Welcome to the Jabal Hamrat Fidan (Faynan), Southern Jordan page. The Jabal Hamrat Fidan (JHF) Archaeological Project commenced in 1997 under the direction of Professor Thomas E. Levy (Senior Principal Investigator) and Russell B. Adams (Co-Principal Investigator). The project has grown over the years, and it is now a joint University of California, San Diego - Department of Antiquities of Jordan project, with Dr. Mohammad Najjar serving as a JHF co-director.

The JHF project is the first 'deep time' study of Ore Procurement, Early Metallurgy, Production and Social Change from the Neolithic to the Iron Age in Jordan . It builds on the technological studies of mining and metallurgy initiated by Professor Andreas Hauptmann and the German Mining Museum (Bochum) carried out in the mid-1980s and early 1990s in the Faynan district. Our Jordanian research has relevance beyond the Middle East because it focuses on the impact of technology, in this case metallurgy, on social evolution - a topic of broad cross-cultural significance.

Beginning in 1997, the JHF has tried to implement a wide range of science-based approaches to the archaeological field work in Jordan. In addition to involving Professor Hauptmann as the project archaeometallurgist, Professor Alan Witten, of the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, joined the project early on to apply different geophysical survey methods to unexplored sites in the research area. Each season, we try to involve research specialists who can help shed light on different cultural and historical problems through their expertise.

JHF Project