In this gallery, we are highlighting results from recent archaeological field seasons through their reports as they appear in Archaeology in Jordan 2 (ACOR, 2020)!
Click the images to enlarge and explore further via the links at left.
The archaeological projects covered by AIJ 2 (2018 and 2019 seasons) have turned up new evidence of the ingenuity and skill of the past peoples of Jordan, such as the evocative Late Bronze Age ivory face mask inlay from Pella (pp. 33–36), many new classical-era sculptural finds at Jerash (pp. 41–42), and the Neolithic mother-of-pearl plaque from Wisad Pools (pp. 4–6).
A Neolithic mother-of-pearl perforated plaque, placed immediately inside the main doorway of a sprawling residential complex more than 12 meters across (“W80”) on the eastern margin of the Black Desert. Radiometric dates confirm that the complex was repeatedly occupied, abandoned, modified, and rebuilt between at least the mid-7th and later 6th millennia. The plaque hints that the occupants of this complex had closer links with Mesopotamia than previously anticipated for this period and area. (Photo courtesy of the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project.) Find out more here: https://publications.acorjordan.org/articles/eastern-badia-archaeological-project/ 
A bone inlay of a face from Pella, dating from the Late Bronze Age (ca. 15th century BCE) and uncovered alongside “an extraordinary richness” of bone, wood, ivory, glass, and more (including a Reshef figurine) by the University of Sydney during their thirtieth season of excavations. Such findings imply a palatial residence at Pella during the Late Bronze I period. Find out more here: https://publications.acorjordan.org/articles/pella-2018-2019/ 
Mount Parnassus at Gerasa: Seven of the nine Olympian Muses, pictured here, were found during the European Jordanian excavations of the eastern Roman Baths at Jerash. According to an inscription, all these Muses were purchased by the Gerasene citizen Lysias, son of Arist(i)on in the workshop of Antoneinos and were exhibited there in AD 118/19 as a donation to his hometown. Following restoration by the Italian conservator Franco Sciorilli, with the assistance of several Jordanian specialists, the statues have been presented to the public at the Jerash Archaeological Museum. (Photo by Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis.) Find out more here: https://publications.acorjordan.org/articles/jerash-east-baths-2018-2019/
