Wadi Sharara: A PPNA Site at Wadi Al Hasa Gorge, Jordan

After a Bedouin’s suggestion, we discovered a new Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) site marked by the locals as Wadi Sharara. It is a hilltop that rises above a steep turn of the Wadi al-Hasa Gorge. The excavation of the Aegean University at the site took place in two periods in 2011 and 2012 and revealed seven loci at the top of a hill (Fig. 2), while two other constructions remained unclear, one of which was located far from the others in a strongly downhill area. The undisturbed layers yielded lithic and ground stone tools, human burials under the floors and archaeobotanical remains. Archaeological finds allow comparisons to be made with neighboring sites of the same period as el-Hemmeh, Drha’ and ZAD 2, as well as with the sites of Jordan Valley. New radiocarbon dates from the site help complete the chronological framework in the southern Levant and in an area such as Jordan where PPNA sites are currently scarce.

Keywords: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, burials, ground stone tools, material dating, Jordan