Contextualizing the Quest for Islamic Housban at Tall Ḥisbān
Narrating Archaeological Sites and Places - Fifty Years of the Madaba Plains Project at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri, and Tall Jalul - Douglas R. Clark
Bethany J. Walker [+]
University of Bonn
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Description
To what extent did the original Heshbon Expedition help pave the way for Islamic archaeology in Jordan and what are some highlights of recent research focused on this era at the site? The paper will reflect on the circumstances that paved a way for an archaeology of the Islamic period at Tall Ḥisbān by the original Heshbon Expedition, despite the fact that such an emphasis was not part of the original research agenda. These include the large amount of pottery and architecture found at the site by the original Heshbon Expedition; the project’s location in an Islamic country; the meticulous manner in which excavations were carried out no matter the historical context; and the participation on the project of an extraordinary ceramics expert, namely James Sauer. These and related factors will be critically examined and contextualized in light of the state of Islamic archaeology at the time of the original Heshbon Expedition. The chapter will conclude with a summary of current Islamic archaeology research at Ḥisbān and elsewhere in Jordan, and the opportunities that lie ahead. For many, the site of Tall Ḥisbān is associated with the establishment of Islamic archaeology as a field of specialization in Jordan. In the following essay I would like to offer a few observations on the impact that the original Heshbon Expedition, and the many years of fieldwork at the site since then, have had on the emergence and maturation of the field of Islamic archaeology. We close with thoughts on future trajectories of research.