The Mortars from rock-cut hydraulic structures of as-Sila (Sela) in Southern Jordan: Mineralogical characterization and Radiocarbon dating

Abstract

One of the aims of the 2016 campaign in as-Sila was to conduct a survey in order to identify cisterns, channels and structures related to water use at the top of the settlement, using the 2015 survey map of the site as a base. The investigations have revealed a complex and sophisticated hydrological network with a great diversity of water structures (carved in the sandstone and designed for the collection, storage, transport and distribution of rainwater). All the structures have been identified and described using a total station, their location associated with the general topography of the site, and the contexts photographed. This study presents the results of recent analyses of lime-based mortars from rock-cut hydraulic structures collected during the 2016 archaeological campaign at the site of as-Sila/Sela, in the governorate of Tafilah in southern Jordan. Mineralogical and petrographic analyses were performed on 16 samples of mortars by means of x ray diffraction (XRD) and thinsection petrography (OM), and 12 AMS radiocarbon dates were taken from them. In spite of the difficulties in dating lime-based mortars and the problems inherent in the interpretation of the data, here we present the most complete analysis currently available of mortars from an archaeological site in southern Transjordan.