Jamaan at the pass of Bi’rein: an Iron Age IIB-C Ammonite stronghold in central Jordan

Abstract

In years 2015-2016 the Zarqa Directorate of the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan carried out a rescue excavation at the site of Jamaan, an Iron Age IIB-C
Ammonite stronghold 16 Km north of ‘Amman. The site survey and limited soundings allow to plot a
plan of the structure, comprising an outer enclosure with a casemate wall, two cisterns, and a square
podium tower, and to collect ceramic material dating from Iron Age IIB-C (c. 840-580 BC), as well
as the head of a soft limestone statue, possibly depicting a local chief or an official. The latter adds to
the relatively conspicuous number of statues from the Kingdom of Ammon, possibly illustrating the
production of a non-royal commission.