Title

Conference highlights burial practices in the Levant through history - UJ

Body

The Faculty of Archaeology and Tourism and in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and German universities on Sunday inaugurated a conference entitled:” burial practices in the Levant from the Roman era until the end of the Islamic era “.

 

Twenty eight experts in archeology and exploration from local, Arab and German universities in addition to UJ are participating in the conference.

 

The two – day conference aims to promote exchanges and cultural and scientific cooperation between the University of Jordan and German universities and recognize religious, cultural, social and anthropological identities of Jordan's population through history, according to Dr. Nizar Turshan, Head of the Preparatory Committee of the conference.

 

Turshan said that the Faculty of Archaeology and Tourism represented by the Department of Archeology was keen to start the ​new academic year by holding an event that aims to highlight aspects of ethnic, religious and cultural archaeological sites in Jordan as well as burial practices over ages.

 

UJ Vice-President for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Prof. Shtaywi Abdullah said the conference is a milestone in the history of the University; as it gathers an elite group of European academics who specialize in burial practices and their counterparts in Jordan and the Arab countries.

 

DAAD representative, Dr. Thomas M. Weber, praised efforts made by the organizers for the success of this conference.

 

From his part, Dr. “Christoph Igor”, University of Munich, delivered a speech in which he highlighted the religious practices and rituals that characterized the successive ages starting from the Roman times until the Islamic era in the preparation of the dead from the moment of death until the moment of burial.

 

“Igor” pointed out that there are clear differences in religious practices in Roman times in comparison with burial practices in the Byzantine and Islamic eras, stressing that religions impose their own rituals in terms of preparing the bodies of the dead and the burial.

 

Hala Abu Jaradeh, a student at the Faculty of Archaeology and Tourism, spoke on behalf of the students and welcomed the participants of the conference, noting in her speech to the scholarship she has obtained from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

 

The conferees will discuss papers dealing with extensive studies revolve around the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and will review the most prominent burial customs in the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras, in addition to differences that have accompanied each era through related historical sources and results of excavations that revealed these cemeteries in Jordan.

 

The first day sessions discussed a number of relevant topics presented by researchers related to burial practices of the Nabataeans, and in the Roman era. In addition, it will examine forms and types of coffins in northern Jordan and the continuity of burial practices at the Archaeological site Yamun from the late Bronze ages until the Islamic era.

 

Moreover, the two Sessions tracked features of burial practices in many archaeological sites scattered in Jordan, such as Khirbet Al Samra, Umm Qais, and Jordan Badia.

Page Image

NewsDate

2013-09-09T21:00:00Z

ExpiredDate

2013-09-29T21:00:00Z
Created at 9/10/2013 11:58 AM by Dr. Mahmoud Arinat
Last modified at 9/1/2019 10:53 AM by Haya Soliman