Khirbet al-Batrawy, investigated since 2005 by Sapienza University of Rome and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, with support from MAECI, is a leading site for the study of early urbanization in semi-desert areas of the ancient Near East. Excavations by the Italian mission have revealed a thriving city from the 3rd millennium BC, with monumental fortifications, a temple and a palace. The finds from the palace testify to the role of Batrawy at the center of a dense commercial network connected to the great urban civilizations of Anatolia, Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia.