Levantine historical layers: Gharandal through time

AMMAN — Gharandal is situated some 15 kilometres southeast of Tafila and some 5 kilometres of the Edomite site of Bozra, modern Busayra. Gharandal stands at an altitude of 1300 metres, with a spring running through the valley. The spring played a major role in the irrigation of agricultural fields; the main produce was table grapes, apricots, and figs.

“Historically, Gharandal rose to prominence in Byzantine and early Islamic times [5th century AD to 9th century AD] when it was known as Arindela and, in the early Arabic sources, as Arandela," said Alan Walmsley from Macquarie University in Australia, adding that it was the third-ranking town of Palaestina Tertia, capital of the Gabalitis district and the bishopric seat.

The Bishops of Arindela attended two church councils: the Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431 AD and a synod of bishops called by Peter of Jerusalem in 536 AD to approve the decisions of a Council held earlier in the same year at Constantinople.

"Historical sources indicate that the town, along with all southern Jordan, surrendered early in the Muslim conquest of Syria-Palestine in 634, after which it was incorporated into the extensive Province of Damascus [Jund Dimashq]," Walmsley said, noting that by the 10th century, however, the neighbouring site of Ruwath, nearly 2 kilometres to the west had replaced Gharandal as the chief centre of Jibal. 

The sources, notably Ibn Hawqal (who died after 988 AD), remark on the dominance of semi-nomadic tribes in the area, suggesting major developments in socio-political conditions. 

Jibal and the adjoining district of Sharah to the south are also conspicuous in the later Islamic and Crusader sources. For almost nine decades (circa 1100-1188) both increasingly fell under the jurisdiction of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, becoming part of the Lordship of Karak after the construction of the castle at Karak in 1142). 

"The Islamic sources, for instance, Ibn Qalanisi (died in 1160) and Dimashqi [died in 1327 in Safad], describe from the Arab viewpoint the struggle for domination over Jibal and all south Jordan, and the social, economic, and religious reconstruction of the region after the expulsion of the Crusaders in 1188. The sources raise questions about the accuracy of some current archaeological opinions that argue for a substantial decline in settled life after the Islamic conquest, but the brevity of these works precludes any fuller understanding of social developments between Late Antiquity and the Islamic Middle Ages," Walmsley elaborated.

The remains of Classical and Islamic Gharandal lie on the south bank of the Sayl l Riyah above the spring in the wadi, reaching up the slope until the land flattens out to a plateau, historian said, adding that visible features include a large double-rectangular enclosure on the ridge summit, a later Byzantine-period church featuring distinctive upright monolithic columns that was built abutting the north wall of the enclosure complex, and extensive domestic quarters.

“Local limestone was the main building material. The modern village of Gharandal, consisting almost entirely of relocated residents of Busayra, has greatly encroached on the archaeological site, limiting the area available for research," said Walmsley, noting that the Australian archaeological team also focused on excavation of the church.

"The work, although incomplete, was not continued in the following years and the Islamic walls and standing baulks within the church had subsequently become unstable. Furthermore, an inspection of the recovered pottery held in Tafilah indicated an interesting range of types, including possible early Islamic wares," Walmsley continued, adding that the excavations involved the systematic removal of the balks within the nave of the church and the opening up of two new squares over the north aisle and north wall of the building.

Some excellently stratified layers were encountered, including multiple floor levels of a house built within the destroyed church and dating to the 11th and 12th centuries. 

However, the architecture of the building goes back even to the 1st century AD and the period of the late Nabataean Kingdom.

"The Gharandal excavations have revealed, through the ceramics and their contexts, the continuity of occupation from Byzantine into Mamluk times while showing the complexities of settlement development that occurred over this period," Walmsley underscored.