among the analyzed samples with respect to their physical, chemical and biological parameters, which lie below the maximum permissible levels of the Jordanian and WHO drinking water standards. The results indicate that the trace metals of spring’s water of Shoubak area do not generally pose any health or environmental problems. Factor analysis was used to identify the contributers to water quality. The first factor represents major contribution from anthropogenic activities, while the second one represents major contribution from natural processes.

Magnetic character of a large continental transform: An aeromagnetic survey of the Dead Sea Fault

New high‐resolution airborne magnetic (HRAM) data along a 120‐km‐long section of the Dead Sea Transform in southern Jordan and Israel shed light on the shallow structure of the fault zone and on the kinematics of the plate boundary. Despite infrequent seismic activity and only intermittent surface exposure, the fault is delineated clearly on a map of the first vertical derivative of the magnetic intensity, indicating that the source of the magnetic anomaly is shallow. The fault is manifested by a 10–20 nT negative anomaly in areas where the fault cuts through magnetic basement and by a <5 nT positive anomaly in other areas. Modeling suggests that the shallow fault is several hundred meters wide, in agreement with other geophysical and geological observations. A magnetic expression is observed only along the active trace of the fault and may reflect alteration of magnetic minerals due to fault zone processes or groundwater flow. The general lack of surface expression of the fault may reflect the absence of surface rupture during earthquakes. The magnetic data also indicate that unlike the San Andreas Fault, the location of this part of the plate boundary was stable throughout its history. Magnetic anomalies also support a total left‐lateral offset of 105–110 km along the plate boundary, as suggested by others. Finally, despite previous suggestions of transtensional motion along the Dead Sea Transform, we did not identify any igneous intrusions related to the activity of this fault segment.

Domestic activities and spatial distribution in Ain Abū Nukhayla (Wadi Rum, Southern Jordan): The use of phytoliths and spherulites studies

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Ayn Abū Nukhayla (Wadi Rum, Jordan) contains structural installations (loci) composed of inter-connected oval, rock-walled, pithouses. Questions that arose from their study centered on how to identify possible herding and agricultural activities and to assess any differences in how the loci were used. The combined study of phytoliths and spherulites identified from different loci are presented here. The results of quantitative, morphologic and morphometric analyses of phytoliths and spherulites identified in the different loci are discussed. Cereal processing is evident in some loci by the concentration of the inflorescent parts of festucoid grass phytoliths associated with the presence of handstones and querns. These loci appear to have encompassed specific areas in which domestic activities, including the grinding of cereals and the preparation of other plant resources, were undertaken. In contrast, other loci (such as Locus 20) seem to have been used as pens for herd animals (sheep/goats) as indicated by very high densities of spherulites. The results of this study provide new insights on plant uses, herding practices, and the economic diversity of Early Neolithic communities in the Levant.

Dead Sea influence on the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the dry deposition fallen over the eastern highland of central Jordan

The Dead Sea as a unique geological and geographical phenomenon has an effect on its adjacent areas. Therefore, 17 sampling sites at the eastern highlands facing the Dead Sea; beside three blank sites were collectedlocated during summer (2005). The aim was to investigate such influence on the chemical and mineralogical composition of dry deposition, and to measure the settling rate. The investigations showed that the depositional rate at the studied sites was much lower than other areas at central and southern Jordan. The average heavy metal contents are almost similar in all sampling sites and the blanks, and they exhibit similar enrichment series, whereas, the meaningful difference between sampling sites and blank was in cation and anion content, which caused different enrichment series between the two sites. The index of pollution (IP) confirms that mainly cations and anions have IP > 1.0 and they dominate the southern and the closest sampling sites to the Dead Sea. The XRD results reveals that the studied samples have minor phases such as halite, gypsum, and dolomite. Meanwhile, these mineral phases are not found in blank samples. All these results indicates the influence of the Dead Sea, as it is a highly saline large water mass, which accompanied with by high evaporation rates causing causes the atmosphere over the Sea to be enriched with these cations, anions, elements and minerals, which eventually are adsorbed in air particulate or carried out as dry deposition and transported by the NW–SE prevailing winds, and fall over the eastern highlands.

Nabataean Edom: a demographic and archaeological approach to modelling sedentarisation and regional dynamics

There is a general consensus amongst scholars that the Nabataeans were originally nomads who had migrated from somewhere in Arabia into southern Jordan in the period following the collapse of the Iron Age kingdoms and the beginning of the Persian period. The questions of why, when and how the process of the sedentarisation of the Nabataeans took place is still a matter of debate, but scholars have in general concluded that trade was the principal factor. Here arguments for a different approach are presented in the form of two models. Model 1 suggests how the sedentarisation of the Nabataeans in its initial phase can be seen as a self-initiated process impacted by two main factors: demographic (population growth) and political (centralisation of power); trade, however, must have intensified this process. Model 2 suggests that the process of sedentarisation was not sudden but gradual, and that it resulted in regional specialisation.

Structural Damage from Earthquakes in the Second–Ninth Centuries at the Archaeological Site of Aila in Aqaba, Jordan

The ancient ruins of the city of Aqaba are located at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba along the seismically active Dead Sea Transform fault in southern Jordan. Detailed archaeological excavation and geologic mapping were conducted along an active fault that cuts through Late Roman/Byzantine to Early Islamic deposits at the archaeological site of Aila in Aqaba. In this paper, we describe the stratigraphic evidence for ground-rupturing earthquakes that have affected the site and document the associated collapse, damage, and repair of the architecture in antiquity. These data show that there have been seven earthquakes that have disrupted the archaeological deposits since the second century A.D., based on evidence of faulting. Our data clearly show that historical earthquake catalogs are incomplete with regard to some of the less damaging earthquakes that have affected southern Jordan but may have played a significant role in the cultural history of the region.

Prevalence of, and risk factors for, brucellosis in Awassi sheep in Southern Jordan

A cross-sectional study was carried out during the period between July 2003 and June 2005 to investigate the epidemiology of ovine brucellosis in Southern Jordan. Serum samples from 1380 sheep corresponding to 66 flocks were collected and analyzed using rose bengal plate test and complement fixation test. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on sheep health and management. Risk factors for Brucella seropositivity were investigated using a multivariable logistic regression model. In addition, the incidence of Brucella-specific abortion was investigated in 12 sheep flocks located in Karak (a governorate in the southern part of Jordan). The true prevalence of Brucella-seropositive sheep was 37.6%. Out of the 66 investigated sheep flocks, 31 (47%) had at least one positive animal. The prevalence of brucellosis in sheep was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in Ma’an governorates than that in the other governorates. The multivariable logistic regression model identified addition of new animals (OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 2.1, 3.8), contact with other sheep flocks (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3, 2.7) and lending lambs during breeding season (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2, 3.1) as risk factors. On the other hand, vaccination with Rev-1 vaccine (OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.0) was identified as a protective factor.

Sequence stratigraphy and evolution of Eshidiyya phosphorite platform, southern Jordan

Eshidiyya platform, southern Jordan, is the site for huge Upper Cretaceous phosphorite deposits in excess of 1000 million tons. The sections studied consist of two 3rd order sequences. The phosphorites in both sequences were deposited during the transgressive systems tracts (TST). Phosphogenesis had paused or became minor during the HST when the oyster buildups and the shed coquinoidal limestone dominated the sequence. By the end of the HST, topmost coquinoidal limestone was karstified and red-stained with soil-like material, thus indicating an erosional unconformity or a type 1 sequence boundary (SB1). Very thin, red, pure micrite, devoid of fossil, reworked and/or eroded represents the LST of the 2nd sequence. The TST of the 2nd sequence started with the upper phosphorite horizon and continued throughout the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation (MCM). However, the MCM started with a fall in relative sea level possibly due to restriction by the oyster buildups in the north, then open marine circulation resumed.

The surface heat flow of the Arabian Shield in Jordan

Surface heat flow in southern Jordan (western part of the Arabian Plate) was determined in a dense cluster of five, up to 900-m-deep boreholes that have encountered sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic (Ordovician and Silurian) age. These rocks are underlain by an igneous and metamorphic basement, which has been studied for its radiogenic heat production, along the eastern margin of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. The heat flow, calculated from continuous temperature logs and laboratory-measured thermal conductivity of drillcores and surface samples, averages to 60.3 ± 3.4 mW m −2 and contrasts the common view of the late Proterozoic-consolidated Arabian Shield constituting a low heat-flow province of ⩽45 mW m −2. Although only characterizing an area of about 300 km 2, this average is unlikely representing a positive local anomaly caused by voluminous HHP granites/rhyolites at shallow depths. Instead, a heat flow of 60 mW m −2 is considered a robust estimate of the Phanerozoic conductive surface heat flow not only for Jordan, but for the Arabian Shield in areas unaffected by younger reactivation. The large variation in conductive heat flow (36–88 mW m −2) previously observed in Jordan, southern Syria, and Saudi Arabia is irreconcilable with their broad similarity in lithosphere structure and composition and rather reflects a combination of factors including low-quality temperature data and insufficient knowledge on thermal rock properties.

An 8000-year history of landscape, climate, and copper exploitation in the Middle East: the Wadi Faynan and the Wadi Dana National Reserve in southern Jordan

Investigations of geomorphology, geoarchaeology, pollen, palynofacies, and charcoal indicate the comparative scales and significance of palaeoenvironmental changes throughout the Holocene at the junction between the hyper-arid hot Wadi 'Arabah desert and the front of the Mediterranean-belt Mountains of Edom in southern Jordan through a series of climatic changes and episodes of intense mining and smelting of copper ores. Early Holocene alluviation followed the impact of Neolithic grazers but climate drove fluvial geomorphic change in the Late Holocene, with a major arid episode corresponding chronologically with the ‘Little Ice Age’ causing widespread alluviation. The harvesting of wood for charcoal may have been sufficiently intense and widespread to affect the capacity of intensively harvested tree species to respond to a period of greater precipitation deduced for the Roman–Byzantine period – a property that affects both taphonomic and biogeographical bases for the interpretation of palynological evidence from arid-lands with substantial industrial histories. Studies of palynofacies have provided a record of human and climatic causes of soil erosion, and the changing intensity of the use of fire over time. The patterns of vegetational, climatic change and geomorphic changes are set out for this area for the last 8000 years.

Nouvelles inscriptions Thamudiennes du sud de la Jordanie

This study concerns six Thamudic inscriptions discovered during research carried out in 200, in southern Jordan in the region of Al-Jafar, along the frontier with Saudi Arabia. Each inscription is transcribed and translated with an accompanying commentary.

Sulphur and oxygen isotopic characters of dissolved sulphate in groundwater from the Pleistocene aquifer in the southern Jordan Valley (Jericho area, Palestine)

Sulphate and chloride concentrations in the shallow Pleistocene aquifer systems in the lower Jordan valley area indicate a general trend of increasing salinity eastward and southward. This study was conducted in one of the important sub-basins feeding the Pleo–Pleistocene aquifer in the Jericho area in the southern part of the valley using S and O isotopes of dissolved sulphate. The results show that sulphate has mainly two contributions to the groundwater. One is the surface seepage, which is present as a salty leachate form with the positive δ34Ssulphate values of primary gypsum in Lisan and Samara formations, and the second is the upwelling saline water which was in contact with a deep secondary gypsum, aragonites and salty rocks and rose up under heavy abstraction with depleted 34S in sulphate and relatively high sulphate and chloride content. The latest was clearly shown in the Arab Project wells to the east that is undergoing a continuous heavy abstraction. The isotopic signatures of S and O in these wells to the east show that this depleted 34S and highly concentrated sulphate might also indicate a dissolved sulphate originating from pyrite oxidation that results from the interaction with a pyrite-rich aquifer, which can well up with salty water under heavy abstraction and is oxidised in the upper aerobic shallow aquifer.

The local and global dimensions of metalliferous pollution derived from a reconstruction of an eight thousand year record of copper smelting and mining at a desert-mountain frontier in southern Jordan

This paper establishes an eight thousand year history of anthropogenic metal pollution at one of the oldest, most important and longest sustained sites of the extraction and smelting of copper ores in the Old World: the Faynan Orefield in Jordan, which is located between the hyper-arid southern desert and the front of the wetter Mountains of Edom. The modern land surface is shown, in significant part, to be a complex palimpsest of archaeological sites, metal pollution of various ages and ore processing deposits. Quantitative and qualitative observations of the storage and cycling of heavy metals through the local natural and domestic systems have produced a body of information on processes with which the past has been interpreted. Heavy metal concentrations in semi-continuous sedimentary bodies indicate that over the last 1500 years, metals were removed by natural processes at a comparatively slow rate given the scale of the original anthropogenic metal burden: the proportions of lead with respect to copper have increased as the overall metal burden has been lowered. Distinctive anthropogenic metal-pollution signatures have been detected in ash- and charcoal-rich deposits that were discarded onto the banks of a perennial stream in the late Neolithic. At present, the nature of the human activities that might have produced these pollution signatures is unknown. Substantial metal pollution from industrial-scale smelting activity was present from the Early Bronze Age. The intensity of heavy metal pollution produced in Classical Times locally exceeded that recorded at major European copper smelting centres in the nineteenth century A.D. The pollution evidence indicates that intensive copper smelting at the immediate area took place until approximately the end of the Byzantine period; with the exception of one further minor episode of smelting radiocarbon dated to cal. BP 530–330. An observed partial, but perhaps significant, parallelism is also noted between this local record and the records of the metal burdens of the northern hemisphere determined at mire or ice-sheet sites at high-altitudes or high-latitudes. The paper discusses the extent to which this parallelism might be a geochemical indicator of the actual existence of “economic systems” of a geographical scope and scale to have both exercised substantial “pull” upon the resources of such isolated and difficult locations at the Wadi Faynan, and to have generated sufficient overall metal pollution to have materially altered the chemistry of the global atmosphere. The comparative absence of quantitative information upon the nature, spatial scale and impacts of human, industrial and natural processes affecting metal-pollution in other metal-rich arid lands provides a significant impediment to such approaches that seek to research “locally and think globally”.

Agricultural Use of Reclaimed Water - Experiences in Jordan

Due to extreme water scarcity Jordan is integrating reclaimed water resources in the national water management system. This paper describes the recent framework conditions for reclaimed water use in agriculture in Jordan, with a focus on the central and southern Jordan Valley. The possible impacts of lower quality irrigation water on soil, groundwater, crops and human health are considered while appropriate guidelines and monitoring proposals are being developed. Testing of the guidelines and implementation of the monitoring systems have started with the final purpose of integrating them into the Jordanian standard and legal system and thus ensuring safe food for consumers and protection of the environment.

Central and Southern Jordan in the Ayyubid Period: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives

AbstractFor most of the Islamic period central and southern Jordan has existed on the periphery of larger states. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the political and economic life of the Muslim and Frankish polities of Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria) was dominated by cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Jerusalem and Acre. These urban centres contained the greatest concentrations of the military and civilian elite, and provided the largest markets for locally produced and imported commodities. Intellectual activity also prospered in such urban environments and, with few exceptions, it was the occupants of the cities of Bilad al-Sham who composed the histories of the Crusader states and the Ayyubid confederacy. These chronicles tend to reflect the interests of the ruling elites and generally pay rather less attention to rural areas. The lands between the Wadi Zarqa' and the Red Sea – populated as they were by villages and small market towns – excited little interest among historians, and only Karak and Shawbak merit relatively regular mentions in the chronicles of the period.

Some Thoughts on Khirbet En-Nahas, Edom, Biblical History and Anthropologya Response to Israel Finkelstein

Israel Finkelstein's recent comments inTel Aviv regarding our paper on the Iron Age excavations at Khirbet en-Nahas in southern Jordan contain numerous misinterpretations of the data. This short response outlines why those comments are erroneous. In particular, we describe why the formation of complex societies in Iron Age Edom did not occur under Assyrian tutelage.

Some Thoughts on Khirbet En-Nahas, Edom, Biblical History and Anthropologya Response to Israel Finkelstein

Israel Finkelstein's recent comments inTel Aviv regarding our paper on the Iron Age excavations at Khirbet en-Nahas in southern Jordan contain numerous misinterpretations of the data. This short response outlines why those comments are erroneous. In particular, we describe why the formation of complex societies in Iron Age Edom did not occur under Assyrian tutelage.

Menopausal symptoms and health problems of women aged 50–65 years in Southern Jordan

Objectives To identify menopausal symptoms and health disorders of women aged 50–65 years in under-privileged areas of southern Jordan.Method A multistage, random-sampling design was applied to select a sample of households from three governorates. A total of 143 women were eligible to be included in the analysis. Women were asked about a list of symptoms (somatic, psychological and genitourinary) and about a list of morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus and urinary tract infection. Ever-screening by mammogram, regular breast self-examination, ever-screening by cervical smear, general medical check-up, physical activity, smoking habit, and ever-receiving information about menopause were also investigated.Results The median age of onset of natural menopause was 50 years; 77% of women were illiterate, and 59% of the couples were relatives. The most frequently reported somatic symptoms were joint aches/stiffness (89%), bone pains (74%) and paresthesia in the extremities (51%). Hot flushes were experienced by 62% and urinary incontinence by 30%. Almost 62% reported irritability and mood changes, 56% had high blood pressure, and 18% and 14% suffered from urinary tract infection and reproductive tract infection, respectively. Eight percent and 11% reported ever-screening by mammogram and cervical smear, respectively, and 11% reported performing breast self-examination regularly. Regular physical exercise was reported by 8%, and 81% were overweight or obese. One-quarter received information on menopause, and 58% reported the need to know ‘everything’ about menopause.Conclusion Women in southern Jordan experienced multiple menopause-related symptoms and morbidities. The majority of them did not receive any health education about this phase of life. Preventive health practices and health-promoting behaviors are relatively uncommon. Effective health-care delivery systems responsive to menopausal women's health needs are highly recommended.