Twenty glass samples collected from four structures at Umm el-Jimal, northeast Jordan were analysed using the Electron Probe Micro-Analysis (EPMA). Except one ash-soda-lime-silica glass, all were natron-soda-lime-silica glasses of Levantine origin. Most of the glasses compositionally resemble glass from the Byzantine tank furnaces at Apollonia-Arsuf (Arsuf), but four with lower lime are closer to Umayyad period production at Bet Eli'ezer (Hadera). The paper presents diagnostic information indicating recycling in a Diagnostic Recycling Table (DRT) in which the analyses are ranked in a descending order of K2O, a key contaminant in the recycling process. This allows the comparison of a range of contaminant elements and it is observed that in general glass contaminated with fuel ash components K2O, P2O5 and CaO are also richer in transition metal oxides CuO, PbO, FeO and MnO, confirming that both sets of elements are important in identifying recycled glass. Chlorine is also identified as a component modified by recycling. The results ascertain that Umm el-Jimal was part of a major system of glass recycling in the Byzantine period, and emphasise the importance of recycled glass in its supply, in spite of its relative proximity to the location of raw glass production on the Syro-Palestinian coast.

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The study aims to use lime mortars and plasters to radiocarbon date Nabatean and Islamic structures from Petra and Udruh, south Jordan. Fifteen samples from seven structures were characterized by thin‐section, scanning electron and cathodoluminescence microscopy. The lime binders of all the samples and the organic inclusions from nine samples were AMS radiocarbon dated. The dates and the historical data of the samples were compared with each other. The results showed an agreement between the radiocarbon dates of the lime binders and the organic inclusions and the historical data for most of the samples. The radiocarbon dates of the lime binders supported by the radiocarbon dates of the organic inclusions and the archaeological data were helpful in reconstructing a rather precise chronology of the studied structures.

ABSTRACT. This investigation concerns human teeth and bones from the site of Natfieh, north Jordan. Nitrogen and carbon isotope analyses were used to model the paleo-economy by reconstructing Natfieh's paleodiet during a specific time period. 14 C dating of human teeth and bones from the site of Natfieh, north Jordan, demonstrate that they belong to the Early Roman period and match the archaeological date from the tomb and grave goods typology. Stable isotope analyses of these humans have provided new information about the subsistence and society of individuals buried at Natfieh. Natfieh is today agriculturally productive and must have been so in antiquity with most of the foodstuffs having been produced locally. The long distance between Natfieh and the closest aquatic food source (Mediterranean Sea and Lake Tiberias) and the high cost of land transportation might be the reason for the low consumption of marine protein. The results agree with past research on the Roman diet showing that plants were the common source of food for the Romans and fish may have been restricted to elite members of the society.

ABSTRACT. This research aims at radiocarbon dating 2 structures of archaeological interest from Petra, south Jordan, using lime plaster and mortar. Initially, the samples' content of calcareous contamination was examined by petrography and cathodoluminescence. In order to date clean lime binders, the samples were gently crushed and 63-45 μπι powders were collected by dry sieving, then the C0 2 gases, collected by a hydrochloric acid hydrolysis of the powders, were dated. The interpreted 14 C dates clarify the chronology of the studied structures, show an agreement with the archaeological and historical data, and may indicate the efficiency of the cleaning and hydrolysis procedures.