An Interim Report on the Pottery from Gharandal (Arindela), Jordan

Abstract

Two seasons of excavations at Gharandal (Roman-Byzantine Arindela) in the south of Jordan have produced a major ceramic sequence spanning the Nabataean to Islamic periods. The excavations focussed on a Byzantine church and an adjoining earlier, monumental stone complex, probably a late Nabataean or early Roman caravansarai. Particularly representative and reliable pottery sequences were recovered for two poorly understood periods in the material culture of south Jordan: the later-eighth to early-ninth centuries, and the late-tenth and eleventh centuries. The pottery of the latter period displays important characteristics with the general appearance of regionally distinctive Islamic handmade wares.