Hajr al-Mansub

Hajr al-Mansub is one of the most impressive menhirs (standing stones) in Jordan, located . Standing approximately 2.5 meters tall, this isolated menhir is associated with the Early Bronze ceremonial center and dolmen field at Murayghat, 1 kilometer to the west (the latter site has been photographed and will eventually be presented in the Virtual World Project too). Unfortunately, this menhir and the many monuments at Murayghat are in danger due to the expanding quarry nearby.

Stop by the Virtual World Project and marvel at this monument.

Ain Abu Nukhayla

Ain Abu Nukhayla is a pre-pottery Neolithic B site in the Wadi Ramm. The small agricultural village consists of small, irregular, circular semi-subterranean huts, lined with undressed stones.

Ain Abu Nikhayla provides a good example of circular hut clusters that characterize the earlier parts of the PPNB period, which in many sites give way to rectangular houses in the latter part of the period (such as Beidha). Stop by and explore them.

Rasm Harbush

Rasm Harbush is a Chalcolithic settlement in the Golan made up of a series of row houses. On the eastern wall of the isolated House U, a dolmen was built after the settlement was no longer inhabited. Photographs of the dolmen have now been added to the Virtual World Project’s presentation of the site.

Khirbet Qeiyafa

Khirbet Qeiyafa is famous for an early Hebrew inscription in the so-called "proto-Canaanite" script that was found in an early tenth century gate. But the archaeological remains are significant in their own right. Although only excavated for two seasons, Khirbet Qeiyafa has revealed a well-preserved early Iron IIA four-chamber gate with a casemate wall (700 meters long around the city) and two buildings (perhaps, dwellings) adjacent to the gate. The gate and wall are constructed from mammoth stones. In short, the fortified city with monumental gate and wall would be the earliest attestation of a centralized state for ancient Israel.

Come and visit this newly added important site in the Virtual World Project.

2009 Season

The VWP team (Ron Simkins, Nicolae Roddy, and Alexandra Untu) just returned from its 2009 photography season in Jordan and Israel. Twenty seven new archaeological sites were photographed in Jordan and twelve new archaeological sites were photographed in Israel. In addition, new photographs were taken at nineteen previously photographed sites in Israel.

These newly photographed sites will soon be incorporated into the project; check with this blog for regular updates.

Emmaus

Revered as the site on the road to where the resurrected Jesus appeared to two of his disciples, Emmaus is the site of a Templar church built on top of a large Byzantine church. Earlier remains of a Roman villa, Roman tombs, and a well preserved Roman bath are also found on the site.

The presentation of the site has been updated on the Virtual World Project, and you are invited to stop by and take a tour.

Qasr al-Hallabat

Qasr Hallabat began as a Castellum fortifying the border of the Limes Arabicus during the Late Roman period. Located approximately 12 kilometers from the Via Nova Trajana, the fort was probably associated with a large reservoir and several houses to form an agricultural village. The fort was rebuilt and expanded several times, ending up as a Quadriburgium in the Byzantine period. During the Umayyad period, when the military function of the building was no longer needed, the fortress was transformed into a desert residential palace and decorated with mosaics, mural paintings, and stucco panels. A mosque was built adjacent to the fortress and a bath was built nearby at Hammam al-Sarah.

When you travel to the desert, stop by and explore this wonderful site.