PELLA  IN  JORDAN — 2011  

The Site of Pella in Jordan

Pella is a magnificent 10 hectare site, set in beautiful surroundings beside a perennial spring in the eastern foothills of the north Jordan valley. Human occupation in the region around Pella stretches back over half a million years and the site itself has been continuously occupied from around 8000 BC. As a result, the tell at Pella contains over 20 metres of occupation debris spanning the past 10,000 years.  Excavations by the University of Sydney over the past twenty-nine years have already unearthed many important discoveries, including: Neolithic housing (ca. 6000 BC); Early Bronze Age stone defensive platforms (ca. 3200 BC); massive Middle Bronze Age mudbrick city walls (ca. 1800 BC); Late Bronze Age residences, some with clay tablets (ca. 1350 BC); large areas of the Hellenistic city (destroyed by war in 83 BC); the theatre, baths and fountain-house of the Roman city (ca. 150 AD); three Byzantine churches (ca. 550 AD); an early Islamic city destroyed by an earthquake (ca. 750 AD); and many other finds that bring Pella’s history up to the present day. 

The Pella Volunteer Scheme

Over the last fifteen years the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation in conjunction with the Pella Excavation Project have provided members of the general public with an opportunity to work on the University of Sydney’s excavations at Pella in Jordan. People of all ages and backgrounds have been able to experience the unique atmosphere of working on an archaeological dig. We are currently accepting applications for the January-February 2011 excavation season, when we will further investigate the large Bronze Age temple (ca. 1900-800 BC) on the main mound, continue searching for the Roman Imperial temple (ca. 150-200 AD), and explore the newly discovered Hellenistic (ca. 83 BC) destruction level on Tell Husn, more fully described on the next page,  Finds from previous excavation seasons include uniquely important ceramic cult stands, and numerous gold, lapis, bronze, glass and ceramic cultic items.

Each volunteer spends three weeks with the excavation team living on site at our dig-house. Half a volunteer’s time is spent excavating in a trench with an experienced archaeologist, assisting them with the dig work. The other half is spent in the house, helping with the cleaning, description, cataloguing and packing of delicate objects, as well as assisting the conservators, photographers, illustrators, surveyors and specialist analysts (e.g. botanists and zoologists) as needed, when they process and study most finds from the field.

The fee for taking part in the 2011 excavation will be around $3500 plus airfare (price to be confirmed). We do not arrange group bookings as most volunteers tend to have travel plans before or after their time with us at Pella, although we recommend Emirates, as their schedules are most convenient for group travel. If you are interested in working at the important and beautiful site of Pella, please fill in the application form and post/fax it to us.

The 2011 Season

Further excavations in the Bronze and Iron Age Temple Compound (ca. 1900-800 BC), continuing the search for the Roman Imperial Temple on nearby Tell Husn (ca. 150-200 AD), and exploring the Late Hellenistic city (ca. 83 BC).

Over the last twelve years (1997-2009) excavations at Pella in Jordan concentrated on investigating a series of superimposed Bronze and Iron Age temple structures located on a slight rise on the southern side of the main mound.During this time we excavated three distinct Bronze Age (ca. 1700-1200 BC) and one Iron Age (ca. 900 BC) stone-walled temples. As the size of the earliest Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1700-1600 BC) temples were much larger than expected (at 32 x 24 metres, the largest ‘Fortress’ temples ever found), it took us three long seasons (1997-2001) to uncover the massive stone walls and footings. Finds were spectacular, and included several figured, painted and incised ceramic cult stands; many ceramic bowls, jugs and jars (bearing ‘tree of life’ motifs) and a large mixing bowl with ‘bulls-head’ handles.In the last four seasons (2003-2009) we excavated significant parts of three earlier mudbrick temples (ca. 1900-1700 BC), the uppermost displaying a magnificent white plaster floor. All were located immediately below the floor of the central room of the stone-built temples. As well, we continued work on a multi-room Iron Age administrative building (2003-2005) located immediately west of the temples, and in the last season (2009), started to explore an earlier Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC) structure that lies below it. The Iron Age building contained distinct room assemblages in each of the 26 rooms excavated between 2003-2005, all preserved below the thick layers of burnt debris that sealed the Iron II complex, when it was destroyed around 800 BC. In the 2009 season we plan to excavate more of the earlier Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC) structure that lies below the Iron Age building, where early indications suggest the presence of a large stone-walled complex. As well, we will continue exploring the earliest mudbrick temple structures, seeking the origins of the Fortress Temple cult. We also plan to expand recent excavations on the southwestern corner of nearby Tell Husn, exploring the promising Imperial Roman architectural discoveries (stone pavement, colonnaded street and pedimental fragments) made in 2007-2009, as well as exposing more of the Late Hellenistic (ca. 83 BC) destruction level first detected at the end of the season. We look forward to an interesting and rewarding season as we expand our work exploring one of the more fascinating and important cities of ancient Jordan. 

Please note: Preparations for the 2011 season are still at their preliminary stage. More information will be available as planning proceeds. We plan to excavate during January and February 2011 (with 2 groups of volunteers joining the excavation for 3 weeks at a time). If you would like more information as it becomes available, please complete the Pella Volunteer Application Form and send it to us. Filling in this form does not commit you joining the team until full details and pricing of the 2011 season are available.

Find out more about what happens at Pella. Click Here

To download a 2011 Pella Volunteer Application Form, Click here.

• For a report on the 2007 excavations on the main mound at Pella, Click here.
• For a report on the 2007 excavations on Tell Husn, Click here.
• For further information and images regarding Pella from Wikipedia, Click here
• For further information on the Pella Migdol Temple, Click here  

Enquiries and correspondence:
The Volunteer Co-ordinator
Pella Volunteers,
NEAF, SOPHI, A14
University of Sydney, NSW 2006

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Tel: (02) 9351 4151

Fax: (02) 9552 1412