Post on 21-Jan-2023
ARAM 27:1&2 (2015), 309-323
KHIRBET AL KHALDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SALVATION PROJECT
DR. FABRICE DE BACKER AND MR. JOHN M. SCOTT
(University of Louvain-La-Neuve)
Abstract
The Wadi Yutm Archaeological Survey Project (WYAS) was initiated in 2011 by the post-graduate student
John Scott for his doctoral dissertation on conflict archaeology at University of Bristol, UK. The project is
a component of the Great Arab Revolt Project, also based at University of Bristol, and was conducted in
affiliation with the Department of Archaeology of the Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, Jordan. The
focus of the project was gathering information on WWI and the Great Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918 in the
Aqaba and Wadi Yutm region. In addition, the project was conducted to address an archaeological data gap
in the Wadi Yutm region for all time periods.
Work in 2011 consisted of site discovery and recording in the valley, with sites identified by systematic,
intensive pedestrian inventory of selected areas as well as by local informants and the use of satellite
imagery. All encountered sites were recorded, or, if previously documented, the sites were updated. In
addition, oral interviews of local Bedouin inhabitants of the valley were conducted. Fieldwork was
undertaken between March 8 and April 7, 2011 by a 12-member team consisting of 10 professional
archaeologists, a metal detectorist, and a photographer, with Scott serving as principal investigator. Dr.
Mansour Shqairat represented Al-Hussein Bin Talal University. Mohammed Thunibat was the Aqaba
Department of Antiquity’s (DoA) representative for the project.
The Khirbet al Khalde Archaeological Salvation Project was initiated by post-graduaates John Scott and
Doctor Fabrice De Backer for the study and preservation of the archaeological sites linked to the Idumeans,
Nabateans, and early periods recovered during the WYAS. As several of those can be clearly defined and
identified as such, the directors of the project will propose an overview of the most significant ones to the
attention of the scholarly community.
INTRODUCTION
The interest of Khirbet al Khalde as a first rank site for the study of water systems and land use in the
arid Wadi Ythm region has been raised during the Wadi Ythm Archaeological Survey conducted by
John M. Scott during March 2011 (Figure 1).
The Wadi Ythum Archaeological Survey 2011 is a way to properly record, investigate and study the
sites linked to the military history of the Wadi ythm, near Aqaba, in Jordan. KKASPu intends to
record, study and preserve Khirbet al Khalde, located on a strategic trade route between the Red Sea and
the Levant, from the threatening dangers linked to the conservation of the buildings and structures.
Khirbet al Khalde, « the ruins of Khalde », is a wonderful area located at the foot of a high, rocky
mountain, on the Eastern side of the highway between Ma’an and Aqaba, in Jordan.
Archaeological Salvation underlines the main objective of this project : preserving the site and providing
a large thesaurus of archaeological and anthropological data, would the site be destroyed or lost to the
erosion.
Unlimited shows the real desire of the project management team to reach its goal in time as well as
providing good luck and Positive Thinking.
« Kaspu » is a pun with the ancient Near Eastern kispu ritual, when people pour a libation of water
or wine on the tomb of the ancestors, to honour and remind them yearly1.
1 Iles-Johnston, S., Religions of the Ancient World (Harvard, 2004), 480; Jonker, G., The Topography of Remembrance.
the Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in Mesopotamia (Leiden, 1995), p. 233.
KHIRBET AL KHALDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SALVATION PROJECT
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I. LOCATION
Khirbet al Khalde is located in the Wadi Ythm, at approximately fourty kilometers north-east of Aqaba,
on the fringes of the Ard as Sawwan Desert (Figure 1).
The site was built on the top of a small rising, in a wider part in the Wadi Ythm, between the main
series of mountains and a small hill on the south-eastern side of the valley2.
A. MODERN GEOGRAPHY
The modern rail road track that links Amman to the Red Sea has destroyed a part of the north-east and
south-west sides of the main fort, and is a threat to the conservation of the site3.
A modern highway without macadam and a line of electric pylons run on the north-eastern part of
the area, right at the foot of the mountains.
The ancient Desert Highway runs about five hundred meters from the site, south-west of Khirbet al-
Khalde, while the new road runs some eight hundred meters further away to the west4.
B. ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY
1) Milestones of the Via Nova Traiana
Trajan's highway certainly follows the itinerary of the ancient road of the caravans, running between
Philadelphia / Amman and the Red Sea, Israel and Arabia. After the Roman invasion, Trajan erected
milestones to facilitate the military transit and the logistics between the head of the new province and
the capital of the empire. These are usually left blank, without any inscriptions in the south of Arabia,
being much more a way to commemorate an event than a means to date a part of the road with precision.
Most of these were discovered between Quweira and Khirbet al Khalde, and to the south at Kithara,
and are attributed to Trajan (112 A.D.), Diocletian (293-305 A.D.)5 and Maxentius (307-308 A.D.)6.
2) Table of Peutinger
Praesidium appears on the bottom of Part IX on the Peutinger Table, produced after 328 A.D., around
twenty-one Roman miles from ad Dianam7, and twenty-five Roman miles south of Hauara, the
contemporary Humayma8, facing the Pernicide portum9.
This location fits quite well with the site of Khirbet al Khalde, located around thirty-three kilometers
from Humayma, and seventeen kilometers south of Guweira10.
3) Notitia Dignitatum
The Notitia Dignitatum presents a part of the sector defended by the Dux Palaestina, but as Hauara
appears on it, Praesidium station does not11.
2 Gregory, Sh., Roman Military Architecture on the Eastern Frontier (Amsterdam, 1997) , p. 406. 3 Kennedy, D., The Roman Army in Jordan (London, 2004b), p. 191, fig. 10.9B. 4 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 190, fig. 10.9.A. 5 Graf, D., The Via Nova Traiana in Arabia Petraea in the Roman and Byzantine Near East : Recent Archaeological
Research (Ann Arbor [Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series, 14], 1995a, p. 23-28. 6 Graf, D., 1995a, p. 33. 7 Thomsen, P., “Untersuchungen zur älteren Palästinaliteratur, 2. Notitia Dignitatum”, Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-
Vereins, Bd. XXIX (1906), 125-126. 8 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 199. 9 ˂http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost03/Tabula/tab_pe11.html˃ ˂http://soltdm.com/sources/mss/tp/
tp8.htm˃. 10 Kennedy D., 2004, p. 199. 11 Bayerische StaatsBibliotheek, p. 237.
Dr. Fabrice De Backer and Mr. John M. Scott
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Folio Oriens 34, 41 of the Notitia Dignitatum, produced around 400 A.D., bears the quote Cohors
quarta Frygum, Praesidio, which means that a unit named Fourth Cohort of Phrygians is garrisoned at
Praesidium12.
According to most authors, the word "praesidium" defines a police station located along a highway
and was employed from Egypt to Thrace13.
This area does not appear on the fragments of the list of garrissons paying taxes on the later Beer
Shevar Edict14. Mention of a Praesidium exists, but some authors think that this term refers to another
police station located in the Wadi Araba, while B. Isaac rather links this one to the Prasidin on the Map
of Madaba and on this Edict15.
Another "Castellum et Praesidium" is mentioned in an inscription discovered in a small fort, south
of the Oasis of Azraq, at Qasr el-Uweini.
4) Mosaic of Madaba
The mosaic found in Saint Georges Church of Madaba, manufactured after 550 A.D., depicts a military
station called "Prasidin" in the Wadi Araba, on the Fragmentary Panel n° 8 of the map16.
This is clearly not the depiction of Khirbet al Khalde, as the difference between the landscapes
represented for Praesidium and Prasidin (al Fayfa) shows it.
The present author believes that, to the contrary of what appears to be a bad translation of the Latin
text of the Notitia Dignitatum, Ala Secunda Felix Valentiana was not garrisoned "at" Praesidium, but
"at the side of" Praesidium, as the original text reads "apud", and not "at"17.
II. DESCRIPTION
The settlement offers some features of primary interest and importance for the study of water and land
use in an arid region, in a country whose archaeology is far from well known to the scholar community.
A. WATER SYSTEMS
1) Aqueduct
An aqueduct system drained water from a spring on top of the adjacent mountains to the two
fortifications and the three visible cisterns at its foot (Figure 2-6). From there, as far as one can see, it
splits into three main channels.
The first one reaches a well at the south-eastern angle of Fort 2, and another smaller cistern inside
the inner court of that building.
The second one goes as far as the inner cistern inside the part A of Fort 1, flowing then from there
into part B, to the Roman hypocaust system.
The third channel reaches the three visible cisterns located at the north-east of Fort 1.
2) Cisterns
To the north-west of Fort 1, there are three large cisterns, one of which have lost most of its vault, but
still shows thick layers of waterproof mortar (Figure 7-8).
12 BSB, p. 238. 13 Isaac, B., The Limits of Empire. The Roman Army in the East, (Oxford, 1992), 174-175; 180. 14 Hartmann, R., Hartmann, R., “Materialen zur historischen Typographie der Palaestina Tertia”, Zeitschrift der Deutschen
Palästina Vereins, 36 (1913), 181-182; Isaac, B., The Near East under Roman Rule, Selected Papers, (Amsterdam, 1998), 451. 15 Kennedy D., 2004, p. 201, note 3. 16 ˂http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/mad/sections/section8.html˃. 17 ˂http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/mad/legends/legends098.html˃; Notitia Dignitatum, fol. 73, 35.
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B. FORTIFICATIONS
1) Fort 1
Fort 1 is divided into two parts on a square plan.
Part A is built with large ashlars and rocks forming a series of casemate walls around an inner court,
in the center of which lies a subterranean square cistern, with a gate on its north-eastern side.
Part B is composed of casemate walls, under which three rows of three tombs can be seen. The north-
eastern one having been re-employed in a period as the praefurnium and underground heating area of
the hypocaust that was build right above this place (Figure 2-3; 9-10).
2) Hypocaust
Remains of a hypocaust system can be observed in the north-eastern side of part B, in Fort 1, among
rubbles of small characteristic square and circular, flat tiles, tubuli, pieces of wall plaster and pipes.
This area is badly damaged, probably, because of the gold diggers and of the proximity of the railroad
(Figure 3; 9-10).
3) Fort 2
Fort 2 reveals the same architectural characteristics as Fort 1. This building presents a rectangular plan
of casemate walls around an inner court, in the center of which lies a rectangular subterranean cistern
(Figure 2-3).
C. TOMBS
Three rows of three tombs are located under the remains of the hypocaust of part B in Fort 1. The
north-eastern row of three chambers is the only accessible and most visible part of the three tombs
(Figure 9). The lintels are made up of large ashlars with a hacked decoration of a fish-scale pattern that
was covered by several layers of a thick mortar dating from the time they were re-employed as a
praefurnium. The protruding door jambs show the same ornamental patterns, with a horizontal gutter
located on their base to receive large, flat and rectangular slabs covering the access when the tombs
would be sealed up.
The rectangular chambers were covered by large, flat and rectangular stone slabs, perhaps when these
were re-employed as the area of the bath (Figure 10). The large, rectangular wall slabs are decorated
the same way as the entrance. The roof is made up of large rectangular stone slabs, covered by several
layers of a thick mortar, in order to make it waterproof and to protect it from the carbon monoxyde
resulting from several fires, as can be observed today. The rooms were half-filled, according to a close
observation, with soft soil, in order to receive the bessales supporting the suspensura.
III. RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY
More research are on their way at this very moment to prepare a monograph with further data on the
chronology of Khirbet al Khalde.
A. PRE-NABATEAN PHASE
Some reasons lead to think that the tombs located under the Roman baths were dug before the Nabatean
period, something which the management team is currently investigating for the forthcoming
publication18.
1) Tombs
18 Work in progress.
Dr. Fabrice De Backer and Mr. John M. Scott
313
The hypogeum presents very similar features to those of the tombs from earlier periods, as the kind of
architecture chosen strongly reminds of the Ugaritic and Assyrian style sepulchres, this perhaps can be
linked to a Late Iron Age people living in a part of the Wadi Ythm that still needs to be surveyed.
2) Fort 1
Fort 1 presents huge blocks of granite hardly square or rectangular, without mortar19.
This building was certainly employed from the second c. B.C. at least to the seventh c. A.D. at the latest.
3) Aqueduct
If the tombs were actually dug under the ground of a house, as it reminds the Mesopotamian and
Levantine habits, thus the power of the people deposited inside the hypogeum certainly came from their
control of the resources in water of the area.
If that were so, thus the first installation of the cisterns and aqueduct should be, at least, contemporary
with the tombs, but there is no doubt that it was employed at least from the second c. B.C. to the fifth c.
A.D. at the latest.
B. NABATEAN PHASE20
Some ceramic sherds were discovered on the surface, in some soundings and around the site of Khirbet
al Khalde, providing a relative chronology dated to the Nabatean period21.
1) Fort 1
A new facing was built on the walls of the main fort, with very good sandstone ashlars, bearing traces
of Nabatean chisels22, well organized in successive, horizontal layers and stuck with mortar23.
2) Fort 2
So far, further surveys and excavations are required to collect more data on the earlier phases of the
tombs, Fort 2, the aqueduct and the cisterns, and this is another goal of the present excavation team of
KKASPu.
C. ROMAN PHASE24
The chronology of the Roman period can be quite well established thanks to the close observation of
other sites, more or less similar, in the region.
So far, only the data recovered by the Wadi Ythm Archaeological Survey Project under the direction
of John Scott in March 2011, and the extensive research conducted by the Khirbet al Khalde
Archaeological Salvation Project of Dr. Fabrice De Backer can provide a more accurate chronology of
the site.
The KKASPu team currently prepares the forthcoming fieldwork season to clarify some points of
the Khirbet al Khalde chronology.
1) Fort 1
Some coins were discovered on the site of Khirbet al Khalde, as in the east gate of the north wall in Fort
1, dated to Diocletian (between 284 and 305 A.D.). Others were found in soundings, attributed to
19 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 200. 20 Work in progress. 21 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 201. Gregory, Sh., 1997, p. 406. 22 Gregory, Sh., 1997, p. 408. 23 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 200. 24 Work in progress.
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Constantine (307-337 A.D.), Constantine II The Young (337-340 A.D.), and Constantius II (337-361
A.D.), for one that was revealed in a cistern North-East of Fort 1. These certainly were lost by travelers
or Roman soldiers.
Some ceramic sherds were discovered on the surface and in soundings here and there on the site of
Khirbet al Khalde25.
2) Fort 2
Apart from the Roman bath, Fort 2 presents a very similar plan to that of Fort 1, although it shows
smaller proportions. This building certainly gave shelter to a particular troop of Roman soldiers, or the
mounted part of the band that stayed at Khirbet al Khalde.
Fort 2 was occupied from the second c. A.D. at least to the sixth or the seventh c. A.D. at the latest.
3) Tombs
It is possible that the rooms were built during the Iron Age, and some of them were re-employed as a
praefurnium for the bath of the Roman garrison between the beginning of the second c. A.D. to the sixth
c. A.D. at the latest.
The tombs were certainly emptied of their deposits during the building of the Roman bath, if they
were not looted earlier. The close observation of this area reveals that the inner walls separating the
chambers and their cover were taken out to fill in the space up to the middle height with soft soil.
After that, the workers installed many lines of small tiles, circular and rectangular, typically
employed for the building of the Roman hypocaust, and they covered the whole with huge, flat and
rectangular plates of sandstone. Many layers of a thick mortar, heavily composed with sand, came then
to cover the joints, the frame of the door and the entrances to create a praefurnium, thanks to the north-
eastern part of the tomb chambers.
The builders then set the network of pipes to heat the rooms located on top of the tombs, thanks to
the fire maintained in front of these ones. The two or three other lines of tombs, it is supposed, served
as wood storage facilities, but only the forthcoming excavation campaign will help to clarify that idea.
The presence of baths implies a strong concentration of water and wood, something which is not a
surprise as the aqueduct leads inside both forts and that both of them have an inner cistern in their main
court. Meanwhile, the very high consumption of wood strongly contrasts with the modern desertic
appearance of the landscape around the site. These baths were probably heated with straw and dung or
even dung bricks, or with another combustible that could explain the huge area covered with such a wide
and deep layer of ashes on the north-eastern side of Fort 1 (Figure 3).
Other, neighbouring sites from the same period also present a bath complex, a fact that seems to
demonstrate how much the soldiers suffered from boredom and how dense the vegetation of the area
must have been at that time in certain areas nearby26.
4) Cisterns
The current status of the cisterns does not allow the KKASPu team to study them extensively, as the
first of them is still employed by the landowner of the site of Praesidio, the second is filled with sand
and the third has not been surveyed during the last campaign of WYAS, due to a lack of time.
Fortunately, both Mr John Scott and Dr. De Backer are preparing a forthcoming campaign on the
spot to fill in the gaps in the data recovered.
So far, a close observation of the fragments of vaults and walls of the cisterns reveals a very long
employment of these structures, proved by the several layers of mortar used to make it waterproof.
5) Aqueduct
25 Kennedy, D., 2004, p. 201. 26 Even if these baths were only heated with dung bricks.
Dr. Fabrice De Backer and Mr. John M. Scott
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The aqueduct sadly presents today scanty archaeological evidence, as its conservation state is far from
sufficient or good, although the WYAS has very accurately and extensively recorded every single piece
of its visible structure.
Anyways, the presence and intensive employment of the baths and cisterns of Khirbet al Khalde
seem to indicate that this building worked quite well during the Roman period of Praesidium.
D. BYZANTINE PHASE27
Future fieldwork will certainly reveal more materials to understand the Byzantine phase of Khirbet al
Khalde.
So far, ceramic sherds discovered on the surface indicates the seventh c. A.D., in and around the
ruins of Khalde28.
1) Christian Tomb
A Christian tombstone was discovered near the ruins of Khalde, proving that a religious community
stayed on the site during the sixth or the seventh centuries A.D.29.
2) Fort 2
So far, epigraphy does not provide many texts for the study of Khirbet al Khalde, as a single fragment
of inscription with some Greek letters has been found on the surface, outside of the south-western wall
of Fort 2.
IV. CONSERVATION
Although Khirbet al Khalde has never been excavated, several transformations of the adjacent landscape
seriously damaged the site.
A. TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMY
1) Railroad Track Construction
The building of the railroad track close to the site drew the attention of a substantial amount of looters
who put all their energy in digging a very deep and chaotic hole in the middle of the western part of the
site, thus bringing the tombs to light, but endangering their load-bearing pillars.
2) Railroad Track Proximity
The railroad track is often driven through by heavy trains, bringing the phosphates to the harbour for
export (Figure 2-3). The vibrations caused by the train pose a serious threat to the stability of the balance
of the roof covering the tombs (Figure 10).
B. HUMANS
1) Looters and Gold Diggers
Looters and gold diggers have heavily damaged the surrounding area, leaving deep and chaotic marks
around the corners of the two forts and inside the main building.
27 Work in progress. 28 Gregory, S., 1997, p. 406. 29 Oliver, J., “A Christian Epitaph from Eastern Palestine”, American Journal of Archaeology, 45 (1941), 542-543; Glueck,
N., “Exploration in Eastern Palestine III”, Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 1819 (New Haven, 1939),
18, fig. 10.
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2) Accidental Settlers
The nomadic people who wander the area leave plastic bags, tins and other trash behind in the middle
of the site, as far as inside the tombs, and also move blocks to build fire-shelters (Figure 10).
3) Lack of Human Interest
Although this most significant site has already been visited, surveyed and planned quite well, no real
attempts at any scientific recording has yet been made on the spot before the WYAS. Hopefully the
KKASPu project will solve the current situation.
C. NATURE
1) Natural Erosion
Jordan is a wonderful country but suffers from the nature of its soil, very loose stone, added to the heat
of the day, to the frost of the night and the strong wind, blowing in the open area to the north of Aqaba.
2) Earthquake
As they stand today, the heavy walls of the Roman station and later fort were most probably destroyed
by an earthquake, since these are fairly common in Jordan. This is certainly another good reason to
preserve the site, especially if one considers the potential damages another earthquake might cause to
the remaining buildings.
CONCLUSION
The KKASPu team currently prepares the publication of the preliminary report of Khirbet al Khalde
around the main themes of its location, identity, land use and water systems30.
Mr Scott and Dr. De Backer are looking for fundings and partners in order to organize the
forthcoming field campaign and excavate the tombs properly.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avi-Yonah, M., The Madaba Mosaic Map, with Introduction and Commentary, (Jerusalem, 1954.)
De Backer, F., Tombs in the Desert: Water and Stones at Khirbet al Khalde, Forthcoming.
Fairley, W., Notitia Dignitatum or Register of Dignitaries, in Translations and Reprints from
Original Sources of European History, Vol. VI: 4 (Philadelphia, 1894)
Glueck, N., Explorations in Palestine, III. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research,
Vol. XVIII-XIX (New Haven, 1937-1939)
Glueck, N., Exploration in Eastern Palestine III, Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research,
vol. 1819 (New Haven, 1939).
Graf, D., “The Via Nova Traiana in Arabia Petraea in the Roman and Byzantine Near East : Recent
Archaeological Research.” Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary, Vol. 14 (Ann
Arbor, 1995a), 241-267.
Gregory, Sh., Roman Military Architecture on the Eastern Frontier, (Amsterdam, 1997)
Hartmann, R., “Materialen zur historischen Typographie der Palaestina Tertia”, Zeitschrift der
Deutschen Palästina Vereins, 36 (1913) 100-113; 180-198.
Iles-Johnston, S., Religions of the Ancient World. A Guide, (Harvard, 2004)
Isaac, B., The Limits of Empire. The Roman Army in the East, (Oxford, 1992)
30 De Backer, F., Tombs in the Desert. Forthcoming.
Dr. Fabrice De Backer and Mr. John M. Scott
317
Isaac, B., The Near East under Roman Rule, Selected Papers, (Amsterdam, 1998)
Jonker, G., The Topography of Remembrance. The Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in
Mesopotamia, (Leiden, 1995)
- Kennedy, D., Ancient Jordan from the Air, (London, 2004a)
- Kennedy, D., The Roman Army in Jordan, (London, 2004b)
Notitia Dignitatum. Speyer 1542 und 1550 - 1552, Bayerische StaatsBibliothek (BSB), Münchener
DigitalieserungsZentrum.
Oliver, J., “A Christian Epitaph from Eastern Palestine”, American Journal of Archaeology 45 (1941),
542-543.
Thomsen, P., "Üntersuchungen zur älteren Palästinaliteratur, 2. Notitia Dignitatum". Zeitschrift des
Deutschen Palästina-Vereins Bd. XXIX (1906), 120-127.
˂http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost03/Tabula/tab_pe11.html˃
˂http://soltdm.com/sources/mss/tp/tp8.htm˃
˂http://soltdm.com/sources/mss/tp/tp8.htm˃
<http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/mad/sections/section8.html>
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Figure 1: Map showing the location of the Wadi Ythm Archaeological Survey Project in Jordan (Courtesy of
John Scott. WYAS 2011).
Figure 2 : Region of Khirbet al Khalde with the two forts and the aqueduct. Map drawn and annotated by John
Scott (Courtesy of John Scott. WYAS 2011).
Dr. Fabrice De Backer and Mr. John M. Scott
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Figure 3 : Plan of the two forts of Khirbet al Khalde drawn by John Scott (Courtesy of John Scott. WYAS 2011).
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Figure 4 : Water pipe of the aqueduct. Side view (Picture of the author).
Figure 5 : Water pipe of the aqueduct. Front view (Picture of the author).
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Figure 6 : Water basin located at middle length of the aqueduct (Picture courtesy of John Scott. WYAS Project 2011).
Figure 7 : Cistern from the Khirbet al Khalde area (Picture courtesy of John Scott. WYAS Project 2011).
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Figure 8 : Vault of a cistern still in use nowadays (Picture courtesy of John Scott. WYAS Project 2011).
Figure 9 : Entrance of the north-western row of chamber tombs at Khirbet al Khalde (Picture of the author).
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Figure 10 : Inside of the north-western row of chamber tombs at Khirbet al Khalde (Picture of the author).