Elizabeth Osinga (2016)

Keywords: Ceramics, countryside/rural archaeology, survey, quantification

Abstract:

My research is focused primarily on the large countryside town of Umm el-Jimal, located on the basaltic plateau in Northeast Jordan. The site was settled from around the mid-1st through the 8th century AD, and was a site of later activity in the Middle Islamic (c. 12th century) to the modern period.  Excavations at a large domestic complex at the site yielded my primary stratigraphic and ceramic data.

At the previous two symposiums, I discussed my approach to the ceramics, summarised the stratigraphy from the three seasons of excavation and discussed my plans for a small regional survey of selected sites on the basaltic plateau. At this symposium, I will present two data sets: first, my quantification of the pottery from the 2014 excavations at Umm el-Jimal, with a discussion of the challenges of and responses to disturbed contexts; second, the results of the regional survey, which presents the first detailed look at the changes in ceramic wares/fabrics over the time in the countryside of Northeast Jordan.