Wadi Nadiya 2: Another Neolithic Barrage System in the Northern Jafr Basin
Prof. and Dr. Sumio Fujii
Kanazawa University, Japan

1. Research Background and Objective
The Jafr Basin Prehistoric Project started in 1997 with a view to tracing the process ofpastoral nomadization in southern Jordan on the basis of archaeological evidence. For
this objective, we have continuously excavated more than a dozen archaeological sites
varying in date and nature from Neolithic agro-pastoral outposts to Early Bronze Agecairn fields during the first two phases. Phase 3 of the long-term project has addressed
the Neolithic water-use history in the basin (Fujii 2007a, 2007b, 2010a, 2010b; Fujii etal. 2011). This field season focused on the excavation of the barrage system at Wadi
Nadiya 2, and the last two weeks were devoted to a reassessment of Neolithic water
catchment facilities that we previously investigated in the basin.
2. Investigations at Wadi Nadiya 2
As with the neighboring barrage site of Wadi Nadiya 1 (Fujii et al. n.d.), Wadi Nadiya 2
is also located in the middle of a flint pavement desert that extends behind theescarpment fringing the northern edge of the al-Jafr Basin (Fig. 1). The site consists offour stone-built barrages of various scales. We partly excavated three of the four.
The investigations have shown that: 1) all of the three excavated barrages had an
extensive open-cut limestone/flint quarry ca. 0.3-1 m deep in front of the barrage walls;
2) unlike Barrage 1 of Wadi Nadiya 1 (yet as with Barrage 2 of the same site), the threebarrages were not equipped with a subterranean masonry retaining wall for protecting
the barrage walls against strong sideways water pressure; 3) instead, they wereprotected by a soil and rubble bank ca. 0.3-0.5 m high (Figs. 2-4).
The Nadiya 2 barrage complex was combined with the upstream complex to form awater-use system consisting of a total of six barrages. The research outcome suggeststhat the system began with the large-scale basin-irrigation barrage in the uppermost
course (i.e. Barrage 1 of Wadi Nadiya 1) and ended with the small-scale reservoir type1

barrage in the lowermost course (i.e. Barrage 3 of Wadi Nadiya 2). There is a possibility
that this techno-typological shift was related to the transition in lifestyle from the PPNB
pastoral transhumance to the subsequent pastoral nomadism.
As is usual with extramural barrage sites, small finds from Wadi Nadiya 2 werescarce and, if any, rarely found in situ. The only exception to this is a large pillar base, achronological indicator of the Jafr Pastoral PPNB, which was incorporated into thecentral wall of Barrage 2. The others were stray finds, which included a few naviformcores, several heavy-duty digging tools, and a flint bowlet. The occurrence of the lastartifact is suggestive of the nearby existence of an outpost as an operating body of thebarrage system.
3. Reexamination of Neolithic Water-use Facilities in the Jafr Basin
The investigations at Wadi Nadiya 2 necessitated a reexamination of the Neolithic
water-use facilities previously investigated in the Jafr Basin. For this reason, weconducted limited re-excavations at Wadi Nadiya 1 and Wadi Ghuwayr 106, andconfirmed anew that both of the two barrage systems were associated with an open-cut
limestone quarry in front of the barrage walls. In addition, a brief survey in the eastern
Jafr Basin plotted a few dozen water harvesting facilities resembling Barrage 3 of Wadi
Nadiya 2. In connection with these operations, a PPNB outpost of Wadi Ghuwayr 17
and a LN open sanctuary of ‘Awja 1 were also briefly reexamined for a better
understanding of the cultural background of the Jafr Neolithic water-use history. The
latter site produced representations of feline animals (Fig. 5), which remind us ofsimilar examples in the contemporary Negev and Sinai.
4. Summary
The investigations at Wadi Nadiya 2 have provided valuable insights into thetechno-typological sequence of the Jafr Neolithic barrage system. It is our tentative
perspective that the shift from the large-scale basin irrigation barrage to the small-scale
reservoir type barrage was linked with the transition from the PPNB pastoraltranshumance to the subsequent pastoral nomadism. Given this, we may argue that inaddition to the sequence of burial custom (Fujii n.d.), we have obtained another key totracing the process of pastoral nomadization in southern Jordan.

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6. References
Fujii, S. (2007a) Wadi Abu Tulayha and Wadi Ruweishid ash-Sharqi: An Investigationof PPNB Barrage Systems in the Jafr Basin. Neo-Lithics 2/07: 6-16.
Fujii, S. (2007b) PPNB Barrage Systems at Wadi Abu Tulayha and Wadi Ruweishid
as-Sharqi: A Preliminary Report of the 2006 Spring Field Season of the Jafr Basin
Prehistoric Project, Phase 2. ADAJ (Annual of the Department of Antiquities ofJordan) 51: 403-427.
Fujii, S. (2010a) Domestication of Runoff Water: Current Evidence and New
Perspectives from the Jafr Pastoral Neolithic. Neo-Lithics 2/10: 14-32.
Fujii, S. (2010b) Wadi Abu Tulayha and Neolithic Dam Survey in the Jafr Basin.
American Journal of Archaeology 114: 552-554.
Fujii, S. (n.d.) Chronology of the Jafr Pastoral Prehistory and Protohistory: A Key to theProcess of Pastoral Nomadization in the Southern Levant. In: Abu-Azizeh, W. andTarawneh, M. (eds.), Current Research on Protohistoric Settlement in Desert
Areas of Jordan. Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique. Beirut: Institut
Français d’Archéologie du Proche-Orient.
Fujii, S., Adachi, T., Quintero, L.A., and Wilke, P.J. (2011) Wadi Quweir 106: A
Neolithic Barrage System in the Northeastern al-Jafr Basin. ADAJ 55: 189-212.
Fujii, S. Adachi, T., Endo, H., Arimatsu, Y. and Nagaya, K. (n.d.) Wadi Nadiya 1:
Another PPNB Barrage System in the Northern Part of the al-Jafr Basin, SouthernJordan. ADAJ 56 (in print).

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Safi

al-Azraq (ca. 130 km)‘Amman (ca. 150 km)
1,0000m

Wa
diArabam

1,0Amman00m

At-Tafila

Aqaba
0al-Hasa

200kmJabal Juhayra
Harrat al-Juhayra

W▲▲al-Qadisiyya

idan▲

Wadi Qusayir

Wadi Badda ▲m00

▲ Wadi Burma▲ Harrat al-Burma▲ Harrat as-Sayiyyah▲

Wadi Nadiya 11,000 m▲ Wadi Ruweishid ash-Sharqi

Ash-Shawbak al-Hashimiyya▲▲

Wadi Ghuweir 106,17▲ Wadi Abu Tulayha
1,000 m▲al-Muhammadiyya

Wadi Nadiya 2 ▲Jurf ad Darwish▲ Tala’t ‘Ubayda

al-Husayniyya

Fjaje

1,01,000mayQa’ Abu Tulayha WestUdruh

Wadi Musa'Jafr Basin

Fig. 1Qa' al-Jafral-Jafr‘Awja 1-3

Ma'an

‘Aqaba (ca. 90 km)

Fig. 2

Desert HighwiF

100m
40700 0 mmad0(ca. 70 km)

Site Map of the Jafr Basin and its Surrounding Areas.

Wadi Nadiya 2: general view of Barrage 2 (looking W).
420 kmFig. 3

Wadi Nadiya 2: close-up view of Area 4, Barrage 2 (looking E).

Fig. 4

Wadi Nadiya 2: general view of Barrage 3 (looking N).
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Fig. 5

Small features representing feline animals at ‘Awja 1 (looking W).

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