Bir Madhkur is a major caravan station along the ancient Spice Route that connected Petra in southern Jordan with the Mediterranean port of Gaza. The site was occupied in the late Hellenistic (Nabataean), Roman, and Byzantine periods. The main features of the site include a Late Roman/Byzantine army fort, a domestic settlement surrounding the fort, a bath complex/caravanserai, and various ancillary structures. Sites in the vicinity of Bir Madhkur include other caravan stations, farmhouses, and nomadic encampments. The Bir Madhkur Project examines, through historical, archaeological, and ethnographic research, the function of Bir Madhkur as a regional center of social, economic, and cultural interaction and exchange.

The Site of Bir Madhkur

Approximately 10 km northwest of Petra, Bir Madhkur lies in the foothills of the esh-Shera mountain range along the eastern border of Wadi Araba (see map). The most prominent feature at Bir Madhkur is the large fort with four corner towers (quadriburgium), which measures just over 30 × 30 m. The fort has an open courtyard in its center, surrounded by rooms adjacent to the curtain wall. The construction of the fort dates to the Late Roman/Early Byzantine period. Another structure (ca. 30 × 25 m) lies on the bank of a dry wadi roughly 34 m southeast of the fort. Its function is unknown, although it is probably a bath complex associated with the Roman and Byzantine military occupation at the site. A possible domestic complex covering an area of 25 × 25 m is situated west and southwest of the fort. This complex appears as a large area of ruined structures, most of which have seemingly adjoining walls. Pottery from this complex is mostly of the Nabataean and Early Roman periods, which would attest to the earliest phases of occupation at the site.

Several other structures have been mapped in the vicinity of Bir Madhkur. One in particular is situated only ca. 18 m south of the fort. It measures 18 × 10 m and its walls are constructed of roughly cut stone 0.80 m thick. The entrance into this structure is along the west wall, and there is evidence of at least six internal rooms. The nature and purpose of this structure remain to be determined. Also, there are numerous other structures on the low ridge immediately northeast of the fort in the direction of the spring, one of which may have served as an observation post to guard approaches to the spring from the northeast. Finally, in addition to these various outlying structures, several cemeteries, both ancient and modern, have been recorded at the site.

Furthermore, beyond the central site of Bir Madhkur, there are numerous other archaeological sites and features in the immediate countryside. These range from agricultural settlements, which include farmhouses, terraces, and ancient field walls, to campsites, both ancient and modern. Also, there are numerous paths and roadways linking all of these sites and features into a unified network.

Albrecht Alt was the first scholar to attempt an identification of Bir Madhkur, suggesting that it might be the site of ancient Moa (Alt 1935: 7, 24, 26, 31, 47). Other scholars, however, proposed to identify Bir Madhkur with Calamona of the Notitia, the base of a Cohors prima equitata (Not. Dign. [Or.] 34.43; Avi-Yonah 1976: 45; Rothenberg 1971: 217) Alt identifies Calamona with Ellebana of the Beersheva Edict, but does not attempt to identify or locate the settlement (Alt 1935: 26). The ancient identity of Bir Madhkur, despite previous attempts to assign an ancient place-name to the settlement, remains uncertain.

Project Summary

The Bir Madhkur Project focuses on examining the ancient role of Bir Madhkur in the socio‑political, economic, and cultural history of the region through cultural-historical and archaeological research involving both excavation and survey. Through revealing and interpreting evidence from Bir Madkhur, the project aims to contribute to our understanding of three larger issues: (1) the function of similar Nabataean/Roman/Byzantine outposts in both military and civilian capacities; (2) the interrelationships between indigenous and nonindigenous groups inhabiting the Araba Valley, in particular relations between pastoralists and agriculturalists; and (3) the nature and extent of the local and long-distance trade that passed through the site, thus revealing cultural and economic links between similar settlements within the Araba and their connections to such important ancient trade centers as Petra, Aqaba, and Gaza. Based on these objectives, the project consists of three main components: (1) a regional archaeological, environmental, and ethnographic survey of the environs of Bir Madhkur (the Central Araba Archaeological Survey); (2) excavation of several areas within Bir Madhkur and of relevant sites peripheral to the ancient settlement (e.g., farmhouses); and (3) analyses of artifacts and other evidence of the material culture of Bir Madhkur for the study of the regional economy, society, and culture.