Early Bronze Age Dolmens in Jordan and their orientations

Authors

  • Andrea Polcaro Department of Near East Archaeology, University of Rome "La Sapienza" Via Palestro 63, 00185 Rome, Italy
  • Vito Francesco Polcaro Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, LASF, Rome Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, ltaly

Keywords:

Early Bronze Age, Dolmens, Wadi Zarqa, Orientations, Funerary Customs, Dumuzi

Abstract

This work presents the results of a survey of dolmen fields of the Early Bronze I in Jordan, in the Wadi Zarqa Valley, started in October 2004 and still in progress. Our data show, with a very high statistical significance, that in many sites of the Early Bronze IA a large majority of dolmens were built oriented along the N-S direction.A first interpretative hypothesis of these results, based on the astronomical contents of the mythology of the nearby civilizations culturally connected to the Palestinian area, is suggested.

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Published

2023-07-24

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 3 (2006)

Section

Articles