A Wayside Shrine in Northern Moab: Excavations in the Wadi Ath-Thamad

325 Pages·2017·16.432 MB·English

by  P. M. Michele Daviau, Margreet L. Steiner

A WAyside shrine in northern MoAb:
excAvAtions in WAdi Ath-thAMAd

A WAyside shrine in northern MoAb:
excAvAtions in WAdi Ath-thAMAd

P. M. MichÈLe dAviAU
with contributions by
gabrielle cole, carlos e. cordova, christopher M. Foley, Jan gunneweg
and Marta balla, robert M. Kerr, david Lipovitch, Kenneth J. Mcnamara,
david s. reese and Margreet L. steiner
WAdi Ath-thAMAd ProJect i
Edited by
P. M. MichÈLe dAviAU and MArgreet L. steiner
Oxford & Philadelphia
Published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by
OXBOW BOOKS
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and in the United States by
OXBOW BOOKS
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© Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2017
Hardback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-708-7 (hardback)
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-709-4 (epub)
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Front cover: Photos of assorted artefacts from the site courtesy of Dr B. A. Haberstroh, M.D.
contents
List of tables and charts vii
List of illustrations ix
Preface xii
Team members (1996–2003) xiv
PArt 1: the site And its excAvAtion
1. introduction and geographical setting 3
P. M. Michèle Daviau with an excursus by Carlos E. Cordova
2. Approaches to religious rituals and cultic behaviour 16
P. M. Michèle Daviau
3. Stratigraphy, architecture and finds at WT-13 22
P. M. Michèle Daviau
PArt 2: the Finds FroM the strAtUM ii shrine
4. The anthropomorphic figurines and statues: images of gods and worshipers 81
P. M. Michèle Daviau
5. Typology of the small finds 137
P. M. Michèle Daviau
6. Wt-13 pottery and the central Jordan tradition 171
Margreet L. Steiner
7. tripod cups, miniature and specialized vessels 179
P. M. Michèle Daviau
8. The provenance of anthropomorphic statues, figurines and pottery 201
Jan Gunneweg and Marta Balla
9. the Wt-13 faunal bone collection 204
David Lipovitch
10. recent shells and fossil invertebrates from Wt-13 213
David S. Reese
11. Fossil sea urchins from Wt-13 220
Kenneth J. McNamara
12. the beads 224
P. M. Michèle Daviau and Gabrielle Cole
13. nabataean and roman pottery and objects 238
P. M. Michèle Daviau with an Excursus by Robert M. Kerr
vi Contents
PArt 3: LAndscAPe ArchAeoLogy
14. regional survey and landscape archaeology at Wt-13 and Wt-18 (al-rumayl) 247
Christopher M. Foley with contributions by P. M. Michèle Daviau
15. sacred landscape in central Jordan 273
P. M. Michèle Daviau
Bibliography 279
Subject Index 304
Geographical Name Index 306
www resources: https://downloads.wlu.ca/Wadithamad
databases
Field images
Pottery
Artefacts
beads
List of tables and charts
Tables
table 1A. stratigraphic sequence
table 1b. Artefacts in the Madaba Museum
table 2A. correlates for identifying a cultic structure at Wt-13
table 2b. Questions regarding the nature of the cult
table 2c. Questions regarding cultic behaviour
table 3A. P ottery and objects from stratum iiib surfaces and cooking areas
table 3b. Pottery and objects from stratum iiiA ash layer
Table 3C. Pottery and objects from Stratum IIC fill
table 3d. stratum ii wall sizes
table 3e. Walls of Wt-13
table 3F. P ottery and objects from stratum iib eastern surface
table 3g. P ottery and objects from stratum iib lower western surfaces
table 3h. P ottery and objects from stratum iib upper surfaces
table 3i. Pottery and objects from stratum iiA western surfaces
table 3J. Pottery and objects from strata iiA outside the temenos and in disturbed loci
table 3K. P ottery and objects from strata iiA rockfall inside the temenos
table 5A. A rtefact types represented at Wt-13
Table 5B. Cultic and multifunctional objects identified in the domestic cult
Table 5C. Summary of equipment found at WT-13, Ḥorvat Qiṭmit and <En Ḥaṣeva
table 6A. number of sherds studied
table 6b. Functional analysis of the pottery
Table 7A. R egistration of technically-modified sherds
table 7b. sherds with special features
table 7c. Potter’s marks
table 7d. M end and suspension holes
table 8A. L ist of Moabite ceramic samples
table 8b. resulting comparison
table 8c. List of individual Moab inAA data
table 9A. nisP for Wt-13 (sitewide)
table 9b. nisP for Wt-13 stratum iii
table 9c. nisP for Wt-13 stratum iic
table 9d. nisP for Wt-13 stratum iib
table 9e. nisP for Wt-13 stratum iiA
Table 15A. Features and equipment at WT-13, Tall Damiyah, Ḥorvat Qiṭmit and <En Ḥaṣeva
Charts
Chart 3.1. Number of classified diagnostic sherds in Stratum IIC fill
Chart 4.1. Occurrence of female ceramic figurines and stone statuettes at WT-13
viii List of tables and charts
Chart 4.2. Occurrence of male statuettes and generic anthropomorphic figures
chart 4.3. occurrence of female, male and generic statues
chart 5.1. raw materials and geological samples
Chart 5.2. Object types at Ḥorvat Qiṭmit (fragments not included)
chart 5.3. object types at <En Ḥaṣeva (fragments not included)
chart 5.4. object types at Wt-13
chart 9.1. relative distribution of taxa based on nisP
chart 9.2. distribution of ovicaprid body parts by region
chart 9.3. relative distribution of taxa based on nisP for Wt-13 stratum iii
chart 9.4. relative distribution of taxa based on nisP for Wt-13 stratum iic
chart 9.5. relative distribution of taxa based on nisP for Wt-13 stratum iib
chart 12.1. beads according to material
Chart 12.2. Percentage of beads assigned to a specific shape
chart 12.3. holed shells according to species
chart 14.1. number of features of each type
chart 14.2. Percentage of each feature type within its group
List of illustrations
Plate A. a) Team members of the 1997 season; b) team members of the final 2003 season at WT-13
Figure 1.1. Map of iron Age Palestine and transjordan
Figure 1.2. t opographic map of Wt-13 with working grid
Figure 1.3. a) view of collapsed wall stones prior to excavation, looking west; b) Working grid showing distribution
of squares
Figure 1.4. Unstratified survey pottery
Figure 1.5. Unstratified survey pottery and objects
Figure 3.1. a) Plan of scarp forming an L-shaped depression; b) detail of southeast end of bedrock A8:14 and
hard-packed surface A8:11 in square A8 extended
Figure 3.2. a) Fractured bedrock (A1:45) separating surface A1:36 from A1:42; cooking installation A1:41 against
north scarp of bedrock A1:23; b) stratum iii plan with cooking installations and pebble pavement
Figure 3.3. a) Angle formed by west and north scarp faces showing position of cooking ovens, with detail of oven
A1:41; b) cooking installation A1:44 on fractured bedrock, looking northeast; c) cooking installation
A7:12 against north scarp
Figure 3.4. a) Packed soil above decomposing bedrock, in foreground; later fill and temenos wall in background;
b) Ash-stained surface (A7:13) under eastern cooking installations A7:12 and 10 with detail of cobble
surface (A8:13)
Figure 3.5. Pottery and objects from stratum iiib surfaces and cooking areas
Figure 3.6. a) Ash layer A1:40, looking northeast; b) area of ash layer A1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.7. b owls from stratum iiiA ash layer A1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.8. Kraters and large bowls from ash layer A1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.9. c ooking pots from ash layer 1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.10. Jugs, juglets and bases from ash layer 1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.11. 1–7) objects from ash layer A1:40 + A7:5; a) distribution of objects within ash layer A1:40 + A7:5
Figure 3.12. a) Stratum IIC fill layer of soil and cobblestones above Stratum III ash; b) IIC fill layer A7:3, looking east
Figure 3.13. Bowls from Stratum IIC fill layers
Figure 3.14. Kraters from Stratum IIC fill layers
Figure 3.15. Cooking pots from Stratum IIC fill layers
Figure 3.16. Storejars, jugs, juglets and miscellaneous from Stratum IIC fill layers
Figure 3.17. Artefacts from Stratum IIC fill layers; a) artefact distribution
Figure 3.18. e ast and south Walls
Figure 3.19. West and north Walls
Figure 3.20. b edrock, channels and depressions
Figure 3.21. a) Plan of temenos construction phase; b) depressions A4:6 with dam A4:10
Figure 3.22. s tratum ii eastern surface (lower level) bowl forms
Figure 3.23. s tratum iib eastern surface (lower level) kraters
Figure 3.24. s tratum iib eastern surface (lower level) cooking pots and jar forms
Figure 3.25. Western surfaces within temenos and figurines in situ
Figure 3.26. s tratum iib temenos; a) earliest surfaces; b) object distribution
Figure 3.27. b owls and cup from stratum iib (lower level) western surfaces