Bīr Madhkūr Project (Jordan)

A desert landscape showing the archaeological site of Bir Madhhur. An ancient Roman fort lies in the center of the photograph — The archaeological site of Bir Madhkur. The remains of the Roman fort lie in the center of the photograph.

The Bir Madhkūr Project, sponsored by the George Washington University, is a multidisciplinary field project in Jordan that examines the historical geography of Wadi Araba through archaeological and ethnographic research.

Wadi Araba is part of the Great Rift Valley, extending about 160 kilometers north from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea.

Significance

Bir Madhkur was the first major way-station along the Incense Route – the road that transported spices and other goods on camelback between southern Arabian and the Mediterranean port of Gaza.

Ancient civilizations such as the Nabataeans, Romans and Byzantines lived at Bir Madhkur, a trade depot that provided their empires with essential incense for cultural and religious rituals throughout the known world.

As a regional, administrative hub in the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods, Bir Madhkur hosted soldiers who watched over and monitored the movements of a mixed population of farmers, pastoralists and transient merchants.

Today, visitors can experience the ancient center of social, economic and cultural interaction.

Project Objectives

Document, through intensive survey and excavation, the archaeological landscape and natural environment of the central Wadi Araba.
Examine the site of Bir Madhkur as a regional hub of sociopolitical, economic and cultural activity and learn about the relationships between native and non-native peoples who lived in this region.
Understand how human communities living in this region defined themselves in relation to their environment and to one another.
Uncover the long-term settlement history of this region, inclusive of the activities of present-day bedouin. The Bir Madhkur Project is concerned with the cultural heritage of Jordan, and the project is designed to respond to royal initiatives to promote the economic development of the Araba valley and to support the indigenous Bedouin populations.

Affiliated Researchers

amsiigwu [dot] edu (Andrew M. Smith II)
Director, Center for Ancient Arabian Studies
Director, Bir Madhkur Project
Associate Professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
The George Washington University

andrea [dot] kayuta [dot] edu (Andrea Kay)
Associate Director
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The University of Texas at Arlington