Masalama Umayri

August 7 - Tuesday

   

This will be my last report from the excavation site – I leave on August 8 to fly home and try to resume whatever it was I was doing before I began pretending to be an archaeologist.  I would like to give my minor contribution to the dig a context in the bigger picture at Umayri, and to record some overall impressions about the experience.

Umayri is located on a natural ridge 7 miles south of Amman, just west of the airport.  The site was occupied by 21 separate settlements, one on top of the other like a layer cake, all dating from the Early Bronze Age (3000 BC) to the Islamic period.  It is not a strategic site and although there is a perimeter wall there are no natural or built major defensive fortifications.  The site seems to have been chosen for occupation by these peoples because at the northern base of the hill there was a natural spring that provided the only reliable source of water between Amman and Madaba about 15 miles to the south.   The primary periods of occupation were the Bronze and Iron ages, and the best preserved remains are from the transition period between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, around 1200 BC.  The built structures from this period and the artifacts found in them are as good as or better than at any other comparable archaeological site in the Near East.

It is the goal of the senior archaeological team at Umayri to continue to excavate the site to reveal as much of the Iron Age I settlement as possible, learn all they can from their discoveries and then preserve the exposed built features for posterity.  After 14 seasons of excavation, that goal is near completion.  Already a nearly complete Four Room House and a small temple have been cleared and preserved, along with three other houses.  This season I have been working with a team on doing the final excavation of the last of those houses, and we are now almost done.  Much of what has been learned so far from the excavations at Umayri has been well recorded in an extensive series of scientific publications by the archaeologists.  But only a relatively small part of the Tall has been explored so far and we can only surmise what new discoveries might be unearthed in the future if the archaeological team is permitted to continue its excavations.  Let us hope that the secrets of past civilizations interred at Umayri will someday all be revealed.

Participation in this season’s dig at Umayri has been a rare experience for me.  It would never qualify as a summer vacation, but rather as a rash exercise in unearthing the unknown.  I was not quite prepared for the heavy physical demands of excavating tons of dirt, rubble and rock, and quickly concluded that if there is one thing more narcotic to the soul than lifting and carrying a 50 pound boulder to the rock pile, it is watching someone else do it.  All of that material had to be literally taken out by hand, and as I thought of myself as a research assistant to the archaeologists I marveled at how well we treat our research assistants at Loma Linda.  Neither was I prepared for the heat and the dust.  I come home each day from the dig with my body and clothes adorned with an elaborate applique of Umayri dust.

Our accommodation was adequate but Spartan, not receiving even a one star rating.  If I had broken a leg on this trip it would not have been because I fell off a balk but because I had slipped on the very slick tiled floor in the bathroom.  I had to adjust to the strange work schedule with the wake-up bell sounding at 4.15 every morning.  That restorative feeling of a good night’s rest vanishes with astonishing swiftness when you quickly realize that breakfast is at 4.30.

But all the minor irritations, tired muscles and aching joints were insignificant compared to the excitement on the dig.  When an interesting new “find” was displayed I could not match the effervescent exuberance of the archaeologists, but it is still an exciting experience.  Besides sharing in the joy of new discoveries, I really enjoyed learning a little about the procedures and the processes used in conducting an excavation at a historic site such as this.  So this experience has been an intellectual and emotional stimulus, not mind-bending but remarkable, one that has expanded my horizon, out of my comfort zone, and introduced me to a completely new world.

And then there has been the extraordinary experience of getting to know some Jordanians and traveling around and seeing the sites in this interesting country.  The people are most friendly and hospitable and it has been almost a humorous challenge to try to communicate with our Bedouin workers.  I have acquired a few words of Arabic – mahaba (hi), salam elecum (hello), masalama (goodbye), shukran (thank you), hef halek (how are you), mufi mushkala (no problem) and habibi (sweetheart) although I have not had much use for that last one.  But one of the real treats about joining the team this season has been the opportunity to travel with my enthusiastic colleagues and enjoy some of the incredible historic sights in Jordan.

Dr Clark attracts a large following of students who are interested in taking this hands-on excavation experience for university credit, but he is also interested in having volunteers like me join his team.  Actually I have pointed out that I am also getting credit for my experience here – from my grandkids who are giving me credit for being such a cool grandfather.

So – masalama Umayri.

 Moonrise over Tall al-Umayri