Fortnight of Firsts - Flight 20141028

I was very fortunate to be invited to join the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan 2014 flying programme this year. It has been a fortnight of ‘firsts’ for me. My first visit to Jordan, first visit to a Roman site, and a my first time in a helicopter – something I am particularly proud of as one who is terrified of flying, even on commercial aeroplanes. Taking photos from the open-door side of a Huey was not something I imagined I would be able to do.

As the helicopter rose up out of Marka Air Force Base, and the view of Amman began to unfold before our eyes, my fear turned to fascination and excitement. The bird’s eye view, whether of a modern city or an archaeological site, gives a unique perspective on the connexion between the various different elements that together make up those larger networks we usually only ever see from ground level.

View of Amman © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0004

Trying to espy a site from above and then photograph it was a very rewarding experience. Undertaking the flight only increased the respect I have for the dedication David Kennedy and Robert Bewley have for recording as much of Jordan’s immense and varied archaeological treasures as they have thus far been able. No doubt this respect and gratitude is a sentiment that future generations, especially Jordanians, will share.

Of the sites we photographed two were particularly memorable for me – the recently spotted, possibly Roman, quarry with columns, under threat of being consumed by the adjacent modern quarry and Qasr el-Maduna, an imposing desert castle.

Sahab Quarry © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0010

Qasr el-Maduna © APAAME_20141028_TPH-0069

While much work goes on behind the scenes, including cataloguing photos and making them available through our Flickr page, I have also had time for a visit to Gerasa (Jerash), Azraq Oasis, and, this morning, a ground visit to an endangered Roman town, Yajuz, just outside of Amman – this is one example, yet certainly much of Jordan’s heritage is under threat. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed joining the team in Jordan, my time in Amman has been made pleasurable and stress-free thanks to the support of APAAME, the BIA (British Institute in Amman) and the Jordanians I have had the pleasure to meet with, all of whom are wonderful ambassadors for their country – much good could come of tourism to Jordan’s remarkable historical sites. As Jordan faces various challenges, hopefully the opportunities to preserve (and market) its heritage are not lost.

Works of the Old Men at British Institute, Amman

What a successful evening!

The last member of our team has arrived - we now number five with our fearless leaders David Kennedy and Robert (Bob) Bewley, assistants Mat Dalton and Rebecca Banks, and also our colleague and PhD candidate Don Boyer.

David begins his lecture at BIA, 7 April 2013.

Our evening was engagingly filled by a lecture hosted by the British Institute at Amman and conducted by David titled 'The Works of the Old Men', taken from Flight-Liutenant Maitland's 1927 Antiquity article of the same name. It is always fantastic to see friends' and colleagues' reactions to the photographs we take of the curious structures that span the Basalt Desert of the Harrat al-Shaam, knowing that we also are transfixed by them each time we fly.

Thank you to everyone that attended the evening and made it a huge success, not least to the British Institute, Amman - Carol, Firas, Nadja and staff who helped organise and run the evening, and for their continual support of the project. The supper put on afterwards was filling in both food and conversation.

Our first flight is tomorrow (Insha'Allah)! Look forward to sharing some photos with you.

Back in Amman

Laying out the equipment ready for action.

The first of the team is starting to roll into Amman and setting up at the fantastic British Institute. The weather is a bit of a shock - from 33 degrees Celsius in Perth to a comparatively chilling 19 in Amman when we landed.
Having only visited Amman in the late Autumn before, when the landscape is drying out, the change in colour palate at this time of year is quite obvious as soon as you drop beneath the clouds coming into land with the tracks of wadis striking green against sandy soil.
Visibility was not too clear for the landing unfortunately. I thumping westerly wind has stirred up quite a bit of dust, but there has been a few spots of rain that has helped settle things to a relatively clear afternoon. Here is hoping the weather improves for us quick smart.

David Kennedy will be presenting at the BI Amman on Sunday 7 April at 6pm - for more information please visit the BI Amman website: http://www.bi-amman.org.uk/lectures.html

Workshop - GIS and Near Eastern Archaeology

A Methodology for the Future? The role of GIS technologies within 21st century Near Eastern Archaeology

CBRL November 30^th to December 2^nd 2012 at the CBRL Institute in Amman, Jordan.

Congratulations to all the organisers of this intimate, perfectly formed workshop as it brought together a small but interested (and interesting) grouping.

An interesting group of workshop attendees - British Institute Director Carol Palmer (front far right); workshop organiser Jennie Bradbury of Durham University (front left of middle); and the author of this blog Bob Bewley (front centre) (Photograph: BI Amman Facebook page).

There were 22 people from wide range of places and backgrounds – a small group but a very useful event for two reasons. The first is the opportunity to share ideas, understand each other’s needs and work on ways of better and more useful collaboration.  For the APAAME project this will involve a closer working relationship between the MEGA-J (national online archaeological database for Jordan) and ourselves.

The second was a more general one of meeting and talking to people who one either wanted to talk to but never managed to find the time, or people one didn’t know and was glad to meet. The ‘regional’ nature of the archaeology was highlighted by the use of GIS – showing the longer terms trends when the masses of data are analysed to show the changing distribution patterns; be it in the prehistoric Roman or medieval periods.