Re-contextualising the prehistoric central place Hujayrat al Ghuzlan (Jordan)

1998年至2010年对史前聚居地Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan(公元前4100-2500年)进行了多学科研究。约旦大学和德国考古研究所与马尔堡大学(地质考古学)和L吕贝克应用科学大学(考古水文学)合作。该遗址位于现代城市亚喀巴(约旦)的北郊，位于瓦迪·尤图姆冲积扇上。2003年至2010年，DFG资助的实地工作在文件工作完成后停止，2015年，系统地填充了挖掘战壕，以保护脆弱的粘土砖建筑发现，在某些情况下，它的高度仍超过4米。由于在极度干旱的环境中拥有大量的水资源，Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan是一个复杂的、分等级的定居点系统的顶部的绿洲聚居地，部分是古北极洲的方面；它是该地区最早的金属生产地之一。该遗址经历了两个建设期，并在公元前四千年的旧时期结束时被地震摧毁。对该地区来说，它代表着文化历史的一个重要阶段，其特点是铜冶金、水利工程和防御工事技术领域的技术创新，到目前为止，人们对它的研究还不够充分。与此同时，在该定居点的年表和文化印记上出现了许多贡献，以及一些临时合成。关于文化变化，特别是在第一个建设期(开始定居、开始冶炼、自然灾害的影响)期间发生的文化变化，目前还不能有任何可证实的说法，因为记录在案的发现和发现尚未根据地层学重新确定背景。当地项目主任原本打算承担这项任务，作为自己的贡献，但由于他过早去世(2014年)，无法完成这项任务。这项悬而未决的工作现在将由一名博士后研究员和一名助理接替。还建议首次利用自然科学中现有的工具对2002-2010年实地活动期间收集的现有样本进行分析，以便进行更深入的年代学研究，并随后提出结果。项目目标是分析当地地层情况，以便能够对发现的发现作出更具指示性的、与背景有关的解释，然后公布结果。此外，对发现物和发现物群进行地层精确定位还将有助于更深入地了解活动模式以及城市化的经济战略和进程，并为各种发现类别的专门研究奠定基础。

Multidisciplinary research was carried out from 1998 – 2010 on the prehistoric settlement Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (4100-2500 B.C.) by the University of Jordan and the German Archaeological Institute in cooperation with Marburg University (geoarchaeology) and Lübeck University of Applied Sciences (archaeohydrology). This site is located on the northern outskirts of the modern city of Aqaba (Jordan) on the alluvial fan of Wadi Yutum. The fieldwork financed by DFG from 2003 to 2010 ceased after completion of the documentation work, and in 2015 the excavation trenches were systematically filled in to protect the fragile clay brick architectural findings, which in some cases still exceeded 4 m in height. Thanks to its significant water resources in a hyper-arid environment, Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan was an oasis settlement at the top of a complex, hierarchic settlement system with partly palaeobedouin aspects; it was one of the region’s earliest metal producing locations. The site experienced two construction periods and was destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the older period in the fourth millennium B.C. For this region it represents an important phase of cultural history characterized by technical innovations in the areas of copper metallurgy, hydraulic engineering and fortification technology, and it has only been inadequately researched to date. In the meantime, numerous contributions have appeared on the settlement’s chronology and cultural imprint, as well as some provisional syntheses. No verifiable statements can as yet be attempted about cultural changes, particularly those taking place during the first construction period (commencement of settlement, beginning of metallurgy, effects of a natural disaster), since the documented finds and findings have not yet been re-contextualised on the basis of stratigraphy. The local project director had intended to take on this task as his own contribution, but was unable to tackle it because of his early death (2014). This pending work is now to be taken over by a postdoctoral researcher and an assistant. It is also suggested that available samples collected during the 2002-2010 field campaigns be analysed for the first time with tools available in the natural sciences in order to make possible chronological studies in greater depth, and to subsequently present the results.The project goal is to analyse the local stratigraphic situation to enable more indicative, context-related interpretations of the finds and then to publish the results. Stratigraphic pinpointing of the finds and find groups will in addition lead to deeper insights into activity patterns as well as economic strategies and processes of urbanisation, and lay the foundation for specialized studies on various find categories.