Umm al-Biyara: Excavations by Crystal-M. Bennett in Petra 1960-1965 (Levant Supplementary Series)

Umm al-Biyara, the highest mountain in Petra, southern Jordan, was the first Iron Age Edomite site to be extensively excavated. It was a domestic, unwalled site of stone-built longhouses dating to the 7th-6th centuries BCE. The stratigraphy, pottery, small finds and inscribed material, including the important bulla of Qos-Gabr, King of Edom are described, supplemented by chapters on the use of space and a landscape study of mountain-top sites in the Petra region. The later Nabataean remains on the edge of the summit indicate a major Nabataean complex of buildings, possibly a palace, which would make this the first Nabataean palace in Petra to be explicitly identified.Table of Contents1. The Site and its Exploration (Piotr Bienkowski and Katherine Baxter) 2. The Stratigraphy (Katherine Baxter) 3. A Home High in the Mountains: The Use of Space in Umm al-Biyara (Katherine Baxter) 4. The Pottery (Piotr Bienkowski with contributions by Marion F. Oakeshott) 5. The Seal Material (Peter van der Veen) 6. The Ostracon (Omar al-Ghul) 7. The Small Finds (Piotr Bienkowski) 8. The Animal Remains (Juliet Clutton-Brock) 9. Recent Shells and a Fossil Sea Urchin from Umm al-Biyara (David Reese) 10. The Iron Age Landscape of Umm al-Biyara (Piotr Bienkowski) 11. Nabataean Structures on Top of Umm al-Biyara (Stephan G. Schmid) 12. Conclusions (Piotr Bienkowski)