Athena's Owl

Our latest report on summer research comes from Dr. Megan Perry.  Dr. Perry writes from the Middle East:

Umayyad Mosque

“I am in Amman, Jordan as a CAORC (Council of American Overseas Research Centers) Senior Fellow at the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR).  I am using this time to complete the publication of the 1994-2002 ACOR-sponsored excavations at the site of Petra, Jordan.  My co-author, Patricia M. Bikai (director of the excavation for this first phase of the project) lives in Jordan during the summer, so being in residence here allows me to meet with her on a regular basis.  I also am making use of the fantastic library at ACOR, one of the most complete in the Middle East (in terms of archaeological resources). And of course the other resources provided by ACOR (laundry, room cleaning, meals) help as well!

Palmyra, a city dating primarily to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.

“I have taken the time to travel while I’ve been here.  I have worked in Jordan for 17 years, but there are still new things to see and new people with whom I can share the experience.  The visit of a friend from the U.S. persuaded me to leave my office at ACOR and first spend 6 days in Syria.  We visited the amazing 2nd – 3rd century site of Palmyra (from where Queen Zenobia constantly plotted against the Roman Empire) and Crac des Chevaliers, one of the best-preserved Crusader castles in the Near East.  This one was primarily controlled by the Knights Hospitaller, but was finally taken by the Sultan Baibars in 1271.  Of course, while in Damascus, we also visited the amazing Umayyad mosque, built in the 8th century.

Bilingual Greek & Palmyrene inscription at Palmyra

“After returning from Syria, we viewed the Roman Army Chariot Experience (RACE) in the hippodrome at the ancient Decapolis city of Jerash in northern Jordan. We then traveled to Petra, the capital of the Nabataeans (and apparently featured in the new Transformers movie).  The Nabataean

Crac des Chevaliers

kingdom was taken over by the Romans in 106 A.D., and the city received the title of “Petra Hadriana” during Emperor Hadrian’s 129/130 A.D. visit.  The city was occupied until the 6th-7th century A.D. – the primary evidence that we have of this period are the amazing carbonized Greek papyri from in the cathedral at Petra, studied by Dr. Traianos Gagos of the University of Michigan – who gave a lecture on them at ECU in Fall of 2007 and was one of Dr. Given’s former professors.

Dr. Perry and the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock

“On to Jerusalem, where we explored the Old City and visited the Western Wall of the 2nd Temple.  Our timings unfortunately prevented us from visiting the Haram esh-Sharif, the Islamic holy site on the Temple Mount.  We drove down to Qumran to see where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, and took a dip in the Dead Sea.  Then we went up to the Sea of Galilee to visit sites important in early Christianity – Tiberias, Nazareth, Caperneum,

Flame trees at the Mount of the Beautitudes, where Jesus supposedly held his sermon on the mount. It was a very beautiful spot.

Mount of the Beautitudes, and Banias (Caesarea Philippi).  We also drove around the Golan Heights, which still contains vivid evidence of the 1973 war between Israel and Syria that resulted in the Golan coming under Israeli control – including tanks, battle memorials, and bombed-out Syrian villages.

The iconic view of the treasury at Petra

“My remaining time in Amman will be spent finishing the Petra volume – working out the stratigraphic sequence and architectural phasing of the North Ridge (which extends from the 1st century A.D. to the present), writing up the importance of our findings within the historical and archaeological context of the region during the Classical period, and finding parallels to artifacts that we found in our excavations and exploring what they can tell us about these buildings and how they were used.  Archaeologists truly spend 10% of their time in the field & 90% in the library and lab! I plan on returning to Greenville on August 1, when I will get ready for classes and attend to other publications that I put aside for the summer. Hopefully I’ll have time leftover to work in the yard!

Chariot races at Jerash

Roman military formations at Jerash

The “testuda”, or “tortoise”

An abandoned Syrian village in the Golan

The Golan: a destroyed Syrian jeep

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