No abstract

The Arava is an arid region in the Southern Levant. Archaeological excavations and surveys in the area revealed dense settlement and sophisticated technologies from the eighth to ninth centuries-qanat water technology and copper production. Differences between the data of the middle and southern Arava suggest two separated economic systems. While the Southern Arava seems to be primarily an industrial area of copper that delivered the raw material to Ayla, the middle Arava was mainly agricultural and may be connected to trade routes. Studying the farming conditions of this arid area points to date palms as the main crop of the agricultural settlement. However, it is not yet clear where the Arava's produce was exported.

The archaeological data from the Arava (Southern Israel/Jordan) suggests massive settlement during the eighth and ninth centuries (the Early Islamic Period), which the literary sources do not mention. The material evidence includes copper industry, a developed agriculture with qanats, and specific architecture. In this study, data from the excavations and surveys in both Jordan and Israel was gathered, and settlement patterns were identified. The Arava patterns of settlement suggest the possibility of the intervention of ruling authorities. First, Early Islamic settlement in the Arava is a one-time phenomenon; Second, advanced technologies were used to exploit the area’s natural resources, and third, the city of Ayla and the courtyard houses are expressions of an administrative architecture. However, this study cannot determine whether the involvement was that of the central government or of local authorities only.

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