KMAP team and students posing on the last day of field work on June 15th 2023.
May 17 to June 23, 2023
In 2023, the Town of Nebo/Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Archaeological Project welcomed students back to the site for a busy yet fun season of excavations and surveys! Students began arriving on May 17 and started exploring the city of Madaba, discovering all the local food shops to try throughout their six-week stay. The first field trip of the season was to St George’s Greek Orthodox Church and the Madaba Archaeological Park! The students saw various types of mosaics, including the Mosaic Map of Madaba!
The first day on site was Sunday, June 21st. Students toured the site, exploring the Byzantine Church with its mosaic floor, along with the acropolis at the top of the hill, which students could see from their squares. Students mapped out their squares with the help of their supervisors and began digging into the soils of Jordan! Throughout the six weeks, students gained hands-on experience in the field, using tools such as pick-axes, shovels, and trowels to find artifacts from various time periods. Objects and pottery were found from periods such as the Iron Age and Byzantine periods! Along with excavations, students surveyed in the Wadi around Khirbat al-Mukhayyat! Some places surveyed include dolmen sites, farmers’ fields, and caves.
On the weekends (Friday and Saturday), students had a free day to do whatever they wanted, and then the next day they went on a field trip! On the free days, most people toured around Madaba, finding the best shawarma shop, exploring local churches, or working on blog post assignments. A group of students even planned their own trip to Amman to walk Rainbow Street! On Saturdays, students were taken to sites all around Jordan, exploring different castles and churches from different time periods.
The first weekend, students stopped at the Desert Castles such as Quseir Amra, Qasr al-Harrana/Al-Kharanah, and Azraq Ed Duruz! After visiting the castles, they headed to Amman to tour the Amman Citadel and the Roman Theatre. The second field trip was to Northern Jordan, visiting the ancient city of Jerash and Umm Qais! The next week, they travelled to the lowest point on Earth and floated in the Dead Sea before having a relaxing afternoon at a resort. The final field trip was a three day long trip to Petra and Wadi Rum! Students travelled to Southern Jordan, stopping at Karak Castle before arriving at a hotel near Petra. The next morning, students prepared themselves for a long day of hiking in the ancient city of Petra and seeing amazing views of the Treasury and the Monastery. After exploring Petra, students took a bus to Wadi Rum and rode in a jeep to their huts for the night! The next day, the group travelled around the Wadi on camels before heading back to Madaba for the final days of the field school.
Before heading back home, students spent three days doing lab work such as pottery and artifact drawings and sorting inventory in preparation for the next field season! They also finished up their field notebooks and explored Madaba one last time.
The 2023 KMAP field season was a huge success, and many memories were made for the KMAP team and the students!
New Season of Excavations Set to Begin
Returning students Lauren Mason, Emilee Lawrence and Ashley Paling prepare a simulated baulk section used to train students in archaeological drawing techniques (Photo S. Edwards)
July 4, 2016
The second season of excavations at the Town of Nebo (Khirbat al-Mukhayyat) is set to begin on July 10. Senior staff and returning students are currently in Madaba preparing for the season, while first-time field school participants have started trickling in from Queen Alia International Airport.
The first season, carried out in May/June 2014, was highlighted by the discovery of a ritual bath dating to the late 2nd/early 1st century BCE. Returning students are eager to shed further light on this installation, in addition to further honing their archaeological skills.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about how the ritual bath was constructed,” says Lauren Mason, an archaeology and history double major at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Lauren is one of six returning students who in addition to supervising squares will be passing on their experience to the incoming students.
The next few days will focus on orientation and training in preparation for the start of field work. Weekly blog updates can be found here, and you can also follow along with the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project’s official Twitter, @neboarchaeology.
New Research on the Ritual Bath at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat
November 11, 2015
On Saturday, November 21, KMAP directors Debra Foran (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Annlee Dolan (San Joaquin Delta College) will be delivering a paper about their recent research into ritual bathing practices at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat (the Town of Nebo) and nearby sites.
The talk, entitled “Ritual Immersion: Khirbat al-Mukhayyat during the Late Hellenistic Period,” will take place in the “Archaeology of the Near East: The Classical Periods” session of the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Information about this conference can be found here.
The 2014 ASOR Paper is Now Available!
December 11, 2014
For preliminary results of the 2014 field season, please watch the short video below, originally presented at the ASOR annual meeting, November 21, 2014.
