Lichtenberger, A. & Raja, R. (eds) 2018. The Archaeology and History of Jerash: 110 Years of Excavations. Jerash Papers 1. Turnhout: Brepols. 

This new publication explores some of the many archaeological investigations that have been undertaken in the Decapolis city of Jerash in Northern Jordan for more than 110 years. As such, this volume brings together scholars who have undertaken research in Jerash within the last four decades and presents the results of these projects.

 In 1907, archaeologists started working in Jerash, and in the decades that followed, large-scale excavations continued in this extraordinary Decapolis city. In the 1970s and 1980s, international projects, such as the Jerash Archaeological Project, were conducted, and during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, several projects were carried out in Jerash. Among these is the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project, directed by the two editors of this volume. The many excavations have revealed unique and seminal insight into the development of an urban space across more than a millennium, from the public monuments of the Graeco-Roman city, the introduction of the first Christian churches, and the later changes introduced in the Early and Middle Islamic periods, up to the city’s destruction by the earthquake of 749 AD, and its resettlement in the Medieval period.

In order to mark the 110 years of archaeological exploration of Jerash, researchers who have worked in Jerash have contributed to this volume in order to present updated insight into the city, its evolution and the way in which archaeology as a discipline has evolved in the past 110 years. The discussions in this volume cross disciplinary and chronological boundaries and transcend traditional approaches to urban archaeology in order to trace the long-term transformation of Jerash and the evolution of the surrounding hinterland. As such, this publication gives new perspectives on the development of an incredible archaeological urban site.

This volume is the first in the new series Jerash Papers by Rubina Raja and Achim Lichtenberger, even though the second volume published. In October, the third volume in the series (Middle Islamic Jerash (9th century - 15th century): Archaeology and History of an Ayyubid-Mamluk settlement) was published.

UrbNet related contributions

Lichtenberger, A. and Raja, R. "The Archaeology and History of Jerash: 110 Years of Excavations — An Introduction", in: A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja (eds) The Archaeology and History of Jerash: 110 Years of Excavations. Jerash Papers 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 1-6.

Lichtenberger, A. and Raja, R. "View of Gerasa/Jerash from its Urban Periphery: The Northwest Quarter and its Significance for the Understanding of the Urban Development of Gerasa from the Roman to the Early Islamic Period", in: A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja (eds) The Archaeology and History of Jerash: 110 Years of Excavations. Jerash Papers 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 143-166.

Mortensen, E. "The Early Research History of Jerash: A Short Outline", in: A. Lichtenberger and R. Raja (eds) The Archaeology and History of Jerash: 110 Years of Excavations. Jerash Papers 1. Turnhout: Brepols, 167-186.