The Baluʿa Regional Archaeological Project (BRAP) officially began in 2017 with excavations at Khirbat al-Baluʿa under the current directors, Drs. Kent Bramlett, Monique Roddy, and Friedbert Ninow. The project is sponsored by La Sierra University, Theologische Hochschule Friedensau, and St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, with consortium support from Walla Walla University.
Khirbat al-Baluʿa is a multi-period site in central Jordan, north of Karak, stretching over approximately 20 hectares. Baluʿa is located next to the Wadi Baluʿa, which is a tertiary tributary to the Wadi Mujib. In this location, Baluʿa was able to control a major north-south route and guard access from the north to the Karak Plateau over the millennia.
The BRAP has renewed excavations at this important site, identifying three main areas of excavation in a pilot season in 2017. GPS survey and test excavations in 2010 and 2012 established a preliminary map of the visible remains at the site. The most extensive period of occupation at Baluʿa dates to the Iron II period (1000–550 B.C.), when the city expanded to include a large, walled lower settlement. The Iron II settlement is impressive, with building walls preserved to over 6 feet in height and doorways with stone lintels still intact. The site is located in what is traditionally known as the Moabite region of Jordan in the Iron Age. Other periods represented at the site include a Middle Islamic village and a Nabatean sacred structure, as well as Bronze Age and Hellenistic occupations.
The Islamic Village Excavations began in the 2022 BRAP excavation season. Work in this season focused on an area of the site called The Khan, a ca. 50 x 50 m square building tentatively identified as a khan/caravanserai (or road inn), at the southwestern edge of the site. While this building was probably constructed in the early 14th century AD, the 2022 excavations primarily revealed 16th-17th century AD reuse of the structure for domestic or storage purposes. Large threshing floors around The Khan likely also date to this later phase, and seem to hint at an expansion of agricultural production at Khirbat al-Balu‘a during this period. Upcoming seasons will focus on investigation of the earlier occupation phases of The Khan and excavation of houses and other structures in the Islamic Village.
Find the official website here.
Technical skills utilized: photogrammetry, GIS, archaeobotany, residue analysis, and ceramic petrography
Contact: Ian Jones, Field Director of the Middle Islamic Village (iwj202@nyu.edu)
This project accepts students. Those interested can apply at the project site or get in touch with Ian Jones for more information.