Khirbat az-Zuna

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Khirbat az-Zuna
limes Limes Arabiae et Palestinae
section Limes Arabicus
(front Limes line)
Dating (occupancy) Diocletian (?) to the
beginning of the 7th century
Type Quadriburgium
unit unknown
size External dimensions:
a) with corner towers:
approx. 43.80 m × 43.80 m
b) without corner towers:
approx. 42.70 m × 42.70 m
(= approx. 0.19 ha)
Construction stone
State of preservation partly badly collapsed, partly relatively well preserved building remains
place Khirbat az-Zuna
Geographical location 31 ° 35 '6.2 "  N , 35 ° 56" 10.8 "  E
height 650  m
Previous Qasr az-Za'faran
(front Limes line) (northwest)
Subsequently Umm er-Rasas
(front Limes line) (southwest)
The Khirbat az-Zuna quadriburgium according to research from 2006 to 2008

Khirbat az-Zuna , also known as Khirbet es-Zōna , is a late Roman military camp whose crew was responsible for security and surveillance tasks on the front Limes Arabiae et Palestinae in the late ancient province of Arabia . The monument is located in the Jordanian desert, 2.70 kilometers east of the Iron Age settlement and Nabatean residence Khirbat al-Mudayna at 650 meters above sea level in the Amman Governorate in Jordan .

location

The fort is located on a spur, 46 meters above the Wadi ath-Thamad, which runs from northeast to southwest. Both the southwest flank and the northeast flank are naturally secured by small, short, deeply dug inlets to the wadi. The wadi itself ultimately drains via the Wadi Al-Hidan into the important Wadi Mujib , which in turn flows into the Dead Sea . From the place of the fort, the Roman soldiers had an excellent view of the wadi, which was certainly decisive for the choice of the place. On the other hand, the view to the north and west is restricted as the Castellum lies northwest of the highest elevation of the terrain spur. The climate corresponds to the subtropisch- arid Zono biom , which is typical of desert landscapes.

Research history

The fort became known for the first time through two research trips conducted in 1897 and 1898 by the Austrian ancient historian Alfred von Domaszewski (1856–1927) and the German-American philologist Rudolf Ernst Brünnow (1858–1917), which covered the Roman Limes and many others visited ancient sites in the former province of Arabia. The two handed down the name of the place as "ez-Zânije".

In 1934, the biblical archaeologist Nelson Glueck (1900–1971), who visited many buildings in the Roman Limes in Jordan in the second half of the 1930s, reported on Khirbat az-Zuna. At that time, however, he gave incorrect dimensions for the building with only 30 × 30 meters without the corner towers and could not identify the gate construction. The American Provincial Roman Archaeologist Samuel Thomas Parker was also there later . From 1980 to 1989, the archaeologist headed a team of scientists from various disciplines who, as part of the Limes Arabicus Project, focused on the Roman border in central Jordan. Parker reported back in 1979 that the fort had been built on a man-made landfill, but no evidence could be found during the 2005 excavation. The archaeologist also created a new plan in which Khirbat az-Zuna was now 44 × 40 meters and declared that he wanted to replace Glueck's somewhat imprecise plan. Strangely enough, Parker resorted to Glueck's plan in 1986.

The excavation of the late antique Castellum was part of the ongoing research from 1997 to 2014 for the Wadi ath-Thamad Project , which was headed by Biblical Archaeologist Paulette M. Michèle Daviau from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada . The research covered more than 150 archaeological sites over the years , ranging from the Paleolithic to the Ottoman occupation. Khirbat az-Zuna was chosen for the investigation because of the discrepancies in older plans and descriptions. Therefore, new topographical surveys and archaeological excavations took place in 2005. The biblical archaeologist Jonathan Ferguson acted as local excavation director . From the beginning of the excavations in 2006, he concentrated the investigations on the northwestern part of the enclosing wall and dug there on the northern half of the fort gate and on the flanking northern gate tower. The aim was to capture the appearance and construction of the gate. Further investigations during the 10th and 11th campaigns of the Wadi Project in 2007 and 2008 concluded the excavations at the gate. During this time, digging was carried out inside the fort opposite the gate and along the outer front of the north-western corner tower.

Building history

Historical overview

The fortification of the Limes Arabicus in this area began with the annexation of the Nabatean Empire during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117) in AD 106. To secure the newly won territories, the emperor left between AD 107 and 114 with the Establish a military road along the Limes via Traiana Nova running from south to north, stretching from the port city of Aila ( Akaba ) on the Red Sea to the legionary camp of Bostra in present-day Syria. The Legio III Cyrenaica stationed there was responsible for building the road. Over the centuries, the Roman army was repeatedly forced to expand the border fortifications. With the reforms of Emperor Diocletian and the growing threat from the Sassanids , these efforts reached a climax.

Enclosing wall

The almost square quadriburgium , including the side towers around 43.80 × 43.80 meters (= 0.19 hectares) , was founded on a spur above the meandering Wadi ath-Thamad, which is around 30 meters deep . The building type of the quadriburgium had become known since the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284–305) and the tetrarchy he founded . The rectangular building, with its only gate facing northwest, has four rectangular corner towers that protrude from the defensive wall with a width of 2.60 meters and have an average of 4.80 square meters. Furthermore, there are three equally rectangular intermediate towers that sit in the middle of the south-west, south-east and north-east curtains . They are 5.00 meters wide and 2.90 meters deep. The single-lane gate, which has a 3.50 meter wide passage, is also flanked by a rectangular gate tower. These two gate towers are smaller in size and measure 4.30 × 2.60 meters. Overall, the towers, which were built from ashlars, were measured around one meter thick. The curtains were 16.80 meters long, with the exception of the northwest side, in which the gate was located, but only 12 meters on the door side.

The 2.40 meter thick enclosure wall and the towers were placed directly on the rock. On the outside of the complex, the builders placed a high value on representative ashlar masonry , while the inside of the defensive wall consisted of roughly trimmed blocks with smaller rubble stones set between the cracks. Overall, the surrounding wall consisted of three shells, between which rubble stones were filled. A covered sewer led out through the castle gate.

Interior development

Inside the fort, a number of Roman-era walls could be traced, but no recognizable pattern could be found, as the building was later reused as a burial place and the abundance of the graves, some of which were robbed, made many structures unrecognizable. Most of the recognized 15 wall sections seem to run roughly parallel to the curtains of the fort. A particularly strong wall was in the area of ​​the southeastern interval tower. A conspicuously designed brick indicated that this tower could have extended with its flanks into the fort and thus possibly served as a principia . Ceramic water pipe fragments, some of them still disguised, were found in and around the castellum , but mainly in the inner north central area of ​​the fortification. Overall, these findings seem to indicate that the garrison may have owned not only a staff building, but possibly a small bathhouse as well.

Spolia

As the excavations showed, a number of older Hellenistic and Nabatean architectural elements had been reused as spoils during the construction of the complex . The documented components include embossed workpieces , an Ionic capital , a Nabatean capital , triglyphs , metope frieze blocks , ornate stone carvings and a Nabatean inscription that was discovered in the northern gate tower. The quantity and quality of the spoils that were built into the walls of the Castellum show that, among other things, one or more pre-Roman monumental structures, such as temples, were laid down to build the fortification. The lack of Hellenistic or Nabatean ceramics in Khirbat az-Zuna also suggests that the Spolia must have been transported there from an unknown location, perhaps even from Umm al-Walid or Madaba .

Dating

The dating of the ceramics and coins from the excavations suggests that the castellum was built in the late third or early fourth century AD, perhaps under Emperor Diocletian, and was militarily occupied until it was abandoned in Byzantine times. For while most of the other military sites were abandoned in the late 5th century, it appears in Khirbat az-Zuna that it was still in operation throughout the Byzantine period to protect the caravan route that passed by. The conquests of the Muslims put an end to Khirbat az-Zuna in the early 7th century.

Outdoor facilities

The fort is surrounded by a large, oval enclosure wall. It is 126 meters in north-south direction and 153 meters in east-west direction. With the exception of its west side, this wall follows the outer edge of the top of the terrain on which the fortification is located. Although the wall today has some significant gaps, its extent can be clearly documented in other places. In the south, the state of preservation of the enclosing wall was still very good during Ferguson's research. There it moves slightly inwards, towards the fort. Spolia was also used on this wall. The sometimes bad condition of this enclosure makes an interpretation difficult. Rows of further wall lines were built into the oval. In particular to the west and south of the fort, i.e. in places where the surrounding wall is furthest away from the Castellum . In the west, several walls standing at right angles to each other enclose large areas that may have been used as animal enclosures. As in the interior of the fort, there were also several post-Roman graves, some of which had been robbed, which were grouped in the east of the fortification in particular.

A Nabataean inscription

The five-line Nabataean inscription installed as a spoil in the northern gate tower was no longer legible in its secondary context after it was reused for a purpose other than intended. The text of this inscription, discovered in 2006, is incomplete and partly illegible, but it contains five lines of text in which five people are mentioned. two of them are called "Baṭalu", a previously unknown name in the Nabatean Onomasticon .

……
{Š} l {m} {l / n} {d / r} l {ʾ} {l / n}. qysr sl {y}.
bṭlw br wtr {w} {..} {d / r} ʾn {k}…
bṭlw br grš br wtr {w} kt
b ydh

Translation: "... {questionable} {l / n} {d / r} l {ʾ} {l / n}. Caesar sl {y}. Baṭalū, son of Witr {ū} {..} {d / r} ʾn {k}… Baṭalū, son of Garš, son of Witrū wrote [this] by hand. "

Unfortunately, the inscription cannot be dated, as the name of the Roman emperor has not been preserved. However, it becomes clear that the Nabataeans dated the same as the Romans. Ferguson speculated that the inscription could have been made in the second century AD. At the latest after the annexation of the Nabatean Empire in 106 AD by the Roman Empire , Rome became the unrestricted leading power of the country.

literature

  • Jonathan Ferguson , Laila Nehmé: The Nabataean 'Caesar' inscription from Khirbat az ‐ Zūna In: Arabian archeology and epigraphy 1, Volume 25, 2014, pp. 37-42.
  • Paulette M. Michèle Daviau : The Wadi ath-Thamad Project . In: Munjazat 9, 2008, pp. 82-83.
  • Paulette M. Michèle Daviau, Jeffrey R. Chadwick , Margreet Steiner u. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: pp. 275–278.
  • Samuel Thomas Parker : Romans and Saracens. A History of the Arabian Frontier . (= Dissertation Series / American Schools of Oriental Research 6), Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 1986, ISBN 0-89757-106-1 , p. 54.
  • Alfred von Domaszewski , Rudolf Ernst Brünnow : The Provincia Arabia on the basis of two trips made in the years 1897 and 1898 and the reports of earlier travelers described . Volume 3, Trübner, Strasbourg 1909. p. 335.

Remarks

  1. ^ A b c d Samuel Thomas Parker : Romans and Saracens. A History of the Arabian Frontier . (= Dissertation Series / American Schools of Oriental Research 6), Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 1986, ISBN 0-89757-106-1 , p. 54.
  2. ↑ a b c d Paulette M. Michèle Daviau, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Margreet Steiner u. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: pp. 275-278; here p. 276.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jonathan Ferguson, Laila Nehmé: The Nabataean 'Caesar' inscription from Khirbat az ‐ Zūna In: Arabian archeology and epigraphy 1, Volume 25, 2014, pp. 37-42; P. 37.
  4. ^ A b c Paulette M. Michèle Daviau: The Wadi ath-Thamad Project . In: Munjazat 9, 2008, pp. 82-83; here: p. 83.
  5. ^ Paulette M. Michèle Daviau, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Margreet Steiner and others. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: pp. 275-278; here p. 275.
  6. ↑ Heinz Ullrich Baierle: Vegetation and flora in south-western Jordan (= Dissertationes Botanicae 200), Cramer / Borntraeger, Berlin, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-443-64112-1 , p. 11.
  7. ^ Alfred von Domaszewski, Rudolf Ernst Brünnow: The Provincia Arabia on the basis of two trips undertaken in the years 1897 and 1898 and the reports of earlier travelers described . Volume 3, Trübner, Strasbourg 1909. p. 335.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h Paulette M. Michèle Daviau, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Margreet Steiner u. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: p. 277.
  9. ^ Paulette M. Michèle Daviau , Jeffrey R. Chadwick , Margreet Steiner and others. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: pp. 275–278.
  10. ^ Paulette M. Michèle Daviau: The Wadi ath-Thamad Project . In: Munjazat 9, 2008, pp. 82-83; here: p. 83.
  11. ↑ Hans-Peter Kuhnen : Desert Frontier of the Roman Empire - The Fateful Frontier of Rome in the Orient from Augustus to Heraclius . In: Hans-Peter Kuhnen (Ed.): Desert border of the Roman Empire. The Roman Limes in Israel and Jordan . Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz 2018, ISBN 978-3-96176-010-7 , pp. 1–116; here: p. 76.
  12. ↑ Hans-Peter Kuhnen : Desert Frontier of the Roman Empire - The Fateful Frontier of Rome in the Orient from Augustus to Heraclius . In: Hans-Peter Kuhnen (Ed.): Desert border of the Roman Empire. The Roman Limes in Israel and Jordan . Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz 2018, ISBN 978-3-96176-010-7 , pp. 1–116; here: p. 36.
  13. ↑ a b Jonathan Ferguson, Laila Nehmé: The Nabataean 'Caesar' inscription from Khirbat az ‐ Zūna In: Arabian archeology and epigraphy 1, Volume 25, 2014, pp. 37-42; P. 38.
  14. ↑ a b Jonathan Ferguson, Laila Nehmé: The Nabataean 'Caesar' inscription from Khirbat az ‐ Zūna In: Arabian archeology and epigraphy 1, Volume 25, 2014, pp. 37-42; P. 41.
  15. ^ Paulette M. Michèle Daviau, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Margreet Steiner and others. a .: Excavation and Survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and Its Surroundings: Preliminary Report of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Seasons . In: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 2006, pp. 249-283; here: pp. 275-278; here p. 278.
  16. ↑ Jonathan Ferguson, Laila Nehmé: The Nabataean 'Caesar' inscription from Khirbat az ‐ Zūna In: Arabian archeology and epigraphy 1, Volume 25, 2014, pp. 37-42; P. 40.