Summer Abroad - Dhiban, Jordan

Dhiban Archaeological Field School in Jordan

Dhiban, Jordan

The Dhiban Project’s field school is designed to introduce students to contemporary archaeological and environmental field research through hands-on field experience. Students also receive an overview of Jordan’s history through readings, lectures, and visits to key archaeological sites. By the course’s completion, students will understand the basic excavation and site-survey techniques, including data collection and recording. Instruction occurs in the classroom seminars, field trenches, and laboratories. Students will take guided field trips on some weekends to Petra, Jerash, Amman, and other archaeological and cultural sites in the region. For more information on the Dhiban Project, visit www.dhiban.org.

If you do not have a current passport (valid through February 2013), we highly recommend you begin the application process now while applying to the to Dhiban, Jordan program, as there are stringent travel document deadlines requiring a valid passport. Please contact Jess Bauer at 510-642-4506 or jmbauer@berkeley.edu with questions.

Dates: June 29, 2012 – August 10, 2012

Course Number: NES 193
Course Title: Archaeology, History, and Environment of Jordan
Units: 6
Prerequisites: see below
Syllabus:PDF
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this program, although prior coursework in archaeology or a Near/Middle Eastern Studies course is recommended. Participants must be able and willing to carry out excavation duties similar to construction site activities. Participants are required to sign a statement agreeing to refrain from discussing, displaying, or proselytizing their religious beliefs, refrain from alcohol consumption, and dress modestly according to the gender rules of the local community.

Students are encouraged to consult with their advisor to see which major/minor or breadth requirements this program may fulfill. Visiting students are encouraged to talk to their advisor about transfer of credit to their home institution.

Dates: June 29, 2012 – August 10, 2012

Per Unit Fee: UC Undergraduate ($406), UC Graduate ($510), Visiting ($415)
Currently posted per unit fees are subject to change.

Scholarships are available.

Financial aid is available for UC Berkeley students who are enrolled in at least 6 units during the summer. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for details. All other students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.

* Program fee includes room, some meals, excursions and other program-related costs. For estimates of these costs, and to discuss how they factor into financial aid, please call Summer Sessions and speak to one of our Study Abroad program advisors.

** Total cost does not include round trip airfare, textbooks, extra meals or personal expenses.

Benjamin Porter, Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology
bwporter@berkeley.edu

Benjamin Porter is an anthropological archaeologist whose research interests span past and contemporary Middle Eastern societies. He earned his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania’s Anthropology Department in 2007. He is now an assistant professor of Near Eastern archaeology in the University of California, Berkeley’s Near Eastern Studies Department and a curator in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. He co-directs three archaeological projects including the Dhiban Excavation and Development Project and the Khirbat at-Mudayna al-‘Aliya Project, both located in Jordan. He is also co-director of the Dilmun Bioarchaeoogy Project that is publishing the results of Peter Cornwall’s expedition to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. His research interests include social life in past Near Eastern societies, materials, technologies, and the intellectual history and disciplinary dilemmas of Near Eastern archaeology.

About the Dhiban Project (www.dhiban.org)

The Dhiban Excavation and Development Project (DEDP) investigates the archaeology, environment, and history of Dhiban, a Middle Eastern town located today in west-central Jordan. Dhiban has been settled intermittently over the past five millennia and is today the largest town on the Dhiban Plateau.

Started in 2004, the DEDP is a collaborative project involving scholars from Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Students work on the site for six weeks from Sunday-Thursday approximately eight hours per day. Over the six-week period, students rotate each week in groups of three or four through set stations designed to teach them different aspects of field research. Simultaneously, there is a weekly theme in which students receive more formal instruction from the instructor or a staff specialist.

Weekends are Friday and Saturday. On most breaks, students have the freedom to explore Jordan, leaving on their own from the tourist hub of Madaba. There are four project trips to Petra, Jerash, ‘Amman, and archaeological sites in the Madaba vicinity.

About Dhiban
Dhiban is a Jordanian town located in Madaba Governorate, approximately 70 kilometers south of Amman and east of the Dead Sea. Previously nomadic, the modern community settled the town in the 1950s. Today, Dhiban is approximately 15,000 members strong, with many working in the army, government agencies, or in seasonal agricultural production. A number of young people study in nearby universities in Karak, Madaba, and Amman. Most inhabitants practice Islam.

About Madaba
Madaba is the capital city of Madaba Governorate of Jordan, which has a population of about 60,000. Madaba is the fifth most populous town in Jordan. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of The Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometers south-west of the capital Amman.

Accommodations & Meals
Students will stay in a hotel in Madaba and will be provided with 3 meals/day

Weather & Climate
On most days, the work is hot (between 70 and 90 degrees F), dusty, and physically demanding. The team waits out the worst of the heat of the day in the on-site lunch tent.
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Madaba+Jordan+JOXX0004

Resources
U.S. Department of State Country Specific Information for Jordan
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/jo/

Jordanian Ministry of Tourism
http://www.mota.gov.jo/en/

Lonely Planet
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/jordan

Jordanian Embassy in the U.S.
http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/consular/indexco.shtml