Roman Settlements in the Region of Northwest Jordan (AOAT 353)
Lamia El-Khouri
ISBN: 978-3-86835-010-4
Pub: 2009
227 pp.
El-Khouri’s manual provides the reader with a comprehensive catalogue of even the smallest remains of Roman settlements in Northwest Jordan (chapter 3), supplemented by on overview of the geographical and the historical background (chapter 1) and a survey of the archaeological landscape of the region (chapter 2). Whereas “previous studies of the Roman period in Northwest Jordan have concentrated mostly on urban sites, e.g. cities of the Decapolis , (...) less attention has been given to rural sites. In order to give a more balanced view of the nature of the Roman settlements as a whole and to put the Decapolis in their regional contexts it is important to study major as well as minor sites. (...) The data collected should be useful for creating regional maps to clarify the distribution of Roman settlements, the association between urban and rural settlements, and the type and size of each occupational site. (...) The strategic location of the region as a bridge between the two provinces of Egypt and Syria made it attractive for intensive occupation not only during the Roman period but during other historical periods as well. Several international trade routes passed through the region. Apart for the important urban centres, the region was densely populated by a rural agricultural population.
ISBN: 978-3-86835-010-4
Pub: 2009
227 pp.
El-Khouri’s manual provides the reader with a comprehensive catalogue of even the smallest remains of Roman settlements in Northwest Jordan (chapter 3), supplemented by on overview of the geographical and the historical background (chapter 1) and a survey of the archaeological landscape of the region (chapter 2). Whereas “previous studies of the Roman period in Northwest Jordan have concentrated mostly on urban sites, e.g. cities of the Decapolis , (...) less attention has been given to rural sites. In order to give a more balanced view of the nature of the Roman settlements as a whole and to put the Decapolis in their regional contexts it is important to study major as well as minor sites. (...) The data collected should be useful for creating regional maps to clarify the distribution of Roman settlements, the association between urban and rural settlements, and the type and size of each occupational site. (...) The strategic location of the region as a bridge between the two provinces of Egypt and Syria made it attractive for intensive occupation not only during the Roman period but during other historical periods as well. Several international trade routes passed through the region. Apart for the important urban centres, the region was densely populated by a rural agricultural population.