Ziad Al saad

Yarmouk University | YU · Department of Conservation and Management of Cultural Resources

Many objects in museum collections have no or inadequate information on their origin and archaeological evidence. These objects which are classified as unprovenanced or "Orphaned" represent a big ethical and technical challenge for the museums. Re-establishing the context of these objects by scientific research proves to be the best option for muse...

Due to an unfortunate oversight, the source “Najjar, 2001” was incorrectly cited in the original version of the chapter “Illicit Excavations and Trade in Antiquities”

Illicit excavation and trade in antiquities represents a major and unsettled challenge for Jordan. The recent past has witnessed a phenomenal increase in the number of people involved in these illicit activities which result in the destruction of a significant part of Jordan’s cultural legacy. Illegal diggers make a big mess of the sites and conseq...

Copper-based artefacts excavated from high chloride burial environments can develop destructive cyclic corrosion known as the bronze disease when exposed to uncontrolled humidity and oxygen. This research deals with the corrosion behaviour and conservation of a rare Ayyubid Mamluk copper cauldron used for boiling sugar syrup for sugar production in...

The Neolithic site of Beidha in southern Jordan is a highly significant and unique site that documents the evolution of early human residential architecture. The architectural remains of the site have been seriously deteriorated over the years due to natural and human factors. The site value is being diminished and its existence is threatened. Ther...

Ancient coins forging and counterfeiting have recently witnessed an alarming increase. This makes authenti-cation of these coins and detection of fakes of paramount importance. Therefore, this research aims at proposing a systematic step by step scientific testing methodology that can be used by museums to check the authenticity of their own coin c...

Site investigation was made in order to assess and evaluate the existing structural conditions of Qasr al-Bint. The damage and deterioration forms of the structure were mapped and represented by schematic drawings and pictures and their causes were defined. A conservation program is suggested in order to preserve the artistic and historical values...

Representative samples of textiles taken from Ottoman costumes were chemically analyzed for dyes identification purpose. The collection dates from the 19th century and belongs to the Museum of Jordanian Heritage. The chemical analyses were carried out using HPLC, FT-IR and two samples with EDX. Indigo, Madder, Prussian blue, Scheele's green, synthe...

The process of authentication involves a wide variety of steps that are intimately linked and completely interdependent. In this research voltammetry of micro-particles (VMP) is used to date and authenticate a five late Roman lead balance weights. The chronology of the archaeological finds together with lead balance weights was estimated to be 4 th...

Metal jewelry is frequently found in tombs in Jordan dating to Late Antiquity and archaeological data provides a general view of economic prosperity in the region during this period. Metal artifacts recovered from mortuary contexts have long been used by archaeologists as evidence of wealth and socioeconomic status. This paper combines materials an...

Intercultural relations and trade are important components of understanding of historical interrelationships between regions and cultures. One of the most interesting objects of trade is stone, because of the expense and difficulty of its transport. Thus, the source of marble used in the Nabatean city of Petra was investigated using established pet...

The northern rim of Al Jafr basin was the focus of a massive quarrying effort during the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. At that time, massive volumes of chert were extracted from the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl and the Umm Rijam Formations that crop out in the Umm Rijam, Khuzayma and Al Athriyat mountains. The landscape of the region is marked by...

It is expected that global warming will materialize primarily as lack of rain in semi-arid countries, leading to drought and failure of crops. But apart from the direct impact on harvests, changing temperatures also affect soil properties. A sustained drought or different rainfall pattern may lead to a reduction of organic matter, loss of aggregate...

consolidation and re- bonding sandstone grains by Salicylic Acid ester materials a case study from Petra Archaeological site

Traditional Building Techniques From 1850 to 1950, the paper focus into the traditional buildings walling system and Roofing system in Northern Jordan villages

Under the auspices of the Quarryscapes programme, a series of efforts have been initiated to identify, study and document important stone sources in Jordan. These have included the limestone and caliche quarries used by the Romans to build the city of Jarash; the sandstone quarries opened and used by the Nabateans for the built monuments and other...

It is of high actual importance to clarify historic climate variations and their impact, because it is not possible to predict future developments and their drivers, unless those of the past are understood. The Decapolis area in northern Jordan provides excellent opportunities to analyze this question. Environmental change as a result either or of...

Historic land use was found to impact soil development directly in the Decapolis region in Northern Jordan, leading to re-distribution, not simply erosion and degradation of soils. Several authors proposed that land use had a strongly negative impact on soil development in semi-arid areas, leading to desertification. The term desertification was us...

A large number of Cu-based archaeological artefacts from the Mediterranean basin have been selected for investigation of their chemical composition, metallurgical features and corrosion products (i.e. the patina). The guidelines for the selection of the Cu-based artefacts have taken into account the representativeness of the Mediterranean archaeolo...

In this reconnaissance study, skeletal materials from people, dating from ~1500 B.P., who lived by or worked at the ancient copper mines and furnaces of the Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan, were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) to determine the intensities of accumulation of copper and lead in their bones. Many of the bones a...

In this reconnaissance study, skeletal materials from people, dating from ∼1500 B.P., who lived by or worked at the ancient copper mines and furnaces of the Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan, were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) to determine the intensities of accumulation of copper and lead in their bones. Many of the bones a...

The Decapolis region in Northern Jordan flourished during the Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad period, leading to the construction of great monuments. They are very well preserved, because the region was abandoned in the 10th century AD and no significant resettlement took place. Earthquakes, diseases and political reasons are in general thought to be...

A collection of Islamic glazed pottery shards that were excavated from the archaeological site of Dohaleh/Northern Jordan were chemically analysed. The glazes belong to three different decorative styles. The chemical analysis of the glazes was carried out using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence. The chemical analysis results enable the classific...

Skeletal material from 36 people, dating from the early Christian era, who lived by or worked in the notorious Roman copper mines of Phaeno, were analysed to determine their exposure to copper and lead. We demonstrate that many of the bones analysed had a substantially higher concentration of these cations than modern individuals exposed to metals...

Qasr al-Bint, Petra–Jordan, has been under the constant attack of a combination of various environmental factors that resulted in severe damage and destruction to the monument. The two most important factors that have contributed to the destruction of the monument are repeated earthquakes and salt crystallization. The most obvious symptoms of damag...

Geological investigation of the environment of Khirbat Faris reveals that the most suitable clay materials in the area for pottery production are from the marl-rich carbonate layers of the Upper Cretaceous sequence in the area. Petrographic analysis of the pottery from the Ayyubid-Mamluk site shows two types of pottery according to provenance. Whee...

This study deals with the scientific analysis of a collection of Late Neolithic pottery sherds excavated from the archaeological site of Wadi Shu'eib, a major Neolithic site in central Jordan. A combination of scientific techniques including petrography, geological mapping X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy were ut...