Dating the Fortress of Umm Tawabin, Jordan: Results of Radiocarbon Dating Analysis

Abstract

Umm Tawabin is a large fortress (elevation 200 b.m.l.) strategically situated on top of a mountain overlooking the northern Wadi ʿArabah in Jordan. The site comprises a citadel with the remains of a fort (Fort A), as well as three collapsed stone buildings (Forts B–D), over one hundred circular stone enclosures, a dam, road and quarry all spread across an area 880 by 450 m in size that is fortified by a 2.5 km long casemate wall. Umm Tawabin had not been fully investigated since it was discovered in the late 19th century by a Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) expedition (Abujaber and Cobbing 2005, 36–38, Hart 1885, 266, Hull 1889, 121, Kitchener 1883, 216–17) until the Ghor as-Safi Project survey (Ariotti 2017) and excavations (Ariotti 2021; Politis and Ariotti 2020), co-sponsored by the PEF and with permission from the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoAJ excavation permits 2015/1, 2017/1 and 2018/1) that have addressed questions concerning the extent, function (or multiple functions) and dating of the site for the first time.