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

1998年至2010年，约旦大学和德国考古研究所与马尔堡大学（地质考古学）和莱尔贝克应用科学大学（考古水文学）合作，对史前定居点Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan（公元前4100-2500年）进行了多学科研究。该遗址位于现代城市亚喀巴（约旦）的北郊，位于Wadi Yutum的冲积扇上。2003年至2010年由DFG资助的实地调查在完成文献工作后停止，并于2015年系统地填充挖掘沟，以保护脆弱的粘土砖建筑发现，其中一些建筑的高度仍然超过4米。由于在极度干旱的环境中拥有丰富的水资源，Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan是一个绿洲聚落，位于具有部分古奥贝都因特征的复杂等级聚落系统的顶部；它是该地区最早的金属产地之一。该遗址经历了两个建设时期，并在公元前4000年的一场地震中被摧毁。对于该地区来说，它代表了文化史上一个重要阶段，其特征是铜冶金、水利工程和防御技术等领域的技术创新，迄今为止对它的研究还不够充分。与此同时，关于该定居点的年表和文化印记，以及一些临时综合，出现了许多贡献。关于文化变化，特别是在第一个建设时期（开始定居、开始冶金、自然灾害的影响）发生的变化，目前还无法作出可证实的陈述，因为有记录的发现和发现尚未根据地层学重新确定背景。当地的项目主管本打算承担这个任务，但由于他的早逝（2014年），无法解决这个问题。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手。还建议首次使用自然科学中可用的工具对2002-2010年实地活动期间收集的现有样本进行分析，以便进行更深入的时间顺序研究，并随后提出结果。该项目的目标是分析当地的地层情况，以便对这些发现作出更具指示性和与环境有关的解释，然后发表结果。此外，对发现和发现群体的地层精确定位将导致对活动模式、经济战略和城市化进程的更深入了解，并为对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.