Supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Khirbet al-Batrawy
Season 2017
Preliminary Report on the 13th Season of Archaeological Investigations and Restorations at Khirbet al-Batrawy by Rome "La Sapienza" University
«URBAN ORIGINS IN THE WADI AZ-ZARQA:THE CASE OF KHIRBAT AL-BATRĀWĪ»
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE 13TH SEASON (2017) OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AND RESTORATIONS AT KHIRBET AL-BATRAWY BY ROME «LA SAPIENZA» UNIVERSITY
Project duration: 5 years
Sponsor: Rome «La Sapienza» University - Faculty of Letters, Department of Oriental Studies – P.le A. Moro, 5-I - 00185 Rome (also supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research) Director: Prof. Lorenzo Nigro (Field Co-Director 2017: Dr. Elisabetta Gallo) DoA representative: Mr. Romel Gharib
Abstract The thirteenth season (2017) of archaeological excavations and restorations at Khirbet al-Batrawy was devoted to the exploration of the northern fortifications, displaced on four roughly parallel lines on the slope of the khirbat (fig. 1), with a special focus on the investigation of the Main Inner City-Wall (MIW) in the stretch where the huge Northern Bastion (T.830) flanks it for more than 20 m. Inside the Bastion a blocked Gate (L.860) was identified in the last season (2016), and this suggested to resume the work there to investigate it. Before digging inside this Bastion and the attached Main Inner Wall, the excavation encountered the stratified remains of some dwellings erected over the ruins of the Early Bronze Age II-III city by the inhabitants of the EB IV village. The careful removal of these remains has thus provided further information of what was the latest stable occupation of the mound of Batrawy in the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. The huge Bastion was further excavated to the west, after a careful restoration of its northern and eastern walls, in a trench 9.2 m long and 5.5 m wide (Area B North). These massive structures, respectively 2.2-1.65 m wide, made of large limestone boulders in the lower courses and big stones in the upper ones, were preserved with a height of 1.5-2.5 m for a length of more than 21 m. Inside them, a rectangular room, filled up with big stones, concealed the northern face of the Main Inner Wall with Gate L.860, a blocked entrance to the city 3 m wide. In order to explore this passage from both the outer and the inner side, a 13.6 m long and 3 m wide strip was, thus, excavated also inside the MIW (Area B South). The stratigraphy of the Gate area, the overlying EB IV pits and structures, and the impressive state of EB II-III architectures (with 1.5-3.5 m preserved height in elevation), exemplifies the history and the power of the city during the 3rd millennium BC. Batrawy multiple city-walls represent a unique summary of the city history, from its foundation at the eve of the 4th millennium BC, to its first destruction due to a tremendous earthquake towards 2700 BC, the following reconstruction of EB IIIA, then another destruction and final fire which destroyed the city around 2300 BC. Afterwards, during the last century of the 3rd millennium BC, a small rural village occupied the ruins of what had been a flourishing city. A cycle of destructions and reconstructions illustrating the main historical-archaeological periods of the site well-framed into the history of the early urbanization of Southern Levant (Nigro2013a; 2017a). The thirteenth season (2017) has, moreover, revealed that a limited but substantial occupation in the Late Iron Age also involved the site. A massive building very badly preserved due to blocks pillaging and erosion, was uncovered near the north-western top of the site, possibly a tower or a keep, cutting through the MIW and Bastion T.830 at the western edge of the 2017 excavation area. Nonetheless, five major occupational periods have been distinguished on basis of comprehensive studies of stratigraphy, architecture, finds, and especially pottery seriation, as well as thanks to radiocarbon and other physicochemical analyses: Period Batrawy I (Early Bronze I, 3300-3000 BC); Period Batrawy II (Early Bronze II, 3000-2700 BC); Period Batrawy IIIA (Early Bronze IIIA, 2700-2500 BC); Period Batrawy IIIB (2500-2300 BC); and Period Batrawy IV (Early Bronze IVA-B, 2200-2000 BC). A gap of about a century (2300-2200 BC, corresponding to Period Batrawy IVA) apparently followed the final destruction of the EB II-III city, before the establishment of the EB IVB rural village during Period Batrawy IVB (2200-2000 BC). Finally, a very limited occupation is represented by a tower in use in the Late Iron Age (586-333 BC, Period Batrawy V). This chronological timeline, firmly based upon stratigraphy, and the absence of successive archaeological or modern superimpositions, makes Batrawy a reference site for the Early Bronze Age in the whole Levant.
1. Introduction: the thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy
Archaeological investigations and restorations undertaken by Rome «La Sapienza» University Expedition to Jordan continued in 2017 at the site of Khirbet al-Batrawy (fig. 2; Lat. 32°05',218" N, Long. 36°04',237"E), the Early Bronze Age II-III (3000-2300 BC) major fortified centre, and EB IVB (2200-2000 BC) village, arisen upon a rocky hill dominating the ford through Wadi az-Zarqa. Archaeological investigations and restoration works were carried out under the aegis of the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between October 7th and 27th 2017. Investigations were focused on Gate L.860 in the Main Inner Wall, as well as on the excavation of the street inside the MIW for a stretch of about 14 m of length from the area of the "Palace of the Copper Axes" to that of the blocked Gate (Area B South, § 3.1), and in the completion of the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830, the major defensive work protruding off of the line of the MIW in its westernmost stretch (Area B North, § 3.2) In the upper layers of both Areas B North and B South, Early Bronze Age IVB remains were excavated mainly consisting of dwellings and pits (§ 3.3). Finally, a 2 m long stretch of the external fortifications was excavated to investigate the prosecution westwards of the Northern Bastion T.830 and the Outer Wall W.155 (§ 3.4).
1.1. Goals of the thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy
The main goal of the thirteenth season (2017) was the investigation of blocked Gate L.860 in the Main Inner Wall, including the completion of the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830 (figs. 3-4). The second goal of the season was the excavation of the Early Bronze Age IV dwellings overlying the western part of the Bastion. These structures were to be connected to others already excavated in previous seasons (Nigro ed. 2012, 189-214, pl. IV) and can better illustrate the life of the village arisen upon the ruins of the EB II-III city (fig. 5). Finally, the third goal was the completion of restoration works both of the aligned city-walls (Main Inner Wall, Outer Wall, Exterior Wall), and of the Northern Bastion (northern wall W.837, and eastern wall W.835: these structures reach an height of more than 2 m and were in danger of collapse).
2. Techniques and methodologies
Following the operational and technical standard already established in previous seasons (Nigro ed. 2012; Nigro 2010a; 2011; 2012a; 2012b; 2013a; 2013b; 2013c; 2014a; 2016a; 2016b; Nigro - Sala 2010; 2011; 2012), the excavation inside the Northern Bastion of the northern fortification was continued by carefully digging from the west to the east with a strictly stratigraphic method from top to down (fig. 6). Inside the MIW, in Area B South two stratigraphic sections (southern and western) were kept to reconstruct the occupational sequence inside the blocked Gate, and between it and the wall of an EB IVB building on the opposite side of the street (W.873). A huge amount of fallen down stones was removed from the site, after careful examination and documentation, excluding stones selected for being re-used in restoration works. No dump was left upon the site, as to allow an easier reading of archaeological features, in view of a future tourist valorization of Batrawy. Samples of soil and organic remains were collected and processed at the House of the Expedition in order to get chemico-physical information. Stratigraphic sections, architectural sections and overlays were drawn on the spot and then by CAD. Excavated features underwent optical scanning, in order to obtain a 3D model of the multiple lines of fortification on the northern slope of the khirbat. Pottery is carefully examined by reading it and classifying fabrics and surface treatments. A distinguished series of analyses carried out in previous seasons (Nigro et al. 2013; 2016; 2017) allow to better distinguish wares, productions and functions of vessels. Moreover, also pottery types were recorded by means of 3D optical devices.
3. Results of the thirteenth season (2017)
The thirteenth season (2017) was focused on the excavation across the Main Inner Wall and inside the Northern Bastion T.830 in order to explore Gate L.860, a major opening 3 m wide identified through the body of the Main Inner Wall just behind the filling of big stones inside of the Northern Bastion. The chronology of this Gate seems relevant, as well as its accessibility, since Bastion T.830 completely blocked it.
3.1. Area B South: the excavation of Gate L.860
Gate L.860 was originally opened through the MIW (fig. 7), some 26 m west of Gate L.160 (Nigro ed. 2008, 87, 245-268, fig. 3.37). It was 3 m wide, that is about the double of the width of Gate L.160 and approximately the thickness of the Main City Wall where the gate crosses it. The eastern and western jambs were reinforced by squared limestone blocks laid as headers and stretchers in the MIW. Its width made it impossible to roof the passageway with a sole capstone, and it thus suggests that wooden ceilings or a mudbricks vault were used. When the Gate went out of use, apparently after the earthquake which hit the city towards the end of the Early Bronze II, it was carefully closed, as like as Gate L.160, possibly to strengthen the MIW, by a massive wall (W.867), incorporating big limestone boulders. Traces of the earthquake are visible both on the eastern jamb of the gate, and some meters west of the western one, consisting of vertical cracks running across overlaid blocks. Four pits had cut through the gate environs (fig. 8). A major one, roughly 8 m of diameter and 1 m deep, called pit P.859, was cut during the Early Bronze IV occupation of the site (fig. 9). It extended horizontally from the southern edge of the blocking wall W.867 northwards (one single line of carefully laid rectangular blocks forming the curtain of the reconstructed EB III Main Inner Wall, named wall W.867 South, which was preserved with three superimposed courses above the bottom of the pit). The filling inside the pit (F.872) yielded EB IV ceramic materials, animal bones, small and medium size stones. A second pit (P.877), dug from the western limit of the excavation area inside the MIW to the north, was sunk into the latter from a Late Iron Age structure built up above. A third pit (P.871) was a circular one (1.3 m wide, 1 m deep) exactly dug into the eastern jamb of the Gate and inside it, as to remove a series (at least four courses judging from what is preserved on the outer side of the MIW) of well hewn blocks. A fourth pit (P.865) was dug immediately inside the inner face of MIW, and recognized in the eastern part of the excavated area. It was a semicircular one (2.5 m wide, 1.2 m deep), filled up with small and medium size stones, and yielded mixed materials from the EB III-IV up to the Mameluke Period. The street along the city-wall was excavated for a length of 14 m, from the "Palace of the Copper Axes" westwards, and a width of 3 m. Under the surface layer F.863, with mixed materials ranging from EB II to the Late Iron Age and Mameluke Period, there was a filling with EB IV materials (F.874). Below, a collapse layer (F.876) with fallen stones and discharged materials was excavated, covered a stratum of soft ashy soil, including broken bricks, charcoals, and several pottery sherds and animal bones: this was the destruction layer of the EB IIIB. It was at least 0.7 m deep, and was excavated in three successive cuts, named respectively F.878/I, F.878/II and F.878/III. Just in front of the inner eastern jamb of Gate L.860, a stone wall was uncovered (W.873), apparently dated to a latest (possibly EB IVB) use of the structures. The destruction layer F.878 covered a floor (L898) of beaten earth, with gritty chalck plastering along the inner face of the MIW and wall W.867 South. The floor gently slopes from the west to the east (from 657.38 m to 657.24 m) and represents the paving of the EB IIIB street running inside the MIW (fig. 10).
3.2. Area B North: the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830
The Northern Bastion T.830 proved to be a major defensive work, added to the Main Inner Wall due to a huge breach in this structure, possibly caused by an inner subsiding of the construction or by a collapse due to an earthquake occurred during the Early Bronze II. This gave the hint at reinforcing the sensible spot of the fortifications by letting a massive tower to abut from the line of the MIW. The Northern Bastion was thus erected setting its foundations into the bedrock and using big roughly cut limestone boulders of around 1.05 m length in the lowest courses. The best preserved parts of Bastion walls were 2.5 m high (the MIW reaches 3.8 m). During the 2017 season the northern and western walls of the Bastion were completely restored with antique-like mortar. The former wall W.837 was 2.1 m wide (= 4 cubits), while the latter wall W.835 was 1.65 m wide (= 3 cubits). The northern front wall, W.837, reached the length of 21 m, that is 40 cubits of 0.525 m, so that the ratio of the rectangular plan of the tower was 1:4. The original walls (W.835 and W.837) of the Bastion embodied big boulders (up to 1.05 m/2 cubits long) only in the two lower courses, while in the upper ones only the outer curtain incorporated regular large size stone blocks, fixed by means of limestone chops and small stones tied up with a relatively weak mud mortar. The inner filling of these walls was made of medium sized stones laid on superimposed layers of a regular thickness. The inner filling of the Bastion, consisting of a layer of big stones and blocks (F.894), was cleared off, and the space emptied thus showing the original outer northern face of the Main Inner City-Wall (fig. 11).
3.3. Area B North: the EB IVB dwellings
Just upon the filled up end of the Northern Bastion a series of EB IVB dwellings were discovered (fig. 12). A single-line wall (W.885), NW-SE oriented and flanked by an open working surface (L.888), hosting a semi-circular installation (S.884). It joined at the edge of the site, just over W.837, a double-line structure (W.883), E-W oriented (fig. 13). The open yard, L.888, was paved with gravel and it was delimited to the east by a third double-line wall, N-S oriented, called W.887. This wall was flanked by a small silos (S.886) to the west (fig. 14). Few ceramic fragments and a basalt saddle quern were found in this space. The fourth southern limit of the yard was a double-line wall (W.891), very badly preserved, uncovered at the edge of the sounding. A further installation (fig. 15), a stone platform (S.889), was uncovered east of W.887 in another space called L.890. Inside the platform a flint pestle was found (KB.17.B.7, fig. 16). Underneath this layer of occupation, a levelling layer (F.892), sloping eastwards and including gravel, was detected. It yielded a fragmentary EB IVB four-lips lamp (KB.17.B.892/1, fig. 17).
3.4. External fortifications on the northern slope of the khirbat
Along with the restoration of the upper section of wall W.837 of Bastion T.830, the corridor (L.838) between such a structure and the underlying Outer Wall W.155 was excavated, for a length of 2 m. The collapse layer F.852 was completely removed in order to expose the unferlying EB IIIB destruction layer (F.834) and follow the prosecution towards west of wall W.837 of the Northern Bastion and of Outer Wall W.155. The outer northern battering face of the latter was just exposed towards the west by digging in the lower terrace between the latter and the Exterior Wall, after the removal of the later EB IV Embankment which concealed all of these defensive lines merging them into a unique mantle wall surfaced by stones (W.811). The whole system thus bridged a height of 5.5 m, across an overall width of the aligned and terraced walls of about 16 m.
4. Site valorization
The Expedition is strongly committed in the site protection and valorization. All of the architectural structures uncovered in the previous seasons have undergone a careful restoration (Nigro 2013c), so that the EB II-III Broad-Room Temple in Area F (Nigro - Sala 2010, 238; Nigro 2013b, 192-195), the EB III "Palace of the Copper Axes" in Area B South, as well as the EB II City-Gate in Area B North (Nigro 2010b; 2012c; 2016b), are now fully restored. In this campaign (2017), the Northern Bastion continued to be the focus of a major restoration. Works were concentrated inside it in order to complete the rehabilitation and to set up draining devices through the walls. This preserved the original structure of the monument but strengthen its resistance to rainwater. The inner walls were restored with traditional antique-like lime mortar especially to the north (W.837) and to the east (W.835).
5. Protection of the site
Further protection of the site, both from illegal looters and modern urban development of the surrounding city of Zarqa, was pursued thanks to the strong cooperation with the local office of the Department of Antiquities and the local inspector Mr. Romel Gharib. With the establishment of an official guardian the site is protected by looters, however, building activities are developing very fast all around it and the facing hill of Beitrawy has been transformed into a new quarter of Zarqa Jedida (fig. 18). A line has been marked in correspondence of a step in the bedrock so to mark the unsurmountable limit. However, there is the problem of guaranteeing the site a relatively easy access from the north-east, the only side where a group of tourist can climb it. Two new houses were built near the site in 2015-2017.
6. Recommendations
The Expedition suggestion is to involve local authorities into the process for the site valorization and tourist exploitation. Batrawy is located not far from Route 36 and its junction with the new auto-route running into Wadi az-Zarqa. In the future, it may represent an easy stop for coaches carrying tourist group to Jerash (Nigro 2013a, 503). Moreover, the extraordinary finds from the "Palace of the Copper Axes" (Nigro 2010a; 2010b; 2010c; 2012c; 2014a; 2014b; 2014c, 263-267; 2015), presently kept into the local DoA storeroom of Qasr Shebib, might be the nucleus of a local archaeological museum. Most noticeable finds (such as the four strings necklace [Nigro 2012c, 229-232; fig. 20], a fifth copper axe [Nigro - Sala 2012, 51], several beautiful vessels [Nigro 2010a, 563-567; 2010b), furthermore, may be set on display both in the new National Archaeological Museum and in the Jordan Museum in Amman.
7. Conclusions
The thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy contributed to a deeper and more detailed knowledge of this ancient city of Jordan, of its monumental defensive system, its inner layout, as well as of its history, economy and social organization also in the Early Bronze Age IV after the fall of the flourishing EB II-III city. A variety of data was gathered and processed in order to improve the historical reconstruction within a firmly based interpretation. During excavation and restoration activities, monuments and materials were carefully documented and restored (§ 9). Archaeological material retrieved in the campaign are processed with classification and insertion of data in interactive databases, which collect all information on finds (from the typological ones to the spatial and stratigraphic ones); drawings, graphic and photographic documentation; restorations and systematic gathering of samples for analyses; reconstruction of the original archaeological contexts, also accomplished throughout chemical-physical analyses, in order to reconstruct the material conditions of life of the urban phase under examination, and to provide numerous indications on the economic conditions, the system of production, the strategies of survival and the social organization of the community (Nigro 2011, 64; 2014c, 262). The final aim of this work is the prompt publication of all data in preliminary reports (= Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 3, 6, 8), as well as by means of fast publications of the discoveries and the web-site of the Expedition (www.lasapienzatojordan.it). The results of field activities and tourist valorisation of Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition to Khirbet al-Batrawy were divulgated in years 2015-2017 with the publication of the volume ROSAPAT 10, devoted to Prof. Moawwiyah Ibrahim Festschrift, as well as with a series of articles in scientific journal (such as ADAJ, AJA, Scienze dell’Antichità, Syria, Vicino Oriente), and posters and papers presented to International Congresses. A wider presentation to the vast public, also finalized to the tourist exploitation, is available in the internet site of the Expedition (home page of the project: www.lasapienzatojordan.it). A further information (Nigro 2017b) is offered by the just appeared volume of ROSAPAT 12, L. Nigro - M. Nucciotti - E. Gallo (eds.), Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016, Rome 2017.
8. References (2010-2017)
L. NIGRO - M. NUCCIOTTI - E. GALLO eds. 2017 = Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016 (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 12), Rome 2017.
NIGRO 2017a = L. Nigro, The end of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. Urban Crisis and Collapse seen from two 3rd Millennium BC-Cities: Tell es-Sultan/Jericho and Khirbet al-Batrawy, in T. CUNNINGHM, J. DRIESSEN (eds.), Crisis to Collapse. The Archaeology of Social Breakdown (AEGIS 11), Louvain 2017: 149-172.
NIGRO 2017b = L. Nigro, Water and power. Early cities in Jordan and water control in the 3rd millennium BC: the case of Batrawy, in L. NIGRO, M. NUCCIOTTI, E. GALLO (eds.), Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016 (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 12), Rome 2017: 1-14.
NIGRO et al. 2017 = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy ceramics: a systematic mineralogical and petrographic study for investigating the material culture. Periodico di Mineralogia 86 (2017): 19-35: co-authored with L. Medeghini.
NIGRO 2016a = L. Nigro, Khirbat al-Batrawy. American Journal of Archaeology 120:4 (2016): 645-646.
NIGRO 2016b = L. Nigro Khirbat al-Batrawi 2010-2013: The City Defences and the Palace of Copper Axes. Studies on the History and Archaeology of Jordan XII: Transparent Borders (Department of Antiquities of Jordan), Amman 2016: 135-154.
NIGRO et al. 2016 = L. Nigro, The ceramic of the "Palace of the Copper Axes (Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan): A palatial special production. Ceramics International 42 (2016): 5952-5962; co-authored with L. Medeghini, L. Fabrizi, C. De Vito, S. Mignardi, E. Gallo, C. Fiaccavento.
NIGRO 2015 = L. Nigro, The Copper Axes Hoard in the Early Bronze IIIb Palace of Batrawy, Jordan, in K. ROSIŃSKA-BALIK, A. OCHAŁ-CZARNOWICZ, M. CZARNOWICZ, J. D?BOWSKA-LUDWIN (eds.), Copper and Trade in the South-Eastern Mediterranean: Trade routes of the Near East in Antiquity (BAR IS2753), Oxford 2015: 77-83.
NIGRO 2014a = L. Nigro, Khirbat al-Batrawy, in G.J. CORBETT, D.R. KELLER, B.A. PORTER, CH.A. TUTTLE (eds.), Archaeology in Jordan, 2012 and 2013 Seasons, in American Journal of Archaeology 118 (2014): 644-645.
NIGRO 2014b = L. Nigro, The Copper Routes and the Egyptian Connection in 3rd millennium BC Jordan seen from the caravan city of Khirbet al-Batrawy. Vicino Oriente XVIII (2014): 39-64.
NIGRO 2014c = L. Nigro, The King's Cup and the Bear Skin. Royal Ostentation in the Early Bronze III "Palace of the Copper Axes" at Khirbet al-Batrawy, in Z. KAFAFI - M. MARAQTEN (eds.), A Pioneer of Arabia. Studies in the Archaeology and Epigraphy of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula in Honor of Moawiyah Ibrahim (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 10), Rome 2014: 261-270.
NIGRO 2013a = L. Nigro, Urban Origins in the Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā', Jordan: The City of Khirbat al-Batrāwī in the third Millennium BC, in F. AL-HMOUD (ed.), Studies on the History and Archaeology of Jordan XI (Department of Antiquities, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Amman 2013: 486-506.
NIGRO 2013b = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy. An Early Bronze Age city at the fringes of the desert. Syria 90 (2013): 189-209.
NIGRO 2013c = L. Nigro, The City of the Copper Axes: Archaeological Research, Restoration and Training in the Early Bronze Age site of Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan, in B. CASSANI (ed.), Sapienza in the Mediterranean Region. Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation: Programs and Projects, Rome 2013: 113-115.
NIGRO - SALA 2013 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report of the Eighth Season (2012) of Excavations by the University of Rome "La Sapienza" at Khirbat al-Batrawi (Upper Wadiaz-Zarqa)". in HAWLIYYAT DA’IRAT AL-ATAR AL-'AMMAT 57 (2013): 217-228.
NIGRO et al. 2013 = L. Nigro, The key role of micro-Raman spectroscopy in the study of ancient pottery: the case of pre-classical Jordanian ceramics from the archaeological site of Khirbet al-Batrawy. European Journal of Mineralogy 25 (2013): 881-893; co-authored with L. Medeghini, S. Mignardi, C. De Vito, D. Bersani, P.P. Lottici, M. Turetta, J. Costantini, E. Bacchini, M. Sala, NIGRO 2012a = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy. American Journal of Archaeology 116/4 (2012): 705-706.
NIGRO 2012b = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy: Rise, Flourish and Collapse of an Early Bronze Age City in Jordan, in R. MATTHEWS - J. CURTIS (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 12 April - 16 April 2010, the British Museum and UCL, London, Wiesbaden 2012, Volume 1: 609-628.
NIGRO 2012c = L. Nigro, An EB IIIB (2500-2300 BC) gemstones necklace from the Palace of the Copper Axes at Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan. Vicino Oriente XVI (2012): 227-243.
NIGRO ed. 2012 = L. Nigro (ed.), Khirbet al-Batrawy III. The EB II-III triple fortification line and the EB IIIB quarter inside the city-wall. Preliminary report of the fourth (2008) and fifth (2009) seasons of excavations (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 8), Rome 2012.
NIGRO - SALA 2012 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report on the Seventh (2011) Season of Excavation by "La Sapienza" University of Rome at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 56 (2012): 45-54.
NIGRO 2011= L. Nigro, Dominating the River: Khirbet al-Batrawy, an EB II-III City in North-Central Jordan. Syria 88 (2011): 59-74.
NIGRO - SALA 2011 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report on the Sixth (2010) Season of Excavation by "La Sapienza" University of Rome at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011): 85-100.
NIGRO 2010a = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy: a third millennium city in Jordan. American Journal of Archaeology 114 (2010): 514-516.
NIGRO 2010b = L. Nigro, In the Palace of the Copper Axes/Nel Palazzo delle Asce di Rame. Khirbat al-Batrāwī: the discovery of a forgotten city of the III millennium BC in Jordan/Khirbat al-Batrāwī: la scoperta di una città dimenticata del III millennio a.C. in Giordania (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, Colour Monographs I), Rome 2010.
NIGRO 2010c = L. Nigro, Quattro asce di rame dal Palazzo B di Khirbet al-Batrawy (Bronzo Antico IIIB, 2500-2300 a.C.). Scienze dell'Antichità 16 (2010): 561-572.
NIGRO - SALA 2010 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, "Preliminary Report on the Fifth Season (2009) of Excavations at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'), by the University of Rome "La Sapienza". ADAJ 54 (2010): 237-253.
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE 13TH SEASON (2017) OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AND RESTORATIONS AT KHIRBET AL-BATRAWY BY ROME «LA SAPIENZA» UNIVERSITY
Project duration: 5 years
Sponsor: Rome «La Sapienza» University - Faculty of Letters, Department of Oriental Studies – P.le A. Moro, 5-I - 00185 Rome (also supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research) Director: Prof. Lorenzo Nigro (Field Co-Director 2017: Dr. Elisabetta Gallo) DoA representative: Mr. Romel Gharib
Abstract The thirteenth season (2017) of archaeological excavations and restorations at Khirbet al-Batrawy was devoted to the exploration of the northern fortifications, displaced on four roughly parallel lines on the slope of the khirbat (fig. 1), with a special focus on the investigation of the Main Inner City-Wall (MIW) in the stretch where the huge Northern Bastion (T.830) flanks it for more than 20 m. Inside the Bastion a blocked Gate (L.860) was identified in the last season (2016), and this suggested to resume the work there to investigate it. Before digging inside this Bastion and the attached Main Inner Wall, the excavation encountered the stratified remains of some dwellings erected over the ruins of the Early Bronze Age II-III city by the inhabitants of the EB IV village. The careful removal of these remains has thus provided further information of what was the latest stable occupation of the mound of Batrawy in the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. The huge Bastion was further excavated to the west, after a careful restoration of its northern and eastern walls, in a trench 9.2 m long and 5.5 m wide (Area B North). These massive structures, respectively 2.2-1.65 m wide, made of large limestone boulders in the lower courses and big stones in the upper ones, were preserved with a height of 1.5-2.5 m for a length of more than 21 m. Inside them, a rectangular room, filled up with big stones, concealed the northern face of the Main Inner Wall with Gate L.860, a blocked entrance to the city 3 m wide. In order to explore this passage from both the outer and the inner side, a 13.6 m long and 3 m wide strip was, thus, excavated also inside the MIW (Area B South). The stratigraphy of the Gate area, the overlying EB IV pits and structures, and the impressive state of EB II-III architectures (with 1.5-3.5 m preserved height in elevation), exemplifies the history and the power of the city during the 3rd millennium BC. Batrawy multiple city-walls represent a unique summary of the city history, from its foundation at the eve of the 4th millennium BC, to its first destruction due to a tremendous earthquake towards 2700 BC, the following reconstruction of EB IIIA, then another destruction and final fire which destroyed the city around 2300 BC. Afterwards, during the last century of the 3rd millennium BC, a small rural village occupied the ruins of what had been a flourishing city. A cycle of destructions and reconstructions illustrating the main historical-archaeological periods of the site well-framed into the history of the early urbanization of Southern Levant (Nigro2013a; 2017a). The thirteenth season (2017) has, moreover, revealed that a limited but substantial occupation in the Late Iron Age also involved the site. A massive building very badly preserved due to blocks pillaging and erosion, was uncovered near the north-western top of the site, possibly a tower or a keep, cutting through the MIW and Bastion T.830 at the western edge of the 2017 excavation area. Nonetheless, five major occupational periods have been distinguished on basis of comprehensive studies of stratigraphy, architecture, finds, and especially pottery seriation, as well as thanks to radiocarbon and other physicochemical analyses: Period Batrawy I (Early Bronze I, 3300-3000 BC); Period Batrawy II (Early Bronze II, 3000-2700 BC); Period Batrawy IIIA (Early Bronze IIIA, 2700-2500 BC); Period Batrawy IIIB (2500-2300 BC); and Period Batrawy IV (Early Bronze IVA-B, 2200-2000 BC). A gap of about a century (2300-2200 BC, corresponding to Period Batrawy IVA) apparently followed the final destruction of the EB II-III city, before the establishment of the EB IVB rural village during Period Batrawy IVB (2200-2000 BC). Finally, a very limited occupation is represented by a tower in use in the Late Iron Age (586-333 BC, Period Batrawy V). This chronological timeline, firmly based upon stratigraphy, and the absence of successive archaeological or modern superimpositions, makes Batrawy a reference site for the Early Bronze Age in the whole Levant.
1. Introduction: the thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy
Archaeological investigations and restorations undertaken by Rome «La Sapienza» University Expedition to Jordan continued in 2017 at the site of Khirbet al-Batrawy (fig. 2; Lat. 32°05',218" N, Long. 36°04',237"E), the Early Bronze Age II-III (3000-2300 BC) major fortified centre, and EB IVB (2200-2000 BC) village, arisen upon a rocky hill dominating the ford through Wadi az-Zarqa. Archaeological investigations and restoration works were carried out under the aegis of the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between October 7th and 27th 2017. Investigations were focused on Gate L.860 in the Main Inner Wall, as well as on the excavation of the street inside the MIW for a stretch of about 14 m of length from the area of the "Palace of the Copper Axes" to that of the blocked Gate (Area B South, § 3.1), and in the completion of the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830, the major defensive work protruding off of the line of the MIW in its westernmost stretch (Area B North, § 3.2) In the upper layers of both Areas B North and B South, Early Bronze Age IVB remains were excavated mainly consisting of dwellings and pits (§ 3.3). Finally, a 2 m long stretch of the external fortifications was excavated to investigate the prosecution westwards of the Northern Bastion T.830 and the Outer Wall W.155 (§ 3.4).
1.1. Goals of the thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy
The main goal of the thirteenth season (2017) was the investigation of blocked Gate L.860 in the Main Inner Wall, including the completion of the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830 (figs. 3-4). The second goal of the season was the excavation of the Early Bronze Age IV dwellings overlying the western part of the Bastion. These structures were to be connected to others already excavated in previous seasons (Nigro ed. 2012, 189-214, pl. IV) and can better illustrate the life of the village arisen upon the ruins of the EB II-III city (fig. 5). Finally, the third goal was the completion of restoration works both of the aligned city-walls (Main Inner Wall, Outer Wall, Exterior Wall), and of the Northern Bastion (northern wall W.837, and eastern wall W.835: these structures reach an height of more than 2 m and were in danger of collapse).
2. Techniques and methodologies
Following the operational and technical standard already established in previous seasons (Nigro ed. 2012; Nigro 2010a; 2011; 2012a; 2012b; 2013a; 2013b; 2013c; 2014a; 2016a; 2016b; Nigro - Sala 2010; 2011; 2012), the excavation inside the Northern Bastion of the northern fortification was continued by carefully digging from the west to the east with a strictly stratigraphic method from top to down (fig. 6). Inside the MIW, in Area B South two stratigraphic sections (southern and western) were kept to reconstruct the occupational sequence inside the blocked Gate, and between it and the wall of an EB IVB building on the opposite side of the street (W.873). A huge amount of fallen down stones was removed from the site, after careful examination and documentation, excluding stones selected for being re-used in restoration works. No dump was left upon the site, as to allow an easier reading of archaeological features, in view of a future tourist valorization of Batrawy. Samples of soil and organic remains were collected and processed at the House of the Expedition in order to get chemico-physical information. Stratigraphic sections, architectural sections and overlays were drawn on the spot and then by CAD. Excavated features underwent optical scanning, in order to obtain a 3D model of the multiple lines of fortification on the northern slope of the khirbat. Pottery is carefully examined by reading it and classifying fabrics and surface treatments. A distinguished series of analyses carried out in previous seasons (Nigro et al. 2013; 2016; 2017) allow to better distinguish wares, productions and functions of vessels. Moreover, also pottery types were recorded by means of 3D optical devices.
3. Results of the thirteenth season (2017)
The thirteenth season (2017) was focused on the excavation across the Main Inner Wall and inside the Northern Bastion T.830 in order to explore Gate L.860, a major opening 3 m wide identified through the body of the Main Inner Wall just behind the filling of big stones inside of the Northern Bastion. The chronology of this Gate seems relevant, as well as its accessibility, since Bastion T.830 completely blocked it.
3.1. Area B South: the excavation of Gate L.860
Gate L.860 was originally opened through the MIW (fig. 7), some 26 m west of Gate L.160 (Nigro ed. 2008, 87, 245-268, fig. 3.37). It was 3 m wide, that is about the double of the width of Gate L.160 and approximately the thickness of the Main City Wall where the gate crosses it. The eastern and western jambs were reinforced by squared limestone blocks laid as headers and stretchers in the MIW. Its width made it impossible to roof the passageway with a sole capstone, and it thus suggests that wooden ceilings or a mudbricks vault were used. When the Gate went out of use, apparently after the earthquake which hit the city towards the end of the Early Bronze II, it was carefully closed, as like as Gate L.160, possibly to strengthen the MIW, by a massive wall (W.867), incorporating big limestone boulders. Traces of the earthquake are visible both on the eastern jamb of the gate, and some meters west of the western one, consisting of vertical cracks running across overlaid blocks. Four pits had cut through the gate environs (fig. 8). A major one, roughly 8 m of diameter and 1 m deep, called pit P.859, was cut during the Early Bronze IV occupation of the site (fig. 9). It extended horizontally from the southern edge of the blocking wall W.867 northwards (one single line of carefully laid rectangular blocks forming the curtain of the reconstructed EB III Main Inner Wall, named wall W.867 South, which was preserved with three superimposed courses above the bottom of the pit). The filling inside the pit (F.872) yielded EB IV ceramic materials, animal bones, small and medium size stones. A second pit (P.877), dug from the western limit of the excavation area inside the MIW to the north, was sunk into the latter from a Late Iron Age structure built up above. A third pit (P.871) was a circular one (1.3 m wide, 1 m deep) exactly dug into the eastern jamb of the Gate and inside it, as to remove a series (at least four courses judging from what is preserved on the outer side of the MIW) of well hewn blocks. A fourth pit (P.865) was dug immediately inside the inner face of MIW, and recognized in the eastern part of the excavated area. It was a semicircular one (2.5 m wide, 1.2 m deep), filled up with small and medium size stones, and yielded mixed materials from the EB III-IV up to the Mameluke Period. The street along the city-wall was excavated for a length of 14 m, from the "Palace of the Copper Axes" westwards, and a width of 3 m. Under the surface layer F.863, with mixed materials ranging from EB II to the Late Iron Age and Mameluke Period, there was a filling with EB IV materials (F.874). Below, a collapse layer (F.876) with fallen stones and discharged materials was excavated, covered a stratum of soft ashy soil, including broken bricks, charcoals, and several pottery sherds and animal bones: this was the destruction layer of the EB IIIB. It was at least 0.7 m deep, and was excavated in three successive cuts, named respectively F.878/I, F.878/II and F.878/III. Just in front of the inner eastern jamb of Gate L.860, a stone wall was uncovered (W.873), apparently dated to a latest (possibly EB IVB) use of the structures. The destruction layer F.878 covered a floor (L898) of beaten earth, with gritty chalck plastering along the inner face of the MIW and wall W.867 South. The floor gently slopes from the west to the east (from 657.38 m to 657.24 m) and represents the paving of the EB IIIB street running inside the MIW (fig. 10).
3.2. Area B North: the excavation of the Northern Bastion T.830
The Northern Bastion T.830 proved to be a major defensive work, added to the Main Inner Wall due to a huge breach in this structure, possibly caused by an inner subsiding of the construction or by a collapse due to an earthquake occurred during the Early Bronze II. This gave the hint at reinforcing the sensible spot of the fortifications by letting a massive tower to abut from the line of the MIW. The Northern Bastion was thus erected setting its foundations into the bedrock and using big roughly cut limestone boulders of around 1.05 m length in the lowest courses. The best preserved parts of Bastion walls were 2.5 m high (the MIW reaches 3.8 m). During the 2017 season the northern and western walls of the Bastion were completely restored with antique-like mortar. The former wall W.837 was 2.1 m wide (= 4 cubits), while the latter wall W.835 was 1.65 m wide (= 3 cubits). The northern front wall, W.837, reached the length of 21 m, that is 40 cubits of 0.525 m, so that the ratio of the rectangular plan of the tower was 1:4. The original walls (W.835 and W.837) of the Bastion embodied big boulders (up to 1.05 m/2 cubits long) only in the two lower courses, while in the upper ones only the outer curtain incorporated regular large size stone blocks, fixed by means of limestone chops and small stones tied up with a relatively weak mud mortar. The inner filling of these walls was made of medium sized stones laid on superimposed layers of a regular thickness. The inner filling of the Bastion, consisting of a layer of big stones and blocks (F.894), was cleared off, and the space emptied thus showing the original outer northern face of the Main Inner City-Wall (fig. 11).
3.3. Area B North: the EB IVB dwellings
Just upon the filled up end of the Northern Bastion a series of EB IVB dwellings were discovered (fig. 12). A single-line wall (W.885), NW-SE oriented and flanked by an open working surface (L.888), hosting a semi-circular installation (S.884). It joined at the edge of the site, just over W.837, a double-line structure (W.883), E-W oriented (fig. 13). The open yard, L.888, was paved with gravel and it was delimited to the east by a third double-line wall, N-S oriented, called W.887. This wall was flanked by a small silos (S.886) to the west (fig. 14). Few ceramic fragments and a basalt saddle quern were found in this space. The fourth southern limit of the yard was a double-line wall (W.891), very badly preserved, uncovered at the edge of the sounding. A further installation (fig. 15), a stone platform (S.889), was uncovered east of W.887 in another space called L.890. Inside the platform a flint pestle was found (KB.17.B.7, fig. 16). Underneath this layer of occupation, a levelling layer (F.892), sloping eastwards and including gravel, was detected. It yielded a fragmentary EB IVB four-lips lamp (KB.17.B.892/1, fig. 17).
3.4. External fortifications on the northern slope of the khirbat
Along with the restoration of the upper section of wall W.837 of Bastion T.830, the corridor (L.838) between such a structure and the underlying Outer Wall W.155 was excavated, for a length of 2 m. The collapse layer F.852 was completely removed in order to expose the unferlying EB IIIB destruction layer (F.834) and follow the prosecution towards west of wall W.837 of the Northern Bastion and of Outer Wall W.155. The outer northern battering face of the latter was just exposed towards the west by digging in the lower terrace between the latter and the Exterior Wall, after the removal of the later EB IV Embankment which concealed all of these defensive lines merging them into a unique mantle wall surfaced by stones (W.811). The whole system thus bridged a height of 5.5 m, across an overall width of the aligned and terraced walls of about 16 m.
4. Site valorization
The Expedition is strongly committed in the site protection and valorization. All of the architectural structures uncovered in the previous seasons have undergone a careful restoration (Nigro 2013c), so that the EB II-III Broad-Room Temple in Area F (Nigro - Sala 2010, 238; Nigro 2013b, 192-195), the EB III "Palace of the Copper Axes" in Area B South, as well as the EB II City-Gate in Area B North (Nigro 2010b; 2012c; 2016b), are now fully restored. In this campaign (2017), the Northern Bastion continued to be the focus of a major restoration. Works were concentrated inside it in order to complete the rehabilitation and to set up draining devices through the walls. This preserved the original structure of the monument but strengthen its resistance to rainwater. The inner walls were restored with traditional antique-like lime mortar especially to the north (W.837) and to the east (W.835).
5. Protection of the site
Further protection of the site, both from illegal looters and modern urban development of the surrounding city of Zarqa, was pursued thanks to the strong cooperation with the local office of the Department of Antiquities and the local inspector Mr. Romel Gharib. With the establishment of an official guardian the site is protected by looters, however, building activities are developing very fast all around it and the facing hill of Beitrawy has been transformed into a new quarter of Zarqa Jedida (fig. 18). A line has been marked in correspondence of a step in the bedrock so to mark the unsurmountable limit. However, there is the problem of guaranteeing the site a relatively easy access from the north-east, the only side where a group of tourist can climb it. Two new houses were built near the site in 2015-2017.
6. Recommendations
The Expedition suggestion is to involve local authorities into the process for the site valorization and tourist exploitation. Batrawy is located not far from Route 36 and its junction with the new auto-route running into Wadi az-Zarqa. In the future, it may represent an easy stop for coaches carrying tourist group to Jerash (Nigro 2013a, 503). Moreover, the extraordinary finds from the "Palace of the Copper Axes" (Nigro 2010a; 2010b; 2010c; 2012c; 2014a; 2014b; 2014c, 263-267; 2015), presently kept into the local DoA storeroom of Qasr Shebib, might be the nucleus of a local archaeological museum. Most noticeable finds (such as the four strings necklace [Nigro 2012c, 229-232; fig. 20], a fifth copper axe [Nigro - Sala 2012, 51], several beautiful vessels [Nigro 2010a, 563-567; 2010b), furthermore, may be set on display both in the new National Archaeological Museum and in the Jordan Museum in Amman.
7. Conclusions
The thirteenth season (2017) at Khirbet al-Batrawy contributed to a deeper and more detailed knowledge of this ancient city of Jordan, of its monumental defensive system, its inner layout, as well as of its history, economy and social organization also in the Early Bronze Age IV after the fall of the flourishing EB II-III city. A variety of data was gathered and processed in order to improve the historical reconstruction within a firmly based interpretation. During excavation and restoration activities, monuments and materials were carefully documented and restored (§ 9). Archaeological material retrieved in the campaign are processed with classification and insertion of data in interactive databases, which collect all information on finds (from the typological ones to the spatial and stratigraphic ones); drawings, graphic and photographic documentation; restorations and systematic gathering of samples for analyses; reconstruction of the original archaeological contexts, also accomplished throughout chemical-physical analyses, in order to reconstruct the material conditions of life of the urban phase under examination, and to provide numerous indications on the economic conditions, the system of production, the strategies of survival and the social organization of the community (Nigro 2011, 64; 2014c, 262). The final aim of this work is the prompt publication of all data in preliminary reports (= Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 3, 6, 8), as well as by means of fast publications of the discoveries and the web-site of the Expedition (www.lasapienzatojordan.it). The results of field activities and tourist valorisation of Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition to Khirbet al-Batrawy were divulgated in years 2015-2017 with the publication of the volume ROSAPAT 10, devoted to Prof. Moawwiyah Ibrahim Festschrift, as well as with a series of articles in scientific journal (such as ADAJ, AJA, Scienze dell’Antichità, Syria, Vicino Oriente), and posters and papers presented to International Congresses. A wider presentation to the vast public, also finalized to the tourist exploitation, is available in the internet site of the Expedition (home page of the project: www.lasapienzatojordan.it). A further information (Nigro 2017b) is offered by the just appeared volume of ROSAPAT 12, L. Nigro - M. Nucciotti - E. Gallo (eds.), Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016, Rome 2017.
8. References (2010-2017)
L. NIGRO - M. NUCCIOTTI - E. GALLO eds. 2017 = Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016 (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 12), Rome 2017.
NIGRO 2017a = L. Nigro, The end of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. Urban Crisis and Collapse seen from two 3rd Millennium BC-Cities: Tell es-Sultan/Jericho and Khirbet al-Batrawy, in T. CUNNINGHM, J. DRIESSEN (eds.), Crisis to Collapse. The Archaeology of Social Breakdown (AEGIS 11), Louvain 2017: 149-172.
NIGRO 2017b = L. Nigro, Water and power. Early cities in Jordan and water control in the 3rd millennium BC: the case of Batrawy, in L. NIGRO, M. NUCCIOTTI, E. GALLO (eds.), Precious Water. Paths of Jordanian Civilizations as seen in the Italian Archaeological Excavations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Amman, October 18th 2016 (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 12), Rome 2017: 1-14.
NIGRO et al. 2017 = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy ceramics: a systematic mineralogical and petrographic study for investigating the material culture. Periodico di Mineralogia 86 (2017): 19-35: co-authored with L. Medeghini.
NIGRO 2016a = L. Nigro, Khirbat al-Batrawy. American Journal of Archaeology 120:4 (2016): 645-646.
NIGRO 2016b = L. Nigro Khirbat al-Batrawi 2010-2013: The City Defences and the Palace of Copper Axes. Studies on the History and Archaeology of Jordan XII: Transparent Borders (Department of Antiquities of Jordan), Amman 2016: 135-154.
NIGRO et al. 2016 = L. Nigro, The ceramic of the "Palace of the Copper Axes (Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan): A palatial special production. Ceramics International 42 (2016): 5952-5962; co-authored with L. Medeghini, L. Fabrizi, C. De Vito, S. Mignardi, E. Gallo, C. Fiaccavento.
NIGRO 2015 = L. Nigro, The Copper Axes Hoard in the Early Bronze IIIb Palace of Batrawy, Jordan, in K. ROSIŃSKA-BALIK, A. OCHAŁ-CZARNOWICZ, M. CZARNOWICZ, J. D?BOWSKA-LUDWIN (eds.), Copper and Trade in the South-Eastern Mediterranean: Trade routes of the Near East in Antiquity (BAR IS2753), Oxford 2015: 77-83.
NIGRO 2014a = L. Nigro, Khirbat al-Batrawy, in G.J. CORBETT, D.R. KELLER, B.A. PORTER, CH.A. TUTTLE (eds.), Archaeology in Jordan, 2012 and 2013 Seasons, in American Journal of Archaeology 118 (2014): 644-645.
NIGRO 2014b = L. Nigro, The Copper Routes and the Egyptian Connection in 3rd millennium BC Jordan seen from the caravan city of Khirbet al-Batrawy. Vicino Oriente XVIII (2014): 39-64.
NIGRO 2014c = L. Nigro, The King's Cup and the Bear Skin. Royal Ostentation in the Early Bronze III "Palace of the Copper Axes" at Khirbet al-Batrawy, in Z. KAFAFI - M. MARAQTEN (eds.), A Pioneer of Arabia. Studies in the Archaeology and Epigraphy of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula in Honor of Moawiyah Ibrahim (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 10), Rome 2014: 261-270.
NIGRO 2013a = L. Nigro, Urban Origins in the Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā', Jordan: The City of Khirbat al-Batrāwī in the third Millennium BC, in F. AL-HMOUD (ed.), Studies on the History and Archaeology of Jordan XI (Department of Antiquities, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Amman 2013: 486-506.
NIGRO 2013b = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy. An Early Bronze Age city at the fringes of the desert. Syria 90 (2013): 189-209.
NIGRO 2013c = L. Nigro, The City of the Copper Axes: Archaeological Research, Restoration and Training in the Early Bronze Age site of Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan, in B. CASSANI (ed.), Sapienza in the Mediterranean Region. Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation: Programs and Projects, Rome 2013: 113-115.
NIGRO - SALA 2013 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report of the Eighth Season (2012) of Excavations by the University of Rome "La Sapienza" at Khirbat al-Batrawi (Upper Wadiaz-Zarqa)". in HAWLIYYAT DA’IRAT AL-ATAR AL-'AMMAT 57 (2013): 217-228.
NIGRO et al. 2013 = L. Nigro, The key role of micro-Raman spectroscopy in the study of ancient pottery: the case of pre-classical Jordanian ceramics from the archaeological site of Khirbet al-Batrawy. European Journal of Mineralogy 25 (2013): 881-893; co-authored with L. Medeghini, S. Mignardi, C. De Vito, D. Bersani, P.P. Lottici, M. Turetta, J. Costantini, E. Bacchini, M. Sala, NIGRO 2012a = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy. American Journal of Archaeology 116/4 (2012): 705-706.
NIGRO 2012b = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy: Rise, Flourish and Collapse of an Early Bronze Age City in Jordan, in R. MATTHEWS - J. CURTIS (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 12 April - 16 April 2010, the British Museum and UCL, London, Wiesbaden 2012, Volume 1: 609-628.
NIGRO 2012c = L. Nigro, An EB IIIB (2500-2300 BC) gemstones necklace from the Palace of the Copper Axes at Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan. Vicino Oriente XVI (2012): 227-243.
NIGRO ed. 2012 = L. Nigro (ed.), Khirbet al-Batrawy III. The EB II-III triple fortification line and the EB IIIB quarter inside the city-wall. Preliminary report of the fourth (2008) and fifth (2009) seasons of excavations (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 8), Rome 2012.
NIGRO - SALA 2012 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report on the Seventh (2011) Season of Excavation by "La Sapienza" University of Rome at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 56 (2012): 45-54.
NIGRO 2011= L. Nigro, Dominating the River: Khirbet al-Batrawy, an EB II-III City in North-Central Jordan. Syria 88 (2011): 59-74.
NIGRO - SALA 2011 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, Preliminary Report on the Sixth (2010) Season of Excavation by "La Sapienza" University of Rome at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011): 85-100.
NIGRO 2010a = L. Nigro, Khirbet al-Batrawy: a third millennium city in Jordan. American Journal of Archaeology 114 (2010): 514-516.
NIGRO 2010b = L. Nigro, In the Palace of the Copper Axes/Nel Palazzo delle Asce di Rame. Khirbat al-Batrāwī: the discovery of a forgotten city of the III millennium BC in Jordan/Khirbat al-Batrāwī: la scoperta di una città dimenticata del III millennio a.C. in Giordania (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, Colour Monographs I), Rome 2010.
NIGRO 2010c = L. Nigro, Quattro asce di rame dal Palazzo B di Khirbet al-Batrawy (Bronzo Antico IIIB, 2500-2300 a.C.). Scienze dell'Antichità 16 (2010): 561-572.
NIGRO - SALA 2010 = L. Nigro, M. Sala, "Preliminary Report on the Fifth Season (2009) of Excavations at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādīaz-Zarqā'), by the University of Rome "La Sapienza". ADAJ 54 (2010): 237-253.
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