Fieldwork

2025 Dhiban Excavation & Development Project, Jordan

Location: Dhiban Jordan

Season: May 1, 2025 to June 21, 2025

Application Deadline: February 14, 2025

Deadline Type: Exact Date

Website: https://www.fieldsciences.org/program/2025-jordan-dhiban/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Center for Field Sciences (US), University of Lethbridge (Canada), and University of Liverpool (UK)

Project Director:
Dr. Shawn Bubel, University of Lethbridge, Dr. Kevin McGeough, University of Lethbridge, and Dr. Bruce Routledge, University of Liverpool

Project Description:

Located 40 miles south of Amman and 12 miles east of the Dead Sea, Tâll Dhiban is one of Jordan’s most important historical sites. A mound of more than 30 acres in area and 130 feet in height, Tâll Dhiban contains a fascinating record of some 6,000 years of human occupation. Dhiban has been a town in the first phase of urbanism, capital of the biblical kingdom of Moab, an outpost of Nabataean culture at the time of the Roman conquest, a thriving city at the peak of the Byzantine Empire, an early conquest of first Islamic caliphs, and a key agricultural center in the aftermath of the Crusades.

In 2025 the DEDP will explore these issues in two ways. In the field, we will excavate a large house that collapsed between c. 570-610 CE (radiocarbon dated), probably as the result of an earthquake. We will document the rich record this house contains of life in the 6th -7th centuries CE, including a wealth of organic remains and objects from everyday life. In particular, we will ask if the local autonomy that is said to characterize the last phase of the Byzantine Empire in Jordan can be seen in the economic organization of Dhiban. Can the changes in diet and economic strategies that seem to follow the collapse of this house be related to the Islamic conquest of Dhiban?

This season we will also continue to excavate a Nabataean Temple. The Nabataeans, most known from the site of Petra, were an ancient Arabian people who rose to economic prominence by controlling a large trade network that facilitated connections throughout the Arabian Peninsula and into the northern Levant. The temple dates to the time when the Nabataean kingdom was centered in Jordan, and Dhiban, while no longer a “capital” city, was an important regional site. In later periods, the site of the temple was incorporated into a Christian Byzantine religious complex. While we know much about the late phases of this temple, this season we hope to learn about the earliest uses of the area, perhaps gaining an understanding of its use as long ago as the Iron Age.

Period(s) of Occupation: Roman and Nabataean

Notes:
Tuition cost is $3,845; Program awards 8 semester credit units (equivalent to 12 quarter credits units) through our school of record – Culver-Stockton College

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full session

Minimum Age: 18 years old

Experience Required: There are no prerequisites for participation in this field school. Students will receive hands-on training in archaeological field work so will spend most of their time learning how to excavate and record their finds. Students must come equipped with sufficient excitement and adequate understanding that the archaeological endeavor requires real, hard work in a rural Middle Eastern environment. Some days will be hot; temperatures can reach 35⁰C (95⁰F). Students will be taught how to use a variety of excavation tools, from shovels and wheelbarrows, to trowels, brushes, and sieves, and are expected to use all of them. Archaeology involves physical work and exposure to the elements, thus, requires a measure of acceptance that this will not be the typical university learning environment. Students will get dirty, sweaty, tired, and must work closely with others. We hope that the thrill of discovering archaeological remains will outweigh the stiff muscles and exhausting days.

Room and Board Arrangements:
During the four-week excavation component of the field school, the students and directors live in the town of Madaba. Students must bring their own personal items (shampoo, soap, etc.) but if you run out of things or forget something, there is a grocery store nearby. For breakfast and lunch, students will be provided with well-balanced, nutritious meals. Since these are group meals, individual dietary needs will be accommodated as best as possible, although it is not possible to be fully gluten free, kosher, etc. There will be meat or dairy, vegetable, and starch (rice, potatoes, bread, etc.) choices. Students will be on their own for dinner; there are numerous meal options available in the city of Madaba.

Academic Credit:
Program awards 8 semester credit units (equivalent to 12 quarter credits units) through our school of record – Culver-Stockton College.

Contact Information:


Dorian Chee

5335 W Adams Blvd #106

Los Angeles

California

90016

U.S.

dchee@fieldsciences.org

Phone: (562) 584-0761

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