The Late Ottoman Cemetery in Field L, Tall Hisban

Author(s): Bethany J. Walker

Source: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , May, 2001, No. 322
(May, 2001), pp. 47-65
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The American Schools of
Oriental Research

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 The Late Ottoman Cemetery in
Field L, Tall Hisban
BETHANY J. WALKER

Department of History
Oklahoma State University
501 H Life Sciences West
Stillwater, OK 74078-3054
bethanw@okstate.edu

Transjordan witnessed significant social and economic changes in the last quarter of
the 19th century. The introduction of direct rule in the region by the Ottoman gov-
ernment transformed traditional tribal life, resulting in the settlement of formerly
nomadic groups, the transition to an agrarian way of life, and the opening up of
markets formerly inaccessible to indigenous tribal groups.
This paper considers the impact of the Tanzimat on the tribes of Transjordan
through their burial practices. The discovery of a "Bedouin" cemetery at Tall Hisban
in 1998 has provided an opportunity to study the traditional funerary practices of one
tribe, identified as the Adwan, before its sedentarization in the early 20th century. The
composition of the burial goods indicates that members participated in an extensive
exchange network, one that embraced the Red Sea and the towns of Palestine.

THE TRIBAL CEMETERY AT HISBAN Modern-day Hisban is a village located some 20

miles east of the Jordan River, between Amman and
ow people bury their dead is largely deter- Madaba, in the fertile highland plateau known as
mined by two factors: their cultural atti- the Madaba Plains (fig. 1). This agricultural region
tudes toward death (in which religion playsis adequately watered by six wadis and their tribu-
an important role) and their economic circumstances taries, which run during the rainy seasons, and 13
(illustrated, in part, by funerary constructions andsprings (Geraty and LaBianca 1985: 324). The tall
grave goods). The excavation of a "Bedouin" ceme- is situated on the northern edge of the village and,
at a height of 800 m above sea level, commands a
tery at Tall Hisban in 1998, one of the largest of its
kind discovered in Jordan to date, has providedview a of the plain and, on a clear day, the Dead Sea
unique opportunity for the study of these factors as (fig. 2). The archaeological site is riddled by an
extensive underground cave and cistern system and
they relate to the funerary customs of one Transjor-
danian tribe during the Late Ottoman period.' Datedhas been occupied, on and off, since the Palaeolithic
to the late 19th century on the basis of coins, this period. Most of the standing architecture on the
large common grave, which contains an estimated summit dates to the 14th century A.D., when Hisban
100 individuals, is rich in burial goods of a personalserved as an administrative center and sugar distri-
nature-items worn close to or carried on the body. bution point for the Mamluk Sultan in Cairo.2
The composition of the goods indicates that, while The Ottoman-period cemetery (Field L; Square 2;
the members of the tribe were not wealthy, they did Loci 3, 5, and 7) is located in what used to be the
participate in an exchange network that embraced
the Red Sea, Palestine, and even Europe.

2The Mamluks were a Muslim, military dynasty of

1All information pertaining to the 1998 excavation
slave origin who ruled Syria from their capital in Cairo
season at Tall Hisban has been taken from Walker n.d. from 1260 until 1517.

47

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 48 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

arms, which would indicate that both mother and

child died in childbirth. There is no evidence in the
Haifa
skeletons of physical trauma, occasioned by physi-
Mediterranean
Sea
cal violence, or of any consistent pathology. This
evidence suggests that the cemetery was reused by
successive generations. Recurrent genetic anomalies
Tel Aviv
(such as metopic sutures, wormian bones, and early
Amman
obliterating sutures) reinforce the excavators' orig-
inal impression that the burials belonged to mem-
Jerusaem * Tall Hisban
bers of the same family or clan.5
Tell el-Hesi
The Ottoman cemetery is not the only one at
Gaza
the site. The use of the tall for local burials through-
out Hisban's history has been regularly noted in the
JORDAN
preliminary reports. The numerous cisterns, caves,
ISRAEL
and masonry ruins that riddle the site are convenient
receptacles for burials.6 Even today the village poor
inter their stillborn infants in those areas of the
site that are not under excavation (Walker n.d.: 22,
no. 1). The Ottoman burials, however, are the most
* Petra
extensive on the tall and are the best preserved. The
deceased were buried with many of their personal
- w effects, and probably all of their jewelry, as evi-
denced by the large quantity of rings, bracelets, and
50 Miles
necklaces recovered, in many instances still on the
Aqaba
body (figs. 6-7).7 While laboratory analysis of the
Gulf ofAqaba
grave goods has not begun, the composition of most
Fig. 1. Tall Hisban in a local context. Adapted from objects could be determined in the field: iron, cop-
LaBianca 1990: fig. 1.2. per, and bronze; glass, ceramic, and semiprecious

storeroom of the Mamluk governor's residence (figs.

3-4). An estimated 100 individuals were buried at a
5Chase n.d.
depth of 1.5-2.5 m in a common cist grave, spatially
defined by the walls of the storeroom (roughly 5-8 6When examining the tall's ruins in 1816-1817, two
European travelers, Charles Leonard Irby and James
m x 1.5 m) and covered by the remains of the
Mangles, noted some three dozen human skulls and other
partially collapsed barrel vault that roofed the orig- skeletal remains in two of the site's abandoned cisterns
inal Mamluk structure (fig. 5). There is no evidence
(Russell 1989b: 67). It is possible that these were Otto-
for a grave marker of any kind. The eastern half of man-period burials, so near to the surface and visible to
this room (L. 2, Probe A) was excavated in the 1998 casual visitors. If so, the "storeroom" cemetery was not
season, resulting in the exhumation of at least 45 the only cemetery of the period at Tall Hisban, and the
individuals, a number based primarily on the skulls population buried here may have been much larger than
and femurs recovered.3 According to a recent osteo- originally estimated.
logical report, nearly 50% of the burials are of in- 7Based on the latest project database made available
fants.4 Many infants were buried in their mothers' to me (7/23/98), the following objects were recorded by
the Object Registrar: 3 large pendants (mother-of-pearl
and bronze), 23 coins (copper), 8 worked beads (glass,
3Because of their density and large size, skulls tendgarnet,
to and carnelian), 5 heavy rings (bronze with settings
last longer than smaller, lighter bones (Henderson 1987: of glass or semiprecious stones), 2 bracelets (bronze), 20
44-45). Though often crushed by grave fill, the barrel large shells (pierced to be strung on necklaces), 1 hair-
vault and wind-blown fill (loess) at Hisban protected the pin (possibly ivory), 1 leather pouch with drawstring, and
skulls and left them intact. 1 glass vessel (smashed to fragments). Tiny stone "seed
4Age and gender of the interred population broke down beads" were found by the thousands. Broken loose from
in this fashion: 16 adults (aged 18-50 years), two juveniles the strand to which they originally belonged, these beads
(aged 12-17 years), five children (aged 5-8 years), and 22 were particularly difficult to recover during excavation and
infants (newborn-18 months). were usually removed at the sift.

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 49

900 01 +02 _jo0 J4 0 os 0o 06 08 A POOt o 4

370 +- - + + + + + + , + " ?,
340 + +. + + -!- -- + . A- GL: AREAS
- : TOMBS

0 40 #0 120 160O 00

20 -t- 7 -- -:

22 ++(4)

?o - - - + -+ + + W
750
S1ROAD
MADABA
to

TALL
SOUT

, + + -t- + + o AUSS ato

13-2
(1978) : 116
tO H di 116 it? Its AN6 I f ...... lid . . 9 . . 120 - -..1
Fig. 2. Contour map of Tall Hisban. Areas A-D and G excavated during the 1968, 1971 and 1973 seasons; Area L dur-
ing the 1998 season. Adapted from Boraas and Horn 1975: fig. 1.

stones (carnelian, agate, and perhaps jasper) (fig. 8); not been examined in a laboratory (fig. 10). How-
shell (cowry and mother-of-pearl); and leather. The ever, their similarity to contemporary Bedouin veils
iron objects are heavily corroded, but the copper and makes it likely that they are linen. Of the many coins
bronze jewelry is in particularly good condition. The recovered from the cemetery, only one, a large cop-
biocidic quality of copper probably accounts for per Ottomanfils, could be cleaned to the point where
the exceptional preservation of the textile fragments it was legible (fig. 11). It provided the only reliable
that were attached to or in close approximation todate for the burials: 1293 H., or A.D. 1876. Coin
the copper jewelry (fig. 9).8 These textiles-mostlyevidence must be used with caution, however. Ex-
white (badly soiled), loosely woven tabbies-have pensive coins (gold and silver) and often jewelry
were passed on as heirlooms from mother to daugh-
ter in Bedouin families. At best, A.D. 1876 gives us
8The soil, temperature, and oxidizing conditions at
a terminus post quem for one phase of the ceme-
Hisban are such that copper alloys decay faster than cer- tery's use.
tain textiles. In this case, the copper corrodes, depositing The skeletons, while generally well preserved,
a resistant film on contiguous flax fibers (Janaway 1987: are incomplete. Although these were probably pri-
135). mary inhumations, the majority of the burials are

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50 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

Key .I
Bedouin cemetery s
Ash layer
2m

Not
Excavated

Bath

"Reception
Hall" (?)

Partially
Excavated

ExcavatedExcavated

F-ProbeA [-Probe A

NSquare 2 NSqu
Fig. 3. Floor plan of Field L, Tall Hisban 1998. Adapted by B

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 51

. .........

?:Ali

. .. . ...

Fig. 4. View of entrance to palace storeroom

Mai:a
ZELL
):.))))i i?::::: I ,,,

..::. ;" ............ .()..'......i:.irii. .. . ..... .

'??:? ....iiiii:::::::::lii::'::
.. :-.== .; . . ......
01, "I'l
A . . . . . . . . . . .=. : . . . . . . . . .w n:,. . .
.. . .......: " Blll' E :?l'~liiiiiiliii!l~!~B ":il' i;

,=..= )~iii= ? . . . . . . .i
ism. :-:
. ..........::::::::::

:io'

M WI ::I:::: ?.i: ...:::...........:

... .... .. .....

Fig. 5. Square 2 a

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 52 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

11 42

,, Px
cm

Fig. 6. Woman's hairpin.

Fig. 8. Tiny stone

strand.

:? :
ii?

?~ '.*

~?IICIEI~:ill~?gllPI~~ffi%~?~:F:X 1

?B.~P:P~.~'
1
'i :
4' 41Yi~:%.4eE~E~8~jltM~iY.. b? ? . ~iflR~i~Lfiie:

i
1FXi~i;~j~------------ -- Ir?:

i'
:i
'I

?*

i:

??
?
?:.:39L~BL~'~g~a~ls~a~HCIII?1I;'l~'~s~li !??::~i.r:..k* ? r
???
: i
:: ~~"lt~.~a~a~J~IP~~'~?;P~?:i;*;.:
:i*l? i.
r?.
I .I *fi
,..
*' IL:, It
r ??*

CN

Fig. 7. Necklace of copper wires and chains.

cm
disarticulated (fig. 12). It was extremely difficult to
distinguish individuals and determine which grave
goods belonged to a particular burial, because indi-
Fig. 9. Copper coin with adhering cloth.
vidual graves were not separated spatially from one
another. It appears that the cemetery was used on
mined.9aside
a seasonal basis; earlier burials were pushed In talking to local villagers, it beca
clear that the people buried in this cemetery h
to accommodate new arrivals. Many characteristics
of Muslim burials are present, particularly in terms
of preparation of the body, although the orienta-
90On the archaeological recognition of Muslim buria
tion of the bodies toward Mecca cannot be deter- see Insoll 1999: 166-200.

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 53

"t ,,
.......%lss~i"

..... iiiiiir ii r
.........ii i

.:. ....

.::
C10

Fig. 10. Shroud

Fig. 11. Ottoman fils of 1293 A.H. recovered from Fiel
cemetery.
no relation to the current residents of Hisban. To
which tribe they belonged and whether they were
goats live on the edge of the desert, near cultivab
villagers, nomads, or seminomads is more difficult
land, and regularly supplement their diet by grow
to determine.
ing fruits and vegetables on a seasonal basis. A
riculturists who own homes in villages often l
IDENTIFYING THE POPULATION
elsewhere in tents for part of the year to graze th
BURIED AT HISBAN livestock. When water is scarce or there is a threat
physical attack, villagers may pick up and move
Jordanians have traditionally identified
the desert them-
(or caves) with little difficulty. Osci
selves in tribal terms. Even today the
tions majority of
between sedentarization and nomadization in
native-born citizens outside of Amman readily ac-
the Middle East are understood, in part, by trends in
knowledge tribal descent and allegiance.10 Tribal-
food and water procurement (LaBianca 1997).
ism, a term indicative of lineage, should not bepopulation that used the Hisban
Identifying the
equated with lifestyle; a tribesman is not neces-
cemetery is an important first step in understand-
sarily bedu, or Bedouin (a camel-raising nomad).
ing funerary practice at the site and the economy
In fact, a wide variety of lifestyles in Jordan oc-
of the region in the 19th century."1 Differentiating
cupy the spectrum between full nomadism and settled
permanently full villagers from seminomads on
sedentarism (Walker 1999). The seminomadic and
the basis of dress, language, food, and customs was
semisedentary lifestyles, moreover, overlap to a
difficult for contemporaries; from the archaeological
large degree. Pastoral nomads who record
raise alone,
sheep and
it is nearly impossible. However, from
the date provided by the single legible coin, it is
10Tribalism has often been cited as a threat to Jordanianclear that the cemetery was in use during the second
nationalism and good government. During the parliamen- half of the 19th century. The village of Hisban did
tary by-elections of 1984, residents of the Jordan Valley
were heavily criticized by the media for voting blindly 11The problem of regionalism in Bedouin funerary
along tribal lines (Layne 1994: 108-23). practices is addressed in Walker 1999: 215-16.

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 54 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

off
. . .........
.................
.......... ..

Raw,
...................... N N
. Z Z. ........

..... .....

z'Z

N,

. ....... ...................

71 ..........

N
?zx ... ......
.. .... . . ...... .

...... .....

..... . . ...... .... ...

zzW7:
-,4mW

#p?
?:=MMMI

AREA L, 2 f
..............

BURIAL 22 z S.
?-MMMM e I ldlz?

..... .........
z Me ?'e
......... ... .... . .. ......

NO

7-20-98
M M ? . . ..... ..... . ff ..............
....... ..... N
r
MM- ?zzz-

?m;m

?e 4

1'zz- ....... .........

?Mp- n"

Fig. 12. Disarticulated burial from cemetery.

not begin to be permanently settled on any large breeders, who grazed their flocks in the summe
scale until after the First World War (Russell 1989a: in the hills and plains around Hisban and winter
33). In fact, all of the reports written by visitors to in the Jordan Valley, where they did some farmin
the site throughout the 19th century describe only (Geraty and LaBianca 1985: 324; Kazziha 1972: 1
a hill of "insignificant ruins" and "shapeless de- Peake 1958: 171).12 One of the largest Adwan sum
bris." A village is never mentioned, only the occa- mer camps was at CAin Hisban, about two mile
sionally Bedouin encampment in the wadis below from the site (Russell 1989a: 31; Thomson 1888
and around the tall (Russell 1989b: 69-70). 666). One other tribe that frequented the Hisb
Contemporary sources are also consistent in their region was the Ajarma, an ally of the Adwan. T
description of the Belqa', the highland plateau in Ajarma bred sheep and cattle and camped in the are
which Hisban is located, as an area of a few scat- between Madaba and Amman and in the valleys
tered villages dominated by seminomadic tribes, all the West Desert (Geraty and LaBianca 1985: 324
called "Bedouin" indiscriminately (Kazziha 1972: Peake 1958: 174).
17). Two tribal confederacies, largely armed by the All the original settlers of Hisban village, wh
British, controlled the Belqa' in the 19th century:constitute approximately 70%-80% of today's po
the Beni Sakhr and the Adwan. The Beni Sakhr were ulation, claim descent from the Ajarma.13 The mod
nomads who raised camels and horses. They sum-
mered on the Madaba Plain east of Amman and
12For eyewitness accounts of the state of war betwee
spent winters in the Arabian Desert (Geratythe and
Beni Sakhr and the Adwan, see S6journ6 1893.
LaBianca 1985: 324; Kazziha 1972: 17). Their ri-
13Personal communication, Oystein LaBianca. See al
vals, the Adwan, were seminomadic sheep and goat1976: 196.
LaBianca

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 55

ern village has its own cemetery,portant which is at

changes some
in settlement, migration, diet, and
distance from the tall. The current residents of His-
economics in the late 19th century (LaBianca 1990:
78-98). According to his model, transhumant pas-
ban were not aware of the cemetery on the tall and
claim it does not "belong" to them. Contemporarytoralism characterized the Late Ottoman Period
travel accounts, combined with a group memory of(ca. 1800-1880). From about 1880 to 1950 (his
"Early Modern Period"), about a dozen new vil-
what was a rather recent period of tribal history,
suggest that the burials on the tall belong to lages
a were established; tribes that had formerly
seasonal cemetery of the Adwan tribe, used in maintained
the summer and winter camps now began
summers when they camped nearby. to settle permanently in villages and to support
themselves through cereal farming. This transition
The late 19th century was a period of transition
for all of these tribes. The Ottomans were never able occurred sometime around 1880, a period during
to subdue the "Bedouin" because of their own in- which the first villages are described by contempo-
consistent policies in the region. As a result, Trans-
rary sources.
jordan remained autonomous for some 300 years.
At the end of the 19th century, during a periodTHEORETICAL
of APPROACHES TO THE
domestic reform, the Ottomans attempted to reas- "ARCHAEOLOGY OF DEATH"
sert their control of Transjordan. They established
garrisons at al-Salt, north of Hisban, sometimeLooking
be- for evidence of the transition from
tween 1865 and 1873, thereby bringing the seminomadic
Belqa' to a permanently settled way of l
under their direct administration, and Kerak, in
to the
the archaeological record is problematic for sev
south, around 1873. By the 1880s the most power-
eral reasons. Most information about the Bedouin
ful tribes, like the Beni Sakhr and the Adwan,past
either
culled from excavations comes from funerar
became Ottoman allies or were recognized bycontexts,
them rather than settlements: people on the mov
as regional strongmen and coopted into Ottoman
leave very little trace of their presence. Unfortu
service (Kazziha 1972: 15). Ottoman attempts at
nately, of those cemeteries that have been exca
collecting taxes from the tribes and conscripting
vated, very few have been recorded with care an
them into military service were less successfulfully
and published. The tendency of an earlier genera-
resulted in rebellions.
tion of archaeologists to remove the "Islamic layers
Legislation proved more effective than military
as quickly as possible to reach the classical and
force in bringing Transjordanian tribesmen under
biblical strata below has seriously reduced our abil-
direct state control. Most influential in this regard
ity to interpret new grave sites. Properly excavated
was the 1858 Land Law, applied to Transjordan cemeteries,
in moreover, suffer from the natural pro
phases from the 1870s on. With this law came the
cesses of decay and decomposition. Many factor
registration of land under the name of an owner
affect the preservation of skeletal material and grav
who would guarantee continuous cultivation and the goods of organic composition (textiles, leathers
remission of taxes. Under this system tribesmen etc.).14 What remains in a burial often depends mor
could easily lose their customary land rights to set-
on the composition of the soil, the level of the water
tlers if they failed to register with the state (Rogan
table, the temperature, and the humidity than o
1999: 91-92). Gradually the most influential mem-
the actual contents of the grave. This can distort th
bers of a tribe claimed ownership of communal land,
image the excavators have of the original state o
investing in its agricultural development, enjoyingthe corpse and the nature of the grave goods.
its revenues, and remitting the legislated taxes. SuchThe difficulties in doing "the archaeology of
a process undermined the economic egalitarianism death" do not end with field practices and preser
and codependence that reinforced tribal solidarity.vation. Only in the last 30 years has anything ap
In this way Tanzimat legislation was most suc- proaching a sophisticated theory of funerary practic
cessful in controlling nomads and seminomads emergedby in the archaeological literature (Binford
settling them and transforming them into landed
citizens and regular taxpayers. 14One of the best collections of papers on the preser
Such policies impacted tribal society in im-
vation of human remains appears in Death, Decay an
portant ways. In his analysis of cycles of seden-
Reconstruction (Boddington, Garland, and Janaway 1987
tarization and nomadization in Jordan, LaBianca a symposium attended by archaeologists, anthropologist
suggests that seminomadic tribes experienced im-
and forensic experts.

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 56 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

1971; Chapman andCoastal Plain. These include Tell Gat (7th-15th

Randsborg 198 cen-
turies),of
obvious limitation Tell Nagila (ca. 1700-1900), Tell Gezer,
cemetery exca Tell
Zeror (13th-15th archaeologist
nally been articulated: centuries), Tell Mevorakh, Cae-
sarea Maritima
als but not funerals (1879-1948), and Tell
(Morris 1987:el-Hesi 29
(Toombs
only one aspect of 1985: 16-18).16 The mostpractic
funerary carefully exca-
pects do not leave
vated a material
and fully published of these trace.
is Tell el-Hesi,
54 km southwest
of ritual from the of Jerusalem and 26 km northeast
archaeological re
dependent on an ofinterpretation
Gaza (Toombs 1985; Eakins 1993). It has been of g
cultural comparisons
dated to roughly(or ethnograp
A.D. 1550-1800, on the basis of
The value of the coins
economic interpre
and literary sources that document the tribal
history of this region (Eakinscemetery
goods that has dominated 1993: 76). This chro-
now being questioned.
nology makes the The Binfordian
cemetery just slightly earlier than
the one at Tall Hisban.
everything in a grave reflects social s
too simplistic in The its one-dimension
Hesi and Hisban cemeteries are quite similar
market-value wealth with an individual's status in in many respects. To begin with, the populations
the tribe (Ostigrd 1998: 125, 131). Another eco- interred in both gravesites have been identified as
nomic model explains variability in grave goods local,
in seminomadic, Muslim tribes of the Late Otto-
terms of supply and demand: a controlled depositionman period.17 Demography (predominance of in-
of high-value goods in a grave serves to maintain fants and young mothers), the orientation of the
the goods' market and social values in the living burials, the composition of the grave goods, and
the physical relationship of the cemetery to the
society, which is "essential to continuity in the so-
cial positions and interactions which the goods ancient ruins were identical at the two sites.18 There
symbolize" (Chapman 1987: 208). On the basisare ofthree important differences, however: scale, reli-
comparisons with modern cultures, it is becoming gious associations, and relationships of individual
clear that while tomb offerings have been socially burials. At Tell el-Hesi, 862 burials were identified
selected, the indigenous criteria for these selections
in Stratum II, and this does not represent the full
are not always based on economic factors (Ucko extent of the cemetery (Eakins 1993: 71). At Tall
1969: 266). Hisban, 45 individuals were exhumed out of an esti-
Crosscultural comparisons are necessary because mated 100; here, too, the excavations may be in-
they present a whole picture of ritual practice that
complete. Of course, the staggering difference in
would be incomplete from the burials alone. How- scale is related to the longevity of the Hesi cemetery
ever, ethnographic analogy introduces its own theo-(estimated at 250 years), compared with the rela-
retical difficulties, not the least of which is that
tively brief use of the summit of Tall Hisban (pre-
the meaning of ritual is not always understood. Al-
liminary estimate by this author of about 50 years).
though ritual structures may look identical, howThe two cemeteries are, moreover, differentiated by
they are interpreted by indigenous peoples, thatthe
is, structure of their burials. The graves at Hesi
what the funerary rites actually mean to them, were
may individual interments (some were lined with
differ from one culture, or tribe, to the next (Morris
stones, others were not); the Hisban population was
1987; Ucko 1969). In comparing physically similarburied together in an open space underneath a barrel
cemeteries, one must keep in mind that the social
vault. These elements could be explained, in part,
processes and rituals that produced them may have
been different. It is these ritual differences that may
account for anomalies in the archaeological record. 16For a comprehensive bibliography of excavated
Although Bedouin cemeteries excavated in Trans- cemeteries, see Toombs 1985 and Simpson 1995.
jordan are rare, there are many published references 17The excavators of Tell el-Hesi suggest that the site
to cemeteries located in the ruins of tall/tell siteswas
in the long-term, seasonal burial ground of the Wuhaydat
tribe, which was dislocated by Napoleon's invasion of the
Palestine.15 They are often associated with a saint's
shrine and near a water supply, and all are onregion
the (Eakins 1993: 75-76). They base their identifica-
tion on an interpretation of contemporary written sources
and oral tradition.

18A high infant mortality rate was also identified at

15A notable exception is the extensive cemeteryCaesarea,
at at which a shallow, nomadic cemetery of the
el-Lejjun (de Vries 1987: 344-46). same time period was excavated (Chase n.d.: 5; 1992).

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 57

nearest
by differences in funerary ritual. The factburial
thatsite. the
These cemeteries are the "dwell-
Hesi cemetery was associated with ing places for
a saint's the souls of the dead" (Young 1996:
shrine
and Hisban's was not may have had76). It is believedim-
important that the dead crave companion-
plications for each cemetery's lengthship,
of like
use the
andliving,
theand should be buried together.
The process.
differential attention paid to the burial Rashaayda claim that once the burial party be-
gins to leave the cemetery, the dead start to scream,
BEDOUIN ATTITUDES from fear of abandonment. Only the camels can hear
their cries. For this reason, the Rashaayda plug the
TOWARD DEATH
animals' ears (W. Young, personal communication).
Bedouin attitudes toward the body of the de-
In the 19th century, caring for the dead
ceased was a by both a pre-Islamic, tradi-
are informed
group responsibility, one that reinforced social
tional fear re- and Qur'anic ideas about death.
of ghosts
lations within the tribe (Morris 1987:
The 32), satis- ghosts, which can haunt the liv-
dead become
fied Qur'anic requirements (Welch ing
1977), and took
at camp. According to the Rashaayda, at night
precautions against "ghostly visitations" (William
you can distinguish a ghost from a living person by
Young, personal communication). Ithiswas not,
feet: how-
a ghost's right foot is attached to his left
ever, a service provided by professionals
leg and thein the
left foot to the right leg (Young 1996:
seminomadic environment of Transjordan.19 Family Navaho, another preindustrial
76). The American
members quickly disposed of the dead in simple
tribal ciststrikingly similar notions about
society, have
graves in unpretentious cemeteries. Outside of wash-
the dead and their ghosts. According to one Navaho
ing the body, there was little funerary
myth,preparation,
when Woman Speaker died, her children bur-
only a simple graveside ritual (if any), and
ied her no sub-
carelessly, by putting her left moccasin on
sequent visitation of the grave site (Eakins
her right foot 1993:
and the right moccasin on the left.
12-13).
She took revenge on them by giving them ghost
The body of a dead loved one is notsickness
"dear"(Kluckhohn
to the and Leighton 1974: 183). The
Bedouin. In fact, physical contact with
Navaho burycorpse
the the dead quickly but are careful to
is taboo. Anthropologists are consistent
include allinthetheir
deceased's valuable possessions and
descriptions of the ways Arab tribes kill animals atthe
avoid the graveside, to prevent the ghost
corpse. The Rwala and Wahabys of SaudifromArabia,
returning for
and taking revenge on the living
instance, hired local farmers to bury their dead
(Leighton and Kluckhohn 1947: 92; Kluckhohn and
(Musil 1928: 670; Burckhardt 1831: 100).
LeightonThey 1974:were
185).
interred in shallow graves, marked only by a few
Islam has also had a profound impact on Bedouin
stones (as much a method to prevent animals
attitudes towardfrom
death. Death is not mourned, be-
disturbing the corpse as to identify the
causegrave).
it is seenOnly
as the will of God (Cole 1975: 133).
two, perhaps four, people accompanied theaccording
Moreover, grave- to the Qur'an, it is part of
digger to the site; there was no formal graveside cer-
God's plan that people should die so they can be re-
emony; only the immediate family mourned at camp,
placed with others (Welch 1977: 194; Qur'an 56:
and this for three days (Musil 1928: 670-71).
60-61). The
This understanding of death is widespread
Sudan's Rashaayda have similar customs. These no-
among Muslim tribesmen of all walks of life. Rwala
madic pastoralists have tribal cemeteries located repeat the phrase "May Allah
widows customarily
throughout the desert. Whenever a member of the
replace him who has just passed away" during their
tribe dies, they transport the body, by camel,
period to the
of mourning (Musil 1928: 671). I have heard
something akin to this from one woman in Hisban,
who has miscarried many children and buried them
in the cisterns on the site: "They are losses, but God
19Burial practices were slightly different for settled
will give me others." Islam has also influenced fu-
tribes. For example, in one village community in Saudi
nerary practice. Among the most common customs
Arabia today, a professional washer of corpses (mughassil,
mughassila) is called on the day of the death. The rest of are washing the body, if possible, before burial, in-
the funeral preparations, however, are done by members terring the corpse by the end of the day, and placing
of the immediate family (Katakura 1977: 96). This kind of the body in the grave so that it faces Mecca.
professional specialization was probably true for farming Some of the most important sources of infor-
communities 100 years ago. mation on Bedouin burial practices in 19th-century

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 58 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

Transjordan are European travelogues

frequent references to saints' shrines (m
structures associated with old trees and sources of
water (Burckhardt 1822; Le Strange 1886: 304-5).
They were the objects of visitation by Muslim pil-
grims seeking baraka (blessing). Because of the
sanctity of these sites, tribesmen often stored agri-
cultural equipment there, where it was safe from
theft and vandalism (Le Strange 1886: 300; La-
Bianca 1990: 83; Conder 1889: Tristam 1873: 541;
Thomson 1888: 660). In addition to saint's shrines,
the travelers' accounts also describe the tombs of
tribal sheikhs, which may be differentiated from
other graves by carved tombstones (Warren 1869:
285). Our European sources describe these two spe-
cial categories of tombs at some length. They also
mention the "common graves" that are associated
with the saints' shrines but say little about them.
Only occasionally do we read of "common" Bedouin
graves; these generally refer to the tribal cemeteries Cm
located on top of hills or mountains or on the sum-
mit of talls, among archaeological ruins (Burckhardt
1831: 100-101, 280).21
The cemetery at Hisban falls into this category.
Fig. 13. Heavy bronze finger ring with setting of
The graves are located at the highest point ofblack
thestone.
tall, tucked inside the medieval-period ruins. The
ethnographic analogies suggest, then, that the ceme-
tery at Hisban was the seasonal burial ground (Toombs
of a 1985: 93). Bedouin women tend to dress
up every day, wearing all of their jewelry at once
tribe that frequented the area in the mid-19th cen-
(Burckhardt 1831: 233). Men also wear rings and
tury. The Adwan, which camped nearby at CAin
Hisban, would have transported the deceased to thearmbands (fig. 13). Rapid burial, to avoid extended
contact with the bodies, probably accounts for the
base of the tall, washed the body in the wadi below
or at one of the cisterns on the site, wrappedlarge the quantity of jewelry recovered from the ceme-
body in a white, linen shroud and buried it tery the (numbering into the hundreds), rather than the
same day in the common grave underneath the bar- disposal of necklaces, bracelets, and rings by
mourning loved ones. It is, therefore, the taboo asso-
rel vault. The dead apparently took all of the jewelry
ciated with the corpse that explains the presence of
and other objects that they wore or carried on their
bodies at the time of death to the grave with themthese grave goods, rather than a concern for materi-
ally providing for the dead in the spiritual realm or
the economically motivated decision of removing
20With the decline of the Ottoman Empire in thecommodities from circulation.
19th century, the European powers took a colonial interest Ethnographic research on burial customs of vil-
in the Middle East. Transjordan was of particular im- lagers in Palestine in the 1930s and 1950s sheds
portance: strategically, because of tribal unrest and the
light on the context of some of these practices and
pilgrimage route, and religiously, because of its Old
how they may have changed with sedentarization
Testament associations. As the Ottomans briefly reas-
and the increasing use of permanent cemeteries.
serted their control over the region toward the end of the
On the matter of shrouds, villagers interviewed af-
century, travel became safer for Christian pilgrims and
antiquarians. firmed the necessity of providing all who die with
21For a modern-day description of the Ahl al-Gabal's a shroud-in this case, a complete ensemble of
graves in Jordan's northeastern panhandle, see the anthro- newly prepared shirts, trousers, girdles, caps, and
pological study by Lancaster and Lancaster (1993). miscellaneous accessories. One village woman in-

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 59

Cm

Fig. 15. Ring with blue glass setting.

CW1

Fig. 14. Twisted iron bracelet.

IN:?I
dicated that nomads dispensed with this custom,
...........2::lP:

using only a winding sheet (in lieu of a coffin): "In

the East-in Transjordania-it has happened that
many people have not been given a shroud. They
have died like gypsies" (Granqvist 1965: 58). The c"my
women interviewed by Granqvist also discussed the
use of coins in burials, explaining that cheap coins
were sewn onto the burial hoods (wuqaa) of women
(Granqvist 1965: 62). This practice may have grown
out of the practice of burying women with their
everyday head and face veils, which were covered
with coins. Such coins weighed down the veils and
Fig. 16. Finely worked mother-of-pearl pendant.
kept them close to the face.

IMPACT OF THE TANZIMAT ON stone, ceramic, and semiprecious stone beads and
THE BEDOUIN ECONOMY mother-of-pearl pendants (fig. 16); and large copper
coins hammered flat (used to weigh down and adorn
the fringes
The jewelry buried with the deceased at of women's head coverings).22 The raw
Hisban
is rather typical of a tribal assemblage, and much
of it is available in Middle Eastern22The
suqsassemblage
today:at Hisban is nearly identical to the
glass, shell, and bronze bracelets (often twisted
one excavated in aImages of the Tell el-Hesi grave
at Hesi.
snake shape) (fig. 14); simple bronze, copper,
goods are publishedand
in Toombs 1985 and Eakins 1993.
iron earrings and finger rings withNeither the Hisban
settings nor the Hesi objects have undergone
of glass
laboratory analysis.
or semiprecious stones (fig. 15); necklaces of shell,

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 60 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

Rk,

IN A

Fig. 17. A woman's necklace comprised of cowrie shells, seed b

materials for some of these objects may have co

from the coast; many shells and mother-of-pearl
ocean products (fig. 17).
Some of the semiprecious stones set in fing
rings and strung on necklaces-the highest qual
carnelians, agates, and jaspers-could have be
transported by sea from India, North Africa, a
the Yemen (fig. 18) (Hombs-Fredericq 1995: 47
Content 1987: 413; Gwinnett and Gorelick 1991:
194). Quartz-based stones of lower quality were
closer at hand. Carnelian is found naturally in the
desert of the Negev and Jordan, and turquoise is
,,

available in the Sinai (fig. 19) (McGovern 1985:

105). It is likely that local and imported stone beads
a:??i
were combined in the same necklace. Such neck-
I:''' ' ':i.

i;ii;:~::,?iiill;lIlllllllii:i:..
':;::;:::::":
laces excavated from cemeteries in Scandinavia
attest to a vibrant, long-distance trade in "pe
trinkets" in the ninth century, when sackfuls of Ea
Fig. 18. Assorted carnelian beads, cowrie shells, and ern glass and carnelian beads were sorted at lo
"seed beads."
marketplaces and added to locally made beads
the same strand (Callmer 1995: 52). Moreover,

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 61

*AZA-

e.A Nil

Fig. 19. Carnelian beads, originall

ported stones may

estine have
and Transjordan been
in the 19th century made
19th-centuryavailable
India, semiprec
to remote groups trade goods sold at th
Gujarat were sent
ports of the Mediterranean
to Cambay
and the Red Sea, as they
f
and setting do today (Toombs
(fig. 20) 1985: 111).
(Summer
Glass beads were manufactured and marketed Two objects deserve special mention. These ar
in a similar manner. Although Hebron was knownthe two glass lenses, possibly from a pair of specta-
for its glass industry in this period, muchcles,glasskept in a small, leather pouch found on one of
bead production likely took place at smaller,therural
adults (fig. 21). The pouch appears to have bee
centers, where glass ingots were traded andworn,recutperhaps tied to a belt around the waist. W. M
(Saitowitz, Reid, and van der Merwe 1995: 101).
Thomson, a European visitor to Transjordan in th
While most semiprecious stones and glass are notquarter of the 19th century, frequently refers t
third
expensive materials, they do allude to a regional
exchange network that served nomadic or burialsemi- goods were valuable for their apotropaic powers
nomadic peoples.23 The rural marketplaces of Pal-
based on their color. For instance, blue warded off the
evil eye, opaque white promoted lactation, and yellow
prevented jaundice. Certain materials were, likewise, am-
23Simpson suggests that such populations differen-
uletic: cowry shells broke the power of the evil eye, car-
tiated between jewelry used for burials and that kept inpromoted healing, and coral brought good fortune
nelian
(Simpson
circulation. He claims that the cheaper items found as 1995: 246; see also Sade 1995).

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 62 BETHANY J. WALKER BASOR 322

''?''
''

I:j

c
.i ?~

.r

i?

r:?
crn
?*

:i:l

Fig. 21. Lens from a pair of eyeglasses.

cm frequented the market towns, like Salt, and bartered

for such "urban" goods as clothes, sugar, coffee,
spices, gunpowder, and weapons (Tarawneh 1992:
199). With the development of an internal road
system and the suppression of Bedouin attacks on
caravans by the end of the 19th century, the Ot-
Fig. 20. Blue bead from a necklace. tomans made Transjordan an attractive place to
settle and do business. By mid-century peddlers
from Palestine and Syria were visiting villages and
binoculars he shared with his Adwan guides during
Bedouin
his travels (Thomson 1888).24 Is it possible thatcamps
a to sell their wares, including sil-
European visitor gave the Hisban eyeglassesverwork
to a(Rogan 1999: 99). From the 1870s on, Pal-
estinian merchants and Circassian settlers relocated
local guide, as Thomson often did with his small
personal items before returning home? Iftoso, Transjordan;
the many of them actually lived in the
camps (Tarawneh
cemetery illustrates yet another way the lifestyle of 1992: 198). Among the new set-
tlers19th
Transjordanian tribes changed at the end of the were jewelers. Access to new kinds of jewelry
century through contact with the West. and foreign-made goods, such as spectacles, could
have entered Bedouin markets in this fashion.
Nomadic groups were far from isolated econom-
ically. Transjordan had regular access to the Pales-
tinian markets. Salt and Nablus, Kerak and Hebron, CONCLUSIONS

and Ma'an and Gaza were regular trading partners;

caravans from Nablus visited Salt, for instance,Bedouin
on attitudes toward death, influ
fear of ghosts and the corpse (attitudes t
a monthly basis (Rogan 1999: 29). The Bedouin
Islam), and the requirements of Islami
plain to a large extent the quantity of
found at Tall Hisban and the structure of the burials
24Binoculars would have been of particular use to
Bedouin tribesmen in the 19th century. With an almostthere. While the identification of the interred pop-
continual state of tension between the Adwan and Beni ulation as Adwan has not been confirmed, it is likely
that it was a seminomadic tribe that frequented the
Sakhr tribes, a set of binoculars would have assisted in
wadis and springs around the site in the second half
scouting large tracts of contested territory for the enemy.

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2001 THE LATE OTTOMAN CEMETERY IN FIELD L, TALL HISBAN 63

20th
of the 19th century. This was a period of century with the establishment of a per
transition
for the Transjordanian tribes, as some cemetery
gradually to serve the needs of the villag
settled in villages and all were touchedOttoman cemetery on the tall captures tra
politically,
economically, and socially by the urban burial practices before they disappeared fr
centers.
Belqa'. in the
Funerary rites at Hisban were transformed

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to the editorial staff ofat the Geography

BASOR and the Department of Oklahoma S
reviewers of the original manuscript forsity,
theirI comments,
extend my thanks for digitizing th
herein.
suggestions, and revisions. To Michael Larson and his staff

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