Excavation at Jabal Juhayra, June/July 2015
Sumio Fujii
Kanazawa University, Japan

1. Introduction
The Jafr Basin Prehistoric Project (JBPP) started in 1997 with a view to tracing the processof pastoral nomadization in southern Jordan. For this objective, we have investigated morethan a dozen archaeological sites varying in both date and character. The series of researchoutcomes has recently been synthesized in the form of the Jafr chronology, which hasenabled us to roughly sketch the process of pastoral nomadization in the region (Fujii 2013).
Phase 5 of the long-term research project aims to develop the details of the Jafr Chronology
and, in so doing, provide further insights into the socio-cultural correlation between
sedentary farming communities to the west and pastoral societies to the east. Jabal Juhayra
is among several sites that were selected to approach the issue.
2. The Site and Excavation
Jabal Juhayra is located in the hilly terrain that fringes the northwestern edge of the Jafr
Basin (Fig. 1). The site occupies the eastern flank of an isolated volcanic hill of the same
name, commanding a small gully flowing down eastward from the hillside (Figs. 2, 3). It
was found for the first time during our general season survey in 2002 and tentatively
registered as JF-0116 (Fujii 2002; Fujii and Abe 2008). The test-sounding, taken place inAugust 2014, suggested that the site contains two distinct cultural layers: Layer 2 dated tothe LN/early Chalcolithic transitional phase and Layer 3 dated to the LPPNB (Fujii 2014;Fujii, Adachi et al. n.d.). The second season excavated the Layer 2 (LN/Chalcolithic)
settlement. This season scrutinized the Layer 3 (LPPNB) water-use system in Area 3.
4. Investigation results
Structural remains: A barrage-like masonry wall was partly exposed on the northern slopeof the small gully. The excavation in Area 3 has shown that the wall is constructed by a
rubble core dry walling technique using undressed basalt/scoria cobbles and boulders as
major building materials. This elongated masonry wall - c. 16 m in preserved length, c. 11.2 m in width, and c. 0.8 m in maximum preserved height - began with the middle of thesteep slope and was interrupted, probably due to past washout, c. 5 m short of the present
gully bed (Fig. 4). Of significance is the technological difference between the upper andlower halves of the wall. The upper half used smaller cobbles, being inferior in construction
quality and slightly incurving toward the upstream. Thus it is thought to have functioned asa training wall for guiding runoff surface water to the barrage. In contrast, the lower half, or
the main body of the barrage, was more elaborately and robustly constructed using larger
stones. Unlike all other wall alignments including those in Layers 2, only this robust wall1

was located immediately beside the gully (more precisely, a point slightly downstream of
the confluence of two tributaries) and stretched orthogonally across the converged gully(Fig. 3). Thus, its use is evident. Although its southern extension is yet to be confirmed in
Area 4, there is no doubt that the wall was used as a small-scale barrage to collect seasonal
runoff water flowing down on the scoria slope.
Small finds: Small finds around the barrage wall were limited to hundreds of flint artifacts
and a few grinding implements converted to construction materials (Fig. 5). Although theyoccurred in secondary contexts, it is important to note that the wall was buried with thedeposits including many PPNB artifacts.
5. Discussion
The excavation has proved that the barrage was constructed in the PPNB layer and, atthe same time, covered with a LN/Chalcolithic deposits. Thus, it undoubtedly dates back tothe PPNB. The adjacent Layer 3 settlement was probably involved in its construction andmanagement. This finding revalidate our dating of barrage systems previously investigatedin the Jafr Basin (Fujii 2010).
6. Conclusion
The third season at Jabal Juhayra has proved that the Layer 3 settlement (LPPNB) wasequipped with the small-scale stone-built barrage. Our previous investigations have locatedsimilar structures in the Jafr Basin, and Jabal Juhayra would be the third case of thebarrage-equipped PPNB settlement after Wadi Abu Tulayha and Wadi Ghuwayr 17/106.
Subsequent excavations are expected to clarify the overall picture of the unique settlement.

References
Fujii, S.
2011

Domestication of runoff water: Current evidence and new perspectives from the Jafr Pastoral
Neolithic. Neo-Lithics 2/10: 14-32.
2002bA brief note on the 2001-2002 winter season survey of the al-Jafr Basin in southern
Jordan. ADAJ (Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan) 46: 41-49.
2013
Chronology Jafr prehistory and Protohistory: a key to the process of pastoral nomadization inthe southern Levant. Syria 90: 49-125.
2014
Excavations at Tor Ghuwayr 1 and Jabal Juhayra, 2014. Field report submitted to the DoA.
Fujii, S. and Abe, M.
2008
PPNB desert frontier in southern Jordan: A preliminary report of the archaeological surveys inthe Jafr Basin, 1997-2005. Al-Rafidan 29, 63-94.
Fujii, S., Adachi, T. and Nagaya, K.
n.d.
Jabal Juhayra 2014-2015: Excavations of the post-PPNB layer. ADAJ 59 (in print).

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Fig. 3 Jabal Juhayra: site plan (as of June 25, 2015).

Fig. 4 Jabal Juhayra: Barrage wall in Area 3 (looking NW).

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Fig. 6 Jabal Juhayra: site endangered by industry-level scoria mining.

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