Qalet Hamra: a Mamluk khan north of Zarqa, Jordan

Abstract

The site of Qalet Hamra was well known in Zarqa but it never attracted archaeologists and
surveyors until a few years ago, possibly due to its location on a spur dominating the bifurcations
between Wadi az-Zarqa and Wadi Shomar, a sort of shortcut leading straight ward to the west, in
direction of the Jordan Valley. Moreover it was nearby a major ford across the river, which both
banks were caravan tracks in antiquity. In 2015 and 2018 Sapienza University of Rome and the
Department of Antiquities of Jordan surveyed, which allowed to identify it as a small caravanserai
dating back from the Mameluk period, even though earlier pottery finds may suggest that the site was
occupied at least from the Late Roman/Early Byzantine times.