Despite more than two centuries of admiration and tourist fame, archaeological interest in Jarash (Gerasa) has languished since the sudden termination of the 1925–34 colonial enterprise to relieve the site's ruinous landscape from fields of crumpled stone and to terminate traditional economic activities by local villagers. That aborted awakening of an applauded classical polis by European-based agencies and their representative organizations in Palestine was gradually followed by an ultimately botched return to measure and document all that which remained obscured: the temples, streets, theatres, bathhouses, circuit walls and their gates, while funds from international institutions financed the restoration of monuments left exposed after 1934.Footnote 1 In time, fresh eyes looked away from the cleared monuments to the vast areas of still heavily buried parts of the site and, by scanning visually the unexplored landscape, wondered enthusiastically about what discoveries of a golden (classical) age could rest there under centuries of earthen buildup. Jordan, though, was no longer mandated, and contrary opinions found an opening. Excavations in 1977–78 by the then University of Jordan's Professor Asem N. Barghouti snapped the old, but still current, principle to “clear and rebuild” the “Roman” town. Rather, he set targets to investigate from fieldwork the neglected social history of Jarash by researching its prominent urban framework, his thesis being that planning initially followed a Hellenized Seleucid model with subsequent Roman influence being just a “secondary intrusion.” To demonstrate this, Barghouti opened five excavation areas, some beyond the conventionally “prime” zones, from which he concluded that the urban layout of Jarash was very much a creation of the townsfolk's own making.Footnote 2 By 1982, four of the five excavation areas had produced archaeological strata that “uniformly belong successively to Umayyad, Byzantine, Roman and Hellenistic habitations.”Footnote 3 Nevertheless, many projects since have struggled to advance noticeably an understanding of Jarash's civic profile in Hellenistic to early Roman times.Footnote 4 The problem was not in the material record but, rather, an addiction to naïve practices and assumptions by practitioners in the field, with only a few exceptions.Footnote 5 Projects old and new carried on as before. Sadly, Barghouti's pioneering work did not get the recognition it deserved, and his application of urban theory to guide and interrogate archaeological work was not replicated.
A modicum of advances came with the “Jerash Archaeological Project” (1981–88 CE), primarily a Jordanian government initiative, which ultimately rolled out a program set on enhancing monuments and the supposed benefits of tourism.Footnote 6 After 1988, work proceeded at a reduced rate, but along the same line of thought: French work on the Zeus Temple and bathhouses; Italian work on the Artemis temple and the pottery kilns there, the streets, and the Propylaea Church; the hippodrome; and a Department of Antiquities program, all of which focused on monuments. The 2000s upheld the status quo. Still, there was a surprising boost to understanding the nature of Hellenistic settlement in 2001 with the discovery of an intact tomb sated with “spectacular” burial gifts of 2nd- to 1st-c. BCE date as part of a cemetery, which in time was intersected by the north circuit wall west of the north gate.Footnote 7 Then in 2002, this author, beset with positive views on early Islamic life in Jarash, commenced excavations in the southeast quadrant of the south crossroads in the belief that an early congregational mosque would be found in the economic and social center of the town.Footnote 8
Almost 10 years later, a new team was to descend on the barely scratched Northwest Quarter (hereafter NWQ) of Jarash, in an elevated area sandwiched between the Artemis temple and the west circuit wall. In an early publication, the project directors Achim Lichtenberger and Rubina Raja laid out their expectations underlying the “Jerash Northwest Quarter Project” (hereafter JNWQP): to trace changing urban patterns “from the pre-Hellenistic to early Islamic periods” with a focus on the “impact of Hellenisation in the Near East in general and Gerasa in particular, and to determine whether or not these processes can be traced throughout the Roman imperial period.”Footnote 9 Earlier, Lichtenberger had argued that Jarash originally comprised two Hellenistic towns, a “Greek Antioch and an indigenous Gerasa” made up of “Greek settlers or Hellenized Syrians” and “natives” with competing cult centers (those of Zeus and Artemis, respectively). The “conflicting contrast between ‘Greek’ and ‘Oriental’” may have continued into the Roman period but, if so, was disguised by “the normative attraction of Greek culture.”Footnote 10
The books reviewed here, the first four in the JNWQP Final Publications series, give a revealing insight into the modified opinions of the two directors a decade later. As we will see, those 10 years forced a fast change in the thinking by Lichtenberger, Raja, and their team due to, from their perspective, the unprecedented and unexpected discoveries given up by Jarash's earth. The four books, edited by Lichtenberger and Raja, are subsumed within the “Jerash Papers” (hereafter JP) series, of which Lichtenberger and Raja are the general editors. Four earlier volumes in the JP include one on a history of predominantly western interests at Jarash, and three on pottery and related matter (Volumes 1, 3–5).Footnote 11 The publication of the Final Publications series does not follow any particular subject order. Currently, a potpourri of chapters differ in academic value, yet in themselves they are free-standing, sometimes well presented, and informative in their own way. A drawback is the absence of detailed accounts on the most crucial of matters to an excavation: an exhaustive study of site stratigraphy and chronological outcomes that binds together the studies and facilitates grouping of archaeological finds, crucially an in-depth and stratigraphically determined pottery type series. The pressing need for JNWQP's core studies is acknowledged, belatedly, by the project directors,Footnote 12 although their claim of “a full quantification strategy” across the project does not extend to the pottery, by their own admission.Footnote 13
Review of Final Publications Volume 1, Environmental Studies, Remote Sensing, and Modelling (JP 6)
This volume of 261 pages is in small format and contains 10 mostly short chapters. Chapter 1 (1–44, A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja) presents an edited overview of the JNWQP that relies heavily on previous papers and chapters, to the extent that readers will need to access many works to get a fuller overview. In the first section, two short presentations cover a history of research, followed by an account of preceding volumes in the JP series and its purpose. The next section, on document and registration systems, describes the field work and physical interventions in the NWQ. The illustrations, including a new site plan, are in black and white and small. Field terminology is explained, such as the term evidence (aka locus) used to “label archaeological complexes, assemblages, and in situ finds” (9).Footnote 14 A 5-by-5 m grid was applied to locate excavation trenches that often did not remain square. The registration of extracted materials (finds, samples) in their many hundreds of thousands was systematic but, as the volumes show, publication could be inexplicably outsourced to external experts. The next section briefly summarizes the project's 24 trenches and their excavation (A–X), supplemented by key references to the relevant publications, particularly those co-written by the project's field director Georg Kalaitzoglou. The chapter ends with a working chronology, the contents of the volume, acknowledgements, the project bibliography to 2020, and team members.Footnote 15
The next six chapters are gathered under the title “Environmental Studies.” These are: the geology of the NWQ (Chapter 2, 47–63, G. Holdridge); preliminary research into soils and sediments and their impact on settlement (Chapter 3, 65–78, G. Holdridge, S. M. Kristiansen, et al.); the archaeobotany of the NWQ from flotation or, commonly, “grab” samples extracted from archaeological fills, of which olive was the most predominant (Chapter 4, 79–92, M. M. Hald); archaeofaunal remains selected from secure, dateable contexts, consisting mostly of domestic mammals (sheep/goat, domestic pig, equid mostly donkey, and cattle) as well as domestic fowl and catfish (Chapter 5, 93–125, P. Bangsgaard; this coherent chapter greatly exceeds its statistics); two human burials, omitting reference to the 7th- or 8th-c. CE mass burial in the hippodrome of JarashFootnote 16 (Chapter 6, 127–38, M. L. S. Jørkov); and a last chapter on the ambitious but unsuccessful attempt to date human bone by radiocarbon testing (Chapter 7, 139–54, B. Philippsen and J. Olsen). Of these chapters, Bangsgaard's contribution stands out by utilizing only that data shown to be precise in its context and complete in its collection, and explains the processed data in a diligent manner; baffling, however, is the use of indistinguishable shades of an insipid grey in the graphs – a publishing error.
The last three chapters tackle matters of Remote Sensing and Modelling. Standard processes were used, notably LiDAR with data provided by the Royal Jordanian Geographical Centre, ʿAmmān, verified by ground proofing (Chapter 8, 157–72, S. M. Kristiansen and D. Stott); also, a twofold application of Magnetic Survey and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) by a commercial company (Chapter 9, 173–91, R. Kniess, A. Lichtenberger, et al.). Results varied, with GPR being the poorest method. An uneven terrain, surface obstacles, and shared attributes between natural and built environments played havoc with differentiating one from the other. Next, securing radiocarbon dates and building a workable chronology from them through the application of Bayesian statistics have played a significant role in chronological determinations for the JNWQP, as is explained in Chapter 10 (193–240, B. Philippsen and J. Olsen). The total sum of secure 14C dates were collated to produce graphs depicting activity (a “rise and fall” reading) over time (1000 BCE to 2000 CE), “assuming unbiased sampling.”Footnote 17 However, there is an obvious barrier to a proposed peak of activity ca. 130–230 CE. The NWQ experienced significant modification through the use of externally sourced landfills and/or urban waste, which introduced every type of discarded material, including charcoal. This is not unusual, as the transfer of urban soils on a huge scale in the past is widely observed, but rarely discussed, in Middle Eastern archaeology.Footnote 18 The first peak is, therefore, little more than a booming echo from an earlier time and place. Returning to the graph, a second peak in the early 5th c. CE. seems the more likely date for the widespread inhabitation of the NWQ, which is followed by minor peaks and falls and seemingly an overall gentle reduction of activity after the 6th c. CE, but this may be related to the growing scarcity of hard woods.Footnote 19 It is a reminder that Bayesian manipulations will only work if the responsible archaeologist provides full details and an overview of competing historical opinions relevant to the 14C results.
Review of Final Publications Volume 2, Metal Finds and Coins (JP 7)
The three other volumes under review are published in a larger format, with color more generously used for illustrations even when unnecessary. Volume 2, at 194 pages, is of slim size with four chapters of which one (Chapter 2), on small finds in metal (in German), dominates the book. Chapter 1 (1–3, A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja) introduces the reader to the contents of the book, beginning with an abbreviated repeat of the settlement history of the NWQ, a quick reference to the metal finds (minus the geochemical analysis published elsewhere), two chapters on coins (minus an archeometallurgical study and a previously reported hoard),Footnote 20 and acknowledgements. The hoard is of 11 Byzantine and Arab-Byzantine copper coins and was closed in the 7th c. CE, yet managed to linger, likely concealed,Footnote 21 within a residential structure until it was entombed in the building's collapse in the mid-8th c. CE.
Chapter 2 (7–121, C. Eger) begins with a general description of the 747 metals items present, mostly iron, copper alloys, and lead, followed by notes on the absence of reports on metal finds in the region,Footnote 22 and a summary of the 12 categories of metal finds applied to this study. The catalogue largely consists of fragmentary and heavily corroded pieces relating to household functions. The objects are grouped according to year of excavation, that is, 2012–2016, with large numbers originating from the three 7th- to 8th-c. CE residences. The accompanying color plates are large and bright. Despite these pictures and the excellent drawings in the commentary, many of the catalogue items are not illustrated.
The last section of the book considers coins in two unequal parts. Chapter 3 (125–29, A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja) is a short description of 19 large-sized Hellenistic and Imperial Roman coins.Footnote 23 The recovery of these few coins correlates with the picked-over nature of introduced fills, and wear on most coins suggests a long life until the eventual withdrawal of the base-metal currency. Chapter 4 (131–78, I. Schulze and W. Schulze) covers the full field of retrieved coins at Jarash, overwhelmingly coppers, by way of a statistical study. The focus is on the Early Islamic period issues, especially the coins from mid-7th- to 8th-c. CE residences, then followed by a comparative study of the NWQ Early Islamic coins with others excavated at Jarash,Footnote 24 and finally a geographically wider comparison with other towns in the region. The chapter ends with the full list of the 803 coins from the JNWQP excavations sorted by year and trenches and includes metadata and features.Footnote 25 These are accompanied by four plates of 26 specimens in color. The authors engage with some crucial issues such as the validity, or at least acceptance, of Late Roman minimi in the marketplace in later centuries and implications that holds for the building of archaeological chronologies, as well as the high probability of copper-alloy coin production (following the new Islamic type initiated in ca. 720 CE) into the later 8th and early 9th c. CE, also confusing for chronologies.Footnote 26 Overall, the chapter focuses on continuity of currency from transitional Byzantine into the early Islamic period, which helps greatly in the scrutiny of earlier research outcomes built on purchased collections known to be unreliable due to forgery and contamination.
Review of Final Publications Volume 3, Glass, Lamps, and Jerash Bowls (JP 8)
Volume 3 is also a four-chapter presentation, this time extending over 260 pages, of which one chapter on lamps makes up most of the book. As editors, Lichtenberger and Raja offer an introduction (Chapter 1, 1–9), which commences with an update on the intended documentation policy,Footnote 27 and explains the reason behind variations in reporting styles by invited experts, not all of whom were on the excavation team. A new and detailed open-source map in color is provided with a list of 63 places. Detailed data lists (finds, evidences) are promised for later volumes, including the all-important site stratigraphy and ceramics, as is an open access data dump on-line to delve deeper into specific topics.Footnote 28 There follows an introduction to each topic: glass, lamps, and Jerash bowls, in which earlier registration and analysis work by project members is noted.
Chapter 2 (13–49, R. Jackson-Tal) considers 104 (or 105, according to the catalogue) items from 1,740 diagnostic finds of the ca. 5,500 glassware specimens, some intact, assembled by the JNWQP. The chapter is arranged with a commentary and a catalogue. Both sections divide glass into the following categories: bowls, beakers, and bottles,Footnote 29 jugs, goblets (wine glasses), lamp bowls, unguent holders, window glass, bracelets/anklets, inlay, and glass mosaic cubes. Each of the 105 items are numbered, the field find number is provided, and a brief description of the piece is given, supported by a line drawing and/or a high-quality color photograph with scales showing length and color balance. In the commentary, the main categories are conveniently subdivided based on form, whereas comparison lists to other sites lack specificity. A mold-blown concave bottle base in blue (CN 64) would benefit from further study, as would CN 58, 59, and perhaps 57. Continuities into the second half of the 8th c. Arḍ al-Shām (Syria-Palestine), while very unclear, are in need of more attention than that given here.Footnote 30 While a technical report, the glass study seems hurried and omits a previous chemical study on a selection of glass pieces from the JNWQP, which must be consulted separately.Footnote 31
Chapter 3 (53–223, A. Uscatescu) is a timely reappraisal of pottery lamps found in Jarash, most of which were of local manufacture. Regrettably, only a preselected corpus of 422 lamp specimens from an unknown total were available to the author, which is not an ideal situation.Footnote 32 The distinctive lamps of Jarash have been studied numerous times over many years (referenced in the chapter), creating a surfeit of catalogues, each with their own numbering system; this tangled legacy is tackled head-on by the author with a new and encompassing typology. Following a brief summary of lamp studies in Arḍ al-Shām, Uscatescu offers an overview of lamp discoveries in Jarash from Hellenistic to early Islamic times with a clear focus on the later 6th into the 8th c. CE. At that time, lamp production at Jarash was at its peak in tandem with the production of other decorative ceramic forms.Footnote 33 The longevity of lamp production, as revealed in other excavations at Jarash, extended into the later 8th to 9th c. CE (ʿAbbāsid period), perhaps longer. These three introductory segments are concise and stacked full of detail. The catalogue fully accounts for the 442 lamp specimens selected by the JNWQP: a detailed description, decorative styles, fabric including Munsell readings, measurements, type, dating, and references including any earlier publication by the JNWQP. The listing of the entries is arranged by the source trenches, which ensures the finds numbering of the lamps matches the year of excavation. By way of contrast, the commentary rearranges the sequence according to a commonly used dynastic table.Footnote 34 The commentary also includes line illustrations of lamps, as well as maps and color charts. Nonetheless, moving between text and illustrations is not unduly difficult. The descriptions of the 31 types and, on occasions, their variants are coherent and thorough. Lamp features are described and their contexts identified as recorded in: a) the JNWQ excavations with evidence numbers; b) elsewhere at Jarash; c) the wider region. The conclusions reached by Uscatescu from the lamp series places them within the social dynamics of Jarash from the 3rd to 8th c. CE, revealing the existence of a “cosmopolitan population at the end of Late Antiquity.”Footnote 35 While constrained by the corpus and chronological ambiguity at more than one level, this chapter is a scholarly and literary masterwork.
Chapter 4 (227–44, P. Bonnekoh) deals with iconography on painted Jerash Bowls of the 6th and 7th c. CE, notably depictions of animals and humans, recovered in small numbers from the JNWQP's excavations. The animals are birds, fish, artiodactyls, and a felid. With the humans, the focus is on one depiction labelled “the curly-haired boy,” a young servant holding a basket. Their clothing, a necklace, and the hairstyle are discussed.
Review of Final Publications Volume 4, Architectural Elements, Wall Paintings, and Mosaics (2 Parts, JP 9.1 and 9.2)
Volume 4 of 460 pages consists of 11 chapters in two parts. Volume 9.1 focuses on architecture and building ceramics, and volume 9.2 on wall paintings and mosaics. Chapter 1 (1–10, A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja) defines more precisely the term “fill” as used for the NWQ excavations, notably its archaeological meaning, worth, and outcomes. As explained by the authors, “fills” refer to placed mixed contexts and comprise the main type of deposit in the NWQ, whereas in situ objects are “relatively few.”Footnote 36 The exact attributes of the fills and their dates, based on the latest datable material found, is a crucial element in understanding the urban colonization of the NWQ, which will be difficult to establish until more information on the stratigraphy is presented. That will determine at what point in time the NWQ was extensively developed, and expose the role served by the architecture within a broader social, political, and economic context as, for sure, the NWQ was a stand-out, go-to area in the town from Late Antiquity into the 8th c. CE. Continuing, the authors return to discussing the “full quantification” policy already addressed in earlier JP volumes (above n. 13). Due to the absence of stratigraphic contexts, the depth of studies in this volume is constrained, as the editors admit. They briefly address the issue by naming the obstacles and defining terminologies for in situ and out-of-context finds, including architectural; they concede that cross-subject studies are limited until core data is readily available.Footnote 37 The exceptions, albeit major, are the “Mosaic Hall” and 7th- to 8th-c. CE residences, both felled by an earthquake attributed to the mid-8th c.
Beginning the studies, Chapter 2 (11–60, P.-A. Kreuz) offers a catalogue in color of architectural elements and a commentary. The elements are divided into six standard architectural classifications. All the material was retrieved from secondary contexts in a damaged state. It should be noted that entry 44 (42) is a column drum turned into a roller used to compress and harden clay surfaces, among other uses. Evidence for applied stucco was observed on capitals and columns, opening up images of decorative painted surfaces such as faux marble. Kreuz determines that the architectural elements were sourced in other parts of Jarash, given the heterogeneous nature of the group (21). The comments on the original architectural contexts and matters of spoliation (21–24) are topical and stimulating, with Kreuz squeezing all they can out of the catalogued material.
A short Chapter 3 (61–64, A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja) focuses on three select decorative pieces, all partial, probably of Byzantine make. Chapter 4 (65–74) by the same authors returns to an already published monumental architectural block of local stone shaped to form a part of an ornamented monumental gateway with altar iconography.Footnote 38 Likely brought in from outside the NWQ, the block was an integral part of an olive press in Byzantine times.
Chapter 5 (75–170, P. Ebling) presents a detailed study on ceramic building materials retrieved from the NWQP excavations. Two sections make up the chapter: a detailed commentary and a catalogue of 232 pieces. The catalogue offers information on type, dimensions, description, petrography (if available), and a proposed date. Entries are accompanied by illustrations, all with excellent black-and-white photographs and some line drawings. The commentary, which is substantial and informative, details the types of ceramic forms recovered according to the common styles of the period: roof tiles, box flues, hypocaust bricks, and floor/wall tiles. Nearly all the selected pieces came from secondary contexts, predominantly fills, dating from the 4th to mid-8th c. CE, the exception being roof tiles extracted from the 7th- to 8th-c. CE residences, nearly all in secondary usage. Surface treatments of the ceramics were common, especially scoring and marking. Noticeable is the use of a “beige washed” surface (83–84), the applied wash being prepared from local clays, according to tests. Much if not all of the ceramic building materials retrieved originated in the kilns of Jarash. Repurposing of the materials was universal, achieved by cutting mostly roof tiles into useable items from floor foundations to stoppers. Moving beyond just descriptions of “ceramic building materials,” this chapter deals with the ever-changing afterlife of Jarash's long-lasting roof tiles.
Specialist technical reports on the ceramics follow. Chapter 6 (171–89, P. Ebeling and G. H. Barfod) presents a report on the use of macroscopic, microscopic, and chemical analyses of building ceramics at Jarash from the 4th to 8th c. CE, followed by a short report on the technological basis of a tile with a finish of beige wash overpainted in red and black. Chapter 7 (191–99, G. H. Barfod, P. Ebling, and C. E. Lesher) discusses the technology of kiln firing at Jarash as seen in overfired (melted) ceramics. The chemical composition of the roof tile samples unusually shows little change between unmelted and melted sample parts, whereas texture and color changed, with the melted parts becoming blacked, glassy, and more vesiculated at around 1000 °C.
Chapter 8 (201–386, K. D. Thomsen) constitutes, almost, the totality of Volume 9.2 – which raises the question as to why principal authors do not get bibliographical recognition in edited volumes.Footnote 39 The catalogue holds 981 specimens of painted wall plaster selected from an original count of some 5,000 plus. The presentation of these specimens is arranged chronologically, with the specimens in each period arranged according to the field finds number. Although an evidence could hold numerous fragments, the catalogued specimens are individually identified by a catalogue number (number + trench letter, in this case). Focusing on the three mid-7th- to 8th-c. CE residences, 310 fragments are listed, often with photographs of good color balance and exposure. However, the photographic display stops abruptly after catalogue number 750 (351). No Munsell readings are given. The comments section commences with a quick review of historic wall paintings in Jordan, after which the author embarks on an analysis of the wall pieces. The three residences, supported by firm dating and contextual integrity,Footnote 40 are featured. Of these residences, Unit P/V returned a large collection of richly colored plaster specimens from rooms on an upper floor (or floors) in patterns of multicolored bands and circles. On the ground floors, the walls were plastered and decorated with stuccowork. A residence adjacent to Unit P/V, Unit K, was under renovation. Two conclusions can be drawn from these observations. First, both residences had been continuously altered and maintained from their construction sometime in the 7th c. until a powerful earthquake struck; and second, the richly decorated plaster walls and mosaic carpets of, especially, Unit P/V reached beyond what was expected in a modest abode, indicating, through a confident display of panache and sangfroid, that these buildings were the residences of Jarashī elites.
With Chapter 9 (387–96, G. H. Barfod), the elevated status of the NWQ community in the 7th and 8th c. CE becomes even more apparent.Footnote 41 In Unit P/V, the pigments used in the plaster wall paintwork were subjected to chemical analysis. Colors were commonly red, yellow, orange, green, and grey/black formed from ochres, “green earths,” charcoal/soot and, in rare instances, minium, all of which were mixed with lime for application. The toxins of minium (a lead derivative), used in the manufacture of orange pigments, and realgar (derived from arsenic), added to enhance reds, were likely acquired at a significant cost (393–94). Not surprisingly, all three specimens with the costly but color-enhancing toxic additives came from the most lavishly decorated residence in the NWQ, that of Unit P.
Chapter 10 (397–423, W. T. Wootton) deals with three categories of mosaics: mosaic panels found in situ, dislocated fragments of mosaic panels imbedded in floor mortar, and loose tesserae and offcuts. The material is arranged by chronology, then by trench, with commentaries on technology and techniques predominating. While mosaic fragments from fill contexts may give some hope of a late 1st- to early 4th-c. CE structure high up in the NWQ, the in situ carpets of the Mosaic Hall and the presence of floor mosaics in the upper rooms of the 7th- to 8th-c. CE residences – all functional in purpose – reveal an ongoing commitment to the creation of meaningful and inspiring interiors after Justinian, that is, from the later 6th into the 8th c. CE. The chapter, however, does not go much beyond describing the mosaics, comparing technical traits, and discussing inscriptions.
Endnotes
It is probably too early to come to a grand conclusion on the eventual achievement of the series “Final Publications from the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project.” Without the necessary core information, especially inter-trench stratigraphic sequencing, the value of the studies in these pioneering volumes is degraded. Patience, then, is necessary, but some volume indexing and principal context lists would have helped. Nevertheless, being able to review four consecutive volumes has assisted understanding and brightened optimism. Even though the contents of the various “finds” catalogues were differently arranged to meet author preferences, in the end they all revolve around the site/evidence numbering tag applied diligently in the field, it would seem. Accessing the numbers individually across catalogues, though, may be challenging without assistance, which will become even more important with the publication of the ceramic type series, hopefully in all its minutiae including troublesome unknowns. The JNWQP has already acknowledged that research does not always get the outcomes expected (above, Vol. 1, 139–54, Philippsen and Olsen), and it would be particularly informative to see the unknowns alongside the obvious knowns of primarily Jarash manufacture.Footnote 42
A recent paper by A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja has provided the briefest of summaries on the JNWQP, followed by eight pages of bibliography.Footnote 43 The bibliography ends with a listing of earlier books by the authors that functioned as the “Research Basis” for the project. As referenced previously, Lichtenberger argues that the NWQ/Temple of Artemis precinct was founded in Hellenistic times to serve the town's “natives,”Footnote 44 whereas Raja's book argues for a 2nd-c. CE date for the temple, circuit wall, and urban grid between wall and temple.Footnote 45 Not so, says the archaeology, apparently, for there was, in the NWQ, “little activity in the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods,”Footnote 46 and the grid turns out to be no earlier than “late Roman,” but primarily “Byzantine.”Footnote 47 The four volumes reviewed here show how the JNWQP has adapted to this new reality, bringing valuable “new insights” to our understanding of the Northwest Quarter of Jarash.
