Research: Qasr Ain el-Beidha

In c. 1981 David Kennedy visited Qasr Ain el-Beidha as part of his investigations into the archaeological traces of the Roman frontier in North-East Jordan. The site shows clearly on the Hunting Aerial Survey imagery of 1953 - a clear perimeter wall c.20m square with a collapsed square tower in the center.

HAS 11.008 overlaid in Google Earth - Qasr Ain el-Beidha is clearly visible on the basalt bottom right. Please click to enlarge image.

Their survey of the site confirmed this:
It consists of a tower, 5.14m square, set within a walled enclosure 21 x 16.18m with, apparently, rounded corners. The tower is built of large blocks of basalt laid in regular courses, 3 of which may be seen and two others inferred. The surviving height of the 3 courses is 1.12m and the wall is 1.2m thick made up of blocks laid as headers and stretchers. Both tower and enclosure wall are much decayed and overlaid with rubble. The latter seems to have been no more than dry-stone built wall and there was only one point, on the S. side, at which evidence of the rough slabs being laid in courses was clear (Kennedy 1982 Archaeological Explorations on the Roman Frontier in North-East Jordan: 186-7).

Qasr Ain el-Beidha general view c. 1981. Image © David Kennedy. Please click to enlarge image.

In addition, Kennedy notes the lines of site from the tower to Qasr Azraq and Qazr Aseikhim, major Roman sites in the area. He concludes that the site likely acted as "an outpost to control access to a water-point" as well as a watch-tower on the route to Qasr Burqu (Kennedy 1982: 187).

Qasr Ain el Beidha photographed in 2011 - the perimeter wall can just be seen to the left of the road in the picture. APAAME_20111027_MND-0079.  Please click to enlarge image.

Today, the site is lost except for a section of the perimeter wall. We were able to photograph what remains of the site in 2011. A bitumen road has been built since 1978 running east from Azraq straight through the site. Historical satellite imagery in Google Earth implies the road has been in existence since at least 2003. Photographs from the 1978 survey imply that the track had previously gone around the site.

Qasr Ain el Beidha general view c. 1981. The track can be seen running around to the right of the site in the photograph. Image © David Kennedy. Please click to enlarge image.

Roman Archaeology Group Free Lectures: Saturday, 8th February.

The Roman Archaeology Group has arranged for two illustrated lectures to be presented on Saturday, 8th February. All are welcome.

2 Free Illustrated Lectures on: The Emperor Justinian and Petra, Jordan.
Saturday, 8th February 2014.

1:30pm: "Justinian's Empire" presented by Dr. Michael Champion.

2:30pm: Afternoon Tea.

3:00pm: "Western Travellers to Petra in the 19th Century" presented by W/Prof. David Kennedy.

N.B. Lectures are FREE, however there is a small charge for the refreshments served at the mid-session break: $7pp (RAG members) / $10pp (non-members)

Booking for catering purposes is ESSENTIAL.
Please RSVP by Wednesday 5th February to Norah by telephone 9281 4613 or by email: coopsathome@optusnet.com.au

For more details please see the events page of the Roman Archaeology Group blog here.

Publications: Settlement and Soldiers in the Roman Near East

Ashgate Publishing contacted us last year regarding publishing a compilation of David Kennedy's past papers in a 'Variorum' volume. The unifying theme of this collection is Settlement and Soldiers in the Roman Near East, and the final result is a compilation of thirteen papers originally published in different sources from 1980 through to 2006. The volume includes a Preface, Addenda and Index for the included papers, as well as all images from the original papers.

David Kennedy

Settlement and Soldiers in the Roman Near East

Variorum Collected Studies Series: CS 1032 

Ashgate Publishing

2013

ISBN: 9781409464365

http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409464365
Hardback, 300 pages
66 black and white illustrations
244 x 169 mm format
Contents
Preface



From the Ashgate website:
The Roman Near East has been a source of fascination and exasperation - an immense area, a rich archaeological heritage as well as documents in several local languages, a region with a great depth of urbanisation and development … yet relatively neglected by modern researchers and difficult to work on and in. Local archaeologists are often under-funded and the Roman period viewed as an earlier phase of western colonialism.

Happily, the immense surge in archaeological and historical research on the Roman period everywhere has included the Roman Near East and there have been significant academic developments.

This collection of studies on the Roman Near East represents Professor Kennedy’s academic assessment of the region, which began with his doctoral thesis on the contribution of Syria to the Roman army. Although the thesis was never published, several articles owe their genesis to work done then or soon after and are included here (VI, VII, IX, XII). Initial visits to military sites in Syria and Jordan swiftly brought out the presence in many cases of associated civil settlements and - though often now gone, the traces of ancient field systems. Hence, the two prominent sub-themes in this collection are the Roman military and various aspects of society and settlement - settlement types, farming, logistical underpinning and communications.

Free Lecture - Time Team's Guy de la Bédoyère

The Roman Archaeology Group of Perth
Summer Lecture Series

Guest Presenter

Guy de la Bédoyère

Sunday 31st March 2013
Social Sciences Lecture Theatre, UWA (campus map)
Perth, Western Australia
1:30 pm

Well known for his appearances on BBC 4’s popular archaeology program TIME TEAM, ‘The Romans in Britain’ series by BBC 2 and 'The Open University', and his large volume of historical publications, Guy will be joining the Roman Archaeology Group for one lecture only to share his knowledge on Roman Britain.

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED - $5 PER PERSON

Lecture is FREE but this event is TICKET-ONLY ADMISSION

To obtain your ticket CONTACT MAIRE on 9439 2828 ; gomescm@bigpond.com

Free Lecture: Roman Archaeology Group of Perth

Upcoming free lectures run by the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth:

2 Illustrated Lectures

Baths and Bathing in the Roman World

Dr. Sandra Ottley

2012 field trip to Jarash, Jordan
Don Boyer

Saturday 25 August

1:30pm

Social Sciences Lecture Theatre

University of Western Australia

1:30pm - Baths and Bathing in the Roman World
2:30pm - tea break ($7 for RAG Members $10 for non-members)
3:00pm - Annual General Meeting, Roman Archaeology Group of Perth, Inc.
3:30pm - 2012 field trip to Jarash, Jordan

Please let us know of your interest by emailing Norah Cooper (please see flier below).
Next lecture: Summer Lecture Series program coming soon!

To learn more about the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth please visit their webpage.

Roman Archaeology Group Free Lectures: 21 July

Upcoming free lectures run by the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth:

2 Illustrated Lectures

Palmyra: an ancient oasis between East and West

 Rebecca Banks

The Roman Peloponnese
Kevin O'Toole

Saturday 21 July

1:30pm

Social Sciences Lecture Theatre

University of Western Australia

1:30pm - Palmyra: an ancient oasis between East and West
2:30pm - tea break ($7 for RAG Members $10 for non-members)
3:00pm - The Roman Peloponnese

Please let us know of your interest by emailing Maire Gomes (please see flier below).
Next lecture: Saturday 25th August.

To learn more about the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth please visit their webpage.

Roman Archaeology Group Free Lecture Series

Want to learn about the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire? please attend the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth's free lecture series

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
3rd session

2 Illustrated Lectures

Winthrop Professor David Kennedy

Saturday 24 March

1:30pm

Social Sciences Lecture Theatre

University of Western Australia

1:30pm - Fall: Economic, Social, Environmental... and more.
2:30pm - tea break ($7 for RAG Members $10 for non-members)
3:00pm - What Happened... and Does it Matter?

Please let us know of your interest by emailing Norah Cooper.
Next lectures: Winter Lecture Series TBA.

To learn more about the Roman Archaeology Group of Perth please visit their webpage.