Summary: Although kite structures are known from several areas of the southern Levant and the Near East (e.g. Sinai, Negev, Syria, Saudi Arabia), their distribution in Jordan was thought to be restricted to the north‐eastern basalt harra landscape. From the point of view of arid peripheries settlement dynamics, the gap left in southern and south‐eastern Jordan was puzzling in view of the clear continuity in human occupation evidenced by recently intensifying research in this region. This paper presents the first occurrences of kites identified in this hamada landscape in the framework of the joint French‐Jordanian South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project (SEBAP). Despite obvious similarities with the examples known from the harra, the two distinct sets of kites uncovered show clear local specificities in their layout and use of topography, which will be emphasised through the description of survey and excavation results. The evidence clearly supports a function of hunting structures and some clues regarding dating, although still preliminary, are expressed as well. Some lines of investigation to grasp the diversity and regionalism of the kite phenomenon are also explored, as different kite‐building traditions seem to emerge from the growing body of evidence available.

Summary: Exploration undertaken in Al-Thulaythuwat/Jabal Kabd area, in the framework of the south-eastern Badia Archaeological Project, identified an extensive funerary phenomenon dating back to either, the Late Neolithic, or a transitional Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic phase. Excavation of a small but representative sample of burial structures, along with an analysis of the cairns and associated structures, highlighted different levels of variability. However, when viewed as a whole, this necropolis on the south-eastern arid margins of Jordan demonstrates a marked level of consistency. While our interpretations remain tentative, we have tried here to offer working hypotheses for this variability.

Summary: This paper presents new evidence, based on systematic fieldwork, concerning the most likely path of the Roman road, the via nova Traiana, in the area between Petra and Ayn al‐Qana in southern Jordan. Special attention is given to the work of David Graf, the most recent fieldwork study, prior to the present investigation, dealing with the same issue, that of the via nova Traiana. It also presents a detailed description of the route of the Roman road, adds new information to Graf's study, and challenges some of his suggestions. The paper also considers other ancient roads that were directly connected to the Roman highway.

Summary: Although desert kites are widespread across Middle Eastern and Central Asian arid margins from Yemen in the south to Uzbekistan in the north, their main concentration is in the harra basalt landscape of southern Syria and north-eastern Jordan. We have recently been able to discover the first evidence of “Desert Kites” in the South Eastern Badia of Jordan in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Work was resumed in 2016 in 2102) مجلة جامعة الحسين بن طلال للبحو ث ، مجلة علميّة محكمّة دورية تصدر عن عمادة البحث العلميّ والدّراسات العليا،المجلد ) 3( العدد ) 2 44 Jibal al-Khashabiyeh area, located at 70 km east of the Jafr Basin. This fieldwork season focused on the excavation of a selection of “Desert Kites” which is part of a characteristic chain organization extending over almost 20 km long. The soundings carried out in circular cells located on the surroundings of the star-shaped enclosures of the kites. This recent discovery brings new data modifying considerably our knowledge of these late huge prehistoric structures. We suggest that these remains might constitute hunting outposts directly related to the “Desert Kites”. Evidence of important Late Prehistoric (Neolithic-Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age) human occupation in this area such as stone enclosure campsites, as well as the specialized flint workshops, provide an ideal framework to consider a general reconstruction of the occupation dynamics, and test the hypothesis of a possible correlation with the hunting subsistence strategies. Strong evidences support direct chronological relationship of the campsites with hunting mega-structures known as “Desert kites”, identified in close spatial connection. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the chronological attribution of the sites to the Final PPNB (beginning of the 7th mill. cal. BC). The lithic assemblage is therefore of major interest as it allows one of the first chrono-cultural comparisons to be made for southeastern Jordan – a key region at the gates of the Arabian Peninsula – with neighboring arid regions across the southern Levant.

Summary: This paper presents and discusses the archaeological evidence for Ancient rock art and Thamudic inscriptions from a site in al-Rajif south of Petra in southern Jordan. The site is a large sandstone called Umm Qraieh “Mother of reading” by the local people in the village of al-Rajif. Human and animal figures, inscriptions, footprints and other symbols were engraved on the upper surface of the stone during multiple periods. The paper includes a reading of the deciphered inscriptions and a discussion concerning rock art in general and the significance of Umm Qraieh in particular.

Summary: This paper investigates the legend of the ‘King’s Highway’ according to the archaeological evidence from the hinterland of Petra. Well preserved segments of this road, associated with secondary roads heading west and east, were recorded in the area between ar-Rajif and as-Sadaqa junction and the junction where the modern Petra-Aqaba road meets the Desert Highway.

Summary: This article presents the main results of the Southeast Badia Archaeological Project in the area of Al-Thulaythuwat al-Janubiyah to the southeast of Al-Jafr during the period 2010-2015. The results include camps, stone enclosures and funerary cairns and architectural features associated with them, such as square chambers and platforms on the edge of the Hamada limestone plateau and the sandy alluvial plain, as well as a recently discovered hunting trap ‘kite’ in the area of al-Ghadiwiyat. This paper also discusses the types of sites and their distribution in the Hamada limestone plateau and the sandy alluvial plain and the link between stone enclosures and pastoral camps as well as grazing land, funerary cairns and hunting traps and shows the importance of the consistent dates obtained from these features.

Summary: This paper discusses the most important views on the early emergence of Bedouin life in the southern Levant and the latest results of the archaeological activities in south eastern Jordan, which have changed many concepts in this topic, such as Bedouin migration for long distances, the role of manufacturing and trade of tabular scrapers in contact and communications in southern Levant, the effect of permanent settlements in the Bedouin of the southern Levant and the nature of the relationship between groups of nomads and villagers. This research sheds light on the economy of nomadic groups and the most important architectural remains and archaeological finds left by nomadic groups that traveled in the southern Levant from the Late Neolithic period to the end of the Chalcolithic period and the beginning of the Bronze Ages.

Summary: This paper presents the archaeological remains that were discovered in the winter of 2009 at Whaideh, southwest of Ma‘an in southern Jordan. The paper discusses human settlement at the site through the various archaeological and historical periods, and documents the discoveries that include architectural remains, pottery, coins and seals. These finds confirm that the site was settled as early as the Paleolithic period and was occupied in the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Nabataean and Roman periods, and the Ayyubid-Mamluk period up to the time of the Great Arab Revolt.

Summary: By the Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic period, specialized pastoral-nomadism became the dominant way of life in the desert regions of the southern Levant, but it was almost absent from north-eastern Jordan and south-eastern Syria. This shift from the north-eastern steppe to the central-eastern and south-eastern steppe/desert may be because the marginal landscapes of Jordan were more suitable for a predominantly pastoral lifestyle, and that the increasing demand for raw materials and goods produced in the desert, particularly tabular scarpers, made exploiting these areas viable. The production of tabular scrapers became an integral part of pastoral nomads' trade networks and seasonal movements between different regions in the southern Levant and northern Arabia. New investigations in the eastern Bayir region, also called Ardh-as-Suwwan (land of the flint), has proved, through carbon dating, that there are an increasing number of Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic sites in this area which were occupied by pastoral nomads. Studying the pastoral nomads raises the question of what kind of relationships they had with other regions, particularly with farmers who were also practicing herding near their villages. Dependant pastoral nomadism is also possible in the areas close to the farming villages, but very few villages sites were found in the southern Levant.

Summary: This study reports the first radiometric dating applied to kite stone structure in Jordan using rock surface luminescence dating to three rock samples collected from the Jibal al-Gadiwiyt kite structure in the south east of Jordan. The sampling location, part of the kite enclosure, is in the form of a 125-cm-deep hole lined with long slabs at the base and with stacked cobbles above. The pit had been back-filled by natural sediment deposition after abandonment. Three rock samples were collected from the site, and three sediment samples were taken in close association with two of the rocks. Using quartz fast-component-dominated OSL signals, it proved possible to define a rock burial age of ~ 10 ka by examining the profile of luminescence with depth into the rock surfaces. Various light exposure events (including the most recent following archeological excavation) could also be identified. The direct radiometric dating of this kite argues for a construction ~ 10 ka ago, with no evidence for use beyond ~ 1 ka after building.

Summary: Listed as a World Heritage Site since 1985, the city of Petra is well regarded as the most important attraction in Jordan that is internationally recognized for its rare archaeological remains, monuments and façades that date back to Nabataean times. This paper presents an inter-disciplinary approach, which is co-constructed by an academic archaeologist and a sustainable tourism researcher that considers the integration of three rare and significant Neolithic villages as a unique extension of the cultural and heritage tourism experience in Petra. The paper begins by deliberating the implications of World Heritage Status for iconic and flagship destinations such as Petra. From this, results of a review of secondary research and interviews with local tour operators are presented which explored the issues and challenges that may inhibit the inclusion of the Neolithic villages as part of the Petra attraction system. The authors propose that an attraction diversification strategy and a sustainable tourism-planning approach are necessary to sustain the destination’s long-term future, conserve Petra’s archaeological sites, ensure economic benefits and appropriate participation of local communities within the region, and to serve as a way to attract more appreciative visitor markets to the region.

Summary: This paper presents a multielement analysis of fifteen Ayyubid-Mamluk glazed pottery sherds for determining the chemical composition in order to study their provenance. The tested fragments in this work belong to the historical site of Udhruh in southern Jordan. The chemical analysis for samples has been carried out by using Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (SR-XRF) technique. The semi-quantitative analysis of the elements Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd and Pb has been applied to the samples using SR-XRF technique. The data were analyzed by using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) in order to define groups of different glazed pottery sherds by obtaining information about their similarity and clustering. The results provide persuasive evidence that the Udhruh pottery fragments have at least three different sources of provenance.

Summary: The badiyat al-sham is economically marginal area steppe land where, in later prehistoric period the extent of human activity ebbed and flowed through time…

Summary: This paper presents the archaeological remains that were discovered in the winter of 2009 at Whaideh, southwest of Ma‘an in southern Jordan. The paper discusses human settlement at the site through the various archaeological and historical periods, and documents the discoveries that include architectural remains, pottery, coins and seals. These finds confirm that the site was settled as early as the Paleolithic period and was occupied in the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Nabataean and Roman periods, and the Ayyubid-Mamluk period up to the time of the Great Arab Revolt.

Summary: Although kite structures are known from several areas of the southern Levant and the Near East (e.g. Sinai, Negev, Syria, Saudi Arabia), their distribution in Jordan was thought to be restricted to the north‐eastern basalt harra landscape. From the point of view of arid peripheries settlement dynamics, the gap left in southern and south‐eastern Jordan was puzzling in view of the clear continuity in human occupation evidenced by recently intensifying research in this region. This paper presents the first occurrences of kites identified in this hamada landscape in the framework of the joint French‐Jordanian South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project (SEBAP). Despite obvious similarities with the examples known from the harra, the two distinct sets of kites uncovered show clear local specificities in their layout and use of topography, which will be emphasised through the description of survey and excavation results. The evidence clearly supports a function of hunting structures and some clues regarding dating, although still preliminary, are expressed as well. Some lines of investigation to grasp the diversity and regionalism of the kite phenomenon are also explored, as different kite‐building traditions seem to emerge from the growing body of evidence available.

Summary: Exploration undertaken in Al-Thulaythuwat/Jabal Kabd area, in the framework of the south-eastern Badia Archaeological Project, identified an extensive funerary phenomenon dating back to either, the Late Neolithic, or a transitional Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic phase. Excavation of a small but representative sample of burial structures, along with an analysis of the cairns and associated structures, highlighted different levels of variability. However, when viewed as a whole, this necropolis on the south-eastern arid margins of Jordan demonstrates a marked level of consistency. While our interpretations remain tentative, we have tried here to offer working hypotheses for this variability.

Summary: This paper presents new evidence, based on systematic fieldwork, concerning the most likely path of the Roman road, the via nova Traiana, in the area between Petra and Ayn al‐Qana in southern Jordan. Special attention is given to the work of David Graf, the most recent fieldwork study, prior to the present investigation, dealing with the same issue, that of the via nova Traiana. It also presents a detailed description of the route of the Roman road, adds new information to Graf's study, and challenges some of his suggestions. The paper also considers other ancient roads that were directly connected to the Roman highway.

Summary: Although desert kites are widespread across Middle Eastern and Central Asian arid margins from Yemen in the south to Uzbekistan in the north, their main concentration is in the harra basalt landscape of southern Syria and north-eastern Jordan. We have recently been able to discover the first evidence of “Desert Kites” in the South Eastern Badia of Jordan in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Work was resumed in 2016 in 2102) مجلة جامعة الحسين بن طلال للبحو ث ، مجلة علميّة محكمّة دورية تصدر عن عمادة البحث العلميّ والدّراسات العليا،المجلد ) 3( العدد ) 2 44 Jibal al-Khashabiyeh area, located at 70 km east of the Jafr Basin. This fieldwork season focused on the excavation of a selection of “Desert Kites” which is part of a characteristic chain organization extending over almost 20 km long. The soundings carried out in circular cells located on the surroundings of the star-shaped enclosures of the kites. This recent discovery brings new data modifying considerably our knowledge of these late huge prehistoric structures. We suggest that these remains might constitute hunting outposts directly related to the “Desert Kites”. Evidence of important Late Prehistoric (Neolithic-Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age) human occupation in this area such as stone enclosure campsites, as well as the specialized flint workshops, provide an ideal framework to consider a general reconstruction of the occupation dynamics, and test the hypothesis of a possible correlation with the hunting subsistence strategies. Strong evidences support direct chronological relationship of the campsites with hunting mega-structures known as “Desert kites”, identified in close spatial connection. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the chronological attribution of the sites to the Final PPNB (beginning of the 7th mill. cal. BC). The lithic assemblage is therefore of major interest as it allows one of the first chrono-cultural comparisons to be made for southeastern Jordan – a key region at the gates of the Arabian Peninsula – with neighboring arid regions across the southern Levant.

Summary: This paper presents and discusses the archaeological evidence for Ancient rock art and Thamudic inscriptions from a site in al-Rajif south of Petra in southern Jordan. The site is a large sandstone called Umm Qraieh “Mother of reading” by the local people in the village of al-Rajif. Human and animal figures, inscriptions, footprints and other symbols were engraved on the upper surface of the stone during multiple periods. The paper includes a reading of the deciphered inscriptions and a discussion concerning rock art in general and the significance of Umm Qraieh in particular.

Summary: This paper investigates the legend of the ‘King’s Highway’ according to the archaeological evidence from the hinterland of Petra. Well preserved segments of this road, associated with secondary roads heading west and east, were recorded in the area between ar-Rajif and as-Sadaqa junction and the junction where the modern Petra-Aqaba road meets the Desert Highway.

Summary: This article presents the main results of the Southeast Badia Archaeological Project in the area of Al-Thulaythuwat al-Janubiyah to the southeast of Al-Jafr during the period 2010-2015. The results include camps, stone enclosures and funerary cairns and architectural features associated with them, such as square chambers and platforms on the edge of the Hamada limestone plateau and the sandy alluvial plain, as well as a recently discovered hunting trap ‘kite’ in the area of al-Ghadiwiyat. This paper also discusses the types of sites and their distribution in the Hamada limestone plateau and the sandy alluvial plain and the link between stone enclosures and pastoral camps as well as grazing land, funerary cairns and hunting traps and shows the importance of the consistent dates obtained from these features.

Summary: This paper discusses the most important views on the early emergence of Bedouin life in the southern Levant and the latest results of the archaeological activities in south eastern Jordan, which have changed many concepts in this topic, such as Bedouin migration for long distances, the role of manufacturing and trade of tabular scrapers in contact and communications in southern Levant, the effect of permanent settlements in the Bedouin of the southern Levant and the nature of the relationship between groups of nomads and villagers. This research sheds light on the economy of nomadic groups and the most important architectural remains and archaeological finds left by nomadic groups that traveled in the southern Levant from the Late Neolithic period to the end of the Chalcolithic period and the beginning of the Bronze Ages.

Summary: By the Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic period, specialized pastoral-nomadism became the dominant way of life in the desert regions of the southern Levant, but it was almost absent from north-eastern Jordan and south-eastern Syria. This shift from the north-eastern steppe to the central-eastern and south-eastern steppe/desert may be because the marginal landscapes of Jordan were more suitable for a predominantly pastoral lifestyle, and that the increasing demand for raw materials and goods produced in the desert, particularly tabular scarpers, made exploiting these areas viable. The production of tabular scrapers became an integral part of pastoral nomads' trade networks and seasonal movements between different regions in the southern Levant and northern Arabia. New investigations in the eastern Bayir region, also called Ardh-as-Suwwan (land of the flint), has proved, through carbon dating, that there are an increasing number of Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic sites in this area which were occupied by pastoral nomads. Studying the pastoral nomads raises the question of what kind of relationships they had with other regions, particularly with farmers who were also practicing herding near their villages. Dependant pastoral nomadism is also possible in the areas close to the farming villages, but very few villages sites were found in the southern Levant.

Summary: This study reports the first radiometric dating applied to kite stone structure in Jordan using rock surface luminescence dating to three rock samples collected from the Jibal al-Gadiwiyt kite structure in the south east of Jordan. The sampling location, part of the kite enclosure, is in the form of a 125-cm-deep hole lined with long slabs at the base and with stacked cobbles above. The pit had been back-filled by natural sediment deposition after abandonment. Three rock samples were collected from the site, and three sediment samples were taken in close association with two of the rocks. Using quartz fast-component-dominated OSL signals, it proved possible to define a rock burial age of ~ 10 ka by examining the profile of luminescence with depth into the rock surfaces. Various light exposure events (including the most recent following archeological excavation) could also be identified. The direct radiometric dating of this kite argues for a construction ~ 10 ka ago, with no evidence for use beyond ~ 1 ka after building.

Summary: Listed as a World Heritage Site since 1985, the city of Petra is well regarded as the most important attraction in Jordan that is internationally recognized for its rare archaeological remains, monuments and façades that date back to Nabataean times. This paper presents an inter-disciplinary approach, which is co-constructed by an academic archaeologist and a sustainable tourism researcher that considers the integration of three rare and significant Neolithic villages as a unique extension of the cultural and heritage tourism experience in Petra. The paper begins by deliberating the implications of World Heritage Status for iconic and flagship destinations such as Petra. From this, results of a review of secondary research and interviews with local tour operators are presented which explored the issues and challenges that may inhibit the inclusion of the Neolithic villages as part of the Petra attraction system. The authors propose that an attraction diversification strategy and a sustainable tourism-planning approach are necessary to sustain the destination’s long-term future, conserve Petra’s archaeological sites, ensure economic benefits and appropriate participation of local communities within the region, and to serve as a way to attract more appreciative visitor markets to the region.

Summary: This paper presents a multielement analysis of fifteen Ayyubid-Mamluk glazed pottery sherds for determining the chemical composition in order to study their provenance. The tested fragments in this work belong to the historical site of Udhruh in southern Jordan. The chemical analysis for samples has been carried out by using Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (SR-XRF) technique. The semi-quantitative analysis of the elements Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd and Pb has been applied to the samples using SR-XRF technique. The data were analyzed by using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) in order to define groups of different glazed pottery sherds by obtaining information about their similarity and clustering. The results provide persuasive evidence that the Udhruh pottery fragments have at least three different sources of provenance.

Summary: The badiyat al-sham is economically marginal area steppe land where, in later prehistoric period the extent of human activity ebbed and flowed through time…