MEGALITHIC STRUCTURES INJORDAN

Abstract

This article addresses dolmens and menhirs in Jordan. These remarkable megalithic structures were (and in some places still are) spread in large numbers over a substantial part of the country. Dolmen fields have been reported in Jordan and, particularly, in the Irbid and Jordan Valley regions, as well as north of the Zarqa river, around Mount Nebo and south of Ma'in. Research has shown that these structures developed some variation in typology. Most of them can be dated o the Early Bronze Age, based on the (little) excavated material.At the same time, some dolmens were probably built and/or reused in later periods.

Upright standing stones or menhirs have been encountered in different parts in Jordan. The most famous one is called Hajar al-Mansoub, erected in a field overlooking Wadi Zerka Ma'in from the north/west. Menhirs occur as a single stone or in small groups, a typical example of the last category being a row of(probably)16 'pillars' at al Lejjun in the Kerak Governorate. Most scholars presuppose a cultic relationship. The dating of monoliths has proven even more difficult than dolmens; all the same the Adir menhir and some others have been associated with the Early Bronze AgeI.