The Mountain of Aaron (Jabal Haroun) near the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, is the traditional burial place of the Old Testament prophet and a site considered sacred by the three world religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Since 1997, a Finnish archaelological project has been investigating the mountain through the excavations of a Byzantine pilgramage complex on its high plateau and an intensive survey of its surroundings. In the course of the excavations, it has become clear that the Byzantine structures were preceded by a monumental building, probably a temple of the Nabataean-Roman period. Moreover, already in the pre-Christian period a pilgrim route probablty led from central Petra to Jabal Haroun. The article explores the history and archaeology of Jabal Haroun, which shows a remarkable degree of continuity and opens up the prospect that the local folk tradition may preserve elements of Nabataean religion. Using contemporary rituals and beliefs associated with the mountain as a reference point, we suggest that the pre-Christian 'deity of Jabal Haroun' can be identified as the Nabataean goddess al-'Uzza.
The al-ʿUlā – al-Wajh Survey Project deals with ancient trade routes between al-ʿUlā and Madāʿin ʿāliʿ (ancient Hegra) and the Red Sea in the area of al-Wajh in NW Saudi Arabia. This investigation is related to economics of long-distance maritime and caravan trade and the utilization of the "Incense Route" which served to convey frankincense and other commodities from South Arabia to the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Project is also concerned with the localization of Nabataean seaports on the Red Sea coast, such as Leuke Kome and Egra Kome. The results of two fieldwork seasons are presented including a potential caravan route to Hegra along the Wādī al-ʿamʿ. The site of Nabataean al-Qusayr is highlighted here as the finds from there indicate a participation in the long-distance trade between the Mediterranean, Egypt and the Red Sea region.
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