The Ba’ja Neolithic Joint Project (BJNP) is a research and excavation initiative focused on the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Ba’ja (Petra Greater Area, Jordan). The project is co-directed by Hala Alarashi (UMR 7264, CEPAM, CNRS, France), Niccolò Mazzucco (Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Italy), and Bellal Abuhelaleh (Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Jordan) and in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.
Ba’ja is a Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement (LPPNB, late 7th millennium BCE, approximately 9,000 years ago) situated in a naturally fortified location within the sandstone region north of Petra, in the al-Amareen tribal area of southern Jordan. The early Neolithic settlement consists of densely built, terraced stone houses arranged pueblo-style on steep slopes. These structures are protected on all sides by high, vertical rock formations and a gorge that is 9-15 meters deep.
Excavations at Ba’ja began under the direction of Hans G. K. Gebel in the 1980s and 1990s, uncovering the architectural and social complexity of this early Neolithic community. From 1997 to 2021, a total of 13 excavation seasons were conducted at the site. The ongoing BJNP aims to deepen our understanding and provide new insights into pre-pottery farming societies and their decline.
Contact: Niccolò Mazzucco / Hala Alarashi / Bellal Abuhelaleh
Links
Information about previous campaigns at Ba’ja can be found on the Ex Oriente webpage: https://www.exoriente.org/baja