Work

Biography of a Levantine dolmen during the Early Bronze Age: construction, reuse and memory at Rjile (Kufr Yuba, North Jordan)

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The architectural and ritual biography of dolmen ST_30 in the Rjile necropolis (Kufr Yuba, Jordan) provides new chronological and cultural insights into Levantine megalithism. A multidisciplinary investigation – combining building techniques with chaîne opératoire analysis, excavation data, human osteological evidence and scientific dating – reveals at least four distinct phases of use. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments indicates that the dolmen was initially constructed and used during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) IB/II and III-IV periods, while a series of calibrated radiocarbon determinations from human remains points to three subsequent episodes of reuse between 3100 BCE and 800 BCE. The limited but significant human assemblage, associated artefacts, and architectural modifications suggest that ST_30 functioned either as a continuous memorial space or, more plausibly, as a funerary monument periodically reactivated over more than a millennium. These results refine the chronological framework for dolmen construction and use in the western Irbid region and highlight the complexity of their cultural biographies.

Source: Journal of Archaeological Science Reports

DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105536

Authors: Tara Steimer-Herbet, Meryl Defours Rivoira, Sahar al Khasawneh, Marie Besse

Institution: University of Geneva

Language: English

Topic: Archaeological and Geological Studies

Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,910

Funder: Université de Genève