Area of study:
Status of Project and date of conduction: ongoing since 2011.
Partners:
Department of Archaeology and the Nabataean Centre for Archaeological Studies.
Brief about the Project:
The project aims to record the ancient roads network in the hinterland of Petra. The documentation process includes taking photographs, recording GPS points along the route of each road, and plotting the traceable remains of each road on a digital map.
Significant Finds:
Several well preserved ancient roads were discovered during the fieldwork of the first and second seasons (2011 and 2014). They run for several kilometers and connect many ancient settlement sites to each other and connect these sites with major urban centers such as Petra. The project uncovered many segments of the two famous ancient roads in the region; the Roman highway via nova Traiana and the so-called the King's Highway.
Local community engagement (employment and public awareness):
Local communities contributed to this project by sharing their knowledge of sites and areas (names and existence of roads) with the researchers. In return, the researchers always discussed the goals and the results of the project with them in order to increase the public awareness in our cultural heritage.
Publications related to the project:
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Abudanah, F; Twaissi S; Wenner, E Sarah; Tarawneh, M. B; al-Salameen, A. (2015). The Legend of the ‘King’s Highway’: The Archaeological Evidence. ZOrA 8, 2015.
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Abudanah, F; Tarawneh, M. B; Twaissi S; Wenner, E Sarah; al-Salameen, A. (2016). Via Nova Traiana between Petra and Ayn al-Qana in Arabia Petraea. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 35 (4).