The Archaeological Site of Al-Baij: from the Palace to the Village

Abstract

Abstract

The palace or fortress of al-Baij, in the Northern Jordanian Badiah ca. 17km north east of the city of Al-Mafraq, is built of basaltic stones, the natural stone in the local environment, where it is located on the Southern-west of the Hauran area. The site (fortress) was occupied continuously from the Late Roman through the Umayyad periods. The initial occupation of the site was probably connected with the construction of the Roman road "via nova Traiana" in the early 2^nd century.

The remains of the fortress have been completely destroyed in the 1940s Decade of the twentieth century, where Its stones were reused to build new homes for the new population of some nomadic families whom they took it to their stable. They began building their homes on the edge of the ancient archaeological building, and hired builders from the area of Mt. Arab in Syria, have good knowledge and experience with stone construction techniques using basalt stones. The Druze builders succeeded in establishing a number of residential buildings, in the perimeter of the archaeological fortress. The modern Arab village has so altered the nature of the site as to make the fort practically unrecognizable. This research seeks to identify and document the remaining vestiges of the old Fort building and documented, as well as the stone dwellings built of basaltic stones, and their relationship and interaction with that building