Khirbat Iskandar

Illustrated in b/w with 193 figures, 22 plates and 23 tables.

This volume is the first in a planned series of final reports on the Archaeological Expedition to Khirbat Iskandar and its Environs, Jordan, begun in 1981 by Principal Investigator, Suzanne Richard of Gannon University. Khirbat Iskandar is an important Early Bronze Age site situated on the WΓdi al-WalΓ north of Dhiban. Due to its extensive stratified Early Bronze IV (ca. 2300/2000 BCE) occupation on the tell, Khirbat Iskandar is a seminal site for the period.

This volume focuses on the excavation of Area C from 1981-1987, where a gateway came to light. In a period known for one-phase sites and isolated cemeteries, the stratified remains at Khirbat Iskandar offer important data on rural complexity in a sedentary community of the late third millennium, BCE.

The volume also includes the results of excavations in the contemporaneous cemeteries discovered in the environs of the site. Along with studies of stratigraphy, the environment, ground stone and other artifacts, faunal remains, skeletal remains from the tombs, and C14 determinations, there are quantitative and petrographic ceramic studies.

Suzanne Richard is a professor in the History and Archaeology and Theology departments at Gannon University. In addition, Richard directs the Collins Institute for Archaeological Research, through which she organizes a regular dig in Jordan at a site called Khirbat Iskandar. She is currently planning an eleventh season for the Institute in the summer of 2013. With her work at the Institute, Richard guides students who help in the processing of materials from the dig as the archaeological team prepares the findings for publication.

Jesse C. Long is Dean of the College of Biblical Studies and Behavioral Sciences at Lubbock Christian University, where he also serves as Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology. Long specializes in the literary analysis of Hebrew narrative and in biblical archaeology. He serves as co-director of the Archaeological Expedition to Khirbet Iskander, Jordan.

Paul Holdorf is a retired corporate lawyer who has been an amateur archaeologist since 1994. He designed and still maintains the Khirbat Iskander database.

Glen Peterman is Director of Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance in the Corporate, Foundation & Goverment Support Office at Dickinson College. Peterman's academic background is in Near Eastern archaeology; he lived in Jordan off and on for about 9 years.