In the Footsteps of Alois Musil

Autor(en)

Michael Weigl

Abstrakt

Alois Musil was the first and foremost scholar who surveyed the region of Northern Moab and the whole of present-day Transjordan. He published his detailed observations in a multi-volume study, "Arabia Petraea". He also was the first traveller who produced a very detailed and accurate scholarly map of Transjordan in its entirety. On his research journeys he devoted several days to a study of the Wâdi aṯ-Ṯamad Region, particularly of the largest site (Khirbat al-Mudayna). He also made valuable observations of the Bedouin living in its vicinity and their use of the natural features of the Wâdi.

In 1996, Canadian archaeologist P.M. Michèle Daviau established the regional "Wâdi aṯ-Ṯamad Project" aiming at a better undestanding of the entire region through landscape archaeology. Centred on the excavation of the dominant Iron Age II site, Khirbat al-Mudayna, and probing a multitude of smaller sites spanning millenia of human occupation and activities, excavation and regional survey were conducted annually. In the newly established ongoing regional survey, a large number of different features indicating human presence has been visited and documented so far. This study tries to compare and evaluate observations made by Alois Musil about 120 years ago and new insights and knowledge gained from the ongoing survey initiated in the late 1990ies. Three directors (Andrew Dearman, Christopher Foley and Jonathan Ferguson) have been in charge of the regional survey so far.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Bibelwissenschaft

Band

7

Seiten

425-490

Anzahl der Seiten

65

Publikationsdatum

2021

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

601007 Geschichtliche Landeskunde, 601024 Archäologische Prospektion, 605002 Kulturgeschichte, 603201 Alttestamentliche Bibelwissenschaft

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/266c8aa0-bb09-4f44-b701-4cb57be72280