University of Copenhagen excavations at Mariyat reveal Early Bronze Age ceremonial landscape—a clue to how communities coped with climatic and social changes after the decline of Chalcolithic culture
A research team has uncovered an impressive ceremonial landscape from the Early Bronze Age at the site of Murayghat in Jordan. The discovery may shed new light on how ancient communities responded to social and environmental changes.
How did ancient civilizations respond to crises and the collapse of the existing social order? The 5,000-year-old site of Murai'at in Jordan, which has been extensively excavated by archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen, may provide an answer.
Murai'at emerged after the decline of the Chalcolithic culture (c. 4500–3500 BCE)—a period characterized by residential settlements, rich symbolic traditions, copper objects, and ritual shrines.
Researchers believe that climatic changes and social disruptions led to the collapse of the culture, following which Early Bronze Age groups began to create new forms of ceremonial expression:
“Instead of large residential settlements with small temples – as seen in the Chalcolithic period – our excavations at Early Bronze Age Mariyat reveal clusters of dolmens (stone burial structures), standing stones and large megalithic structures, indicating ritual gatherings and communal burials – not residential neighborhoods,” says project leader and archaeologist Prof. Susanne Kerner of the University of Copenhagen.
Redefining territory and social roles
Archaeologists have documented more than 95 dolmen remains. At the top of the site's central hill were found stone enclosures and rock-cut recesses that also suggest ceremonial use.
These visible signs may have helped redefine identity, territory, and social roles in a time without strong central authority, Kerner notes:
“Muri’at gives us, we believe, fascinating insights into how early societies coped with disruption—through the construction of monuments, the redefinition of social roles, and the creation of new forms of community.”
Excavations at Mari'at have uncovered Early Bronze Age pottery, large communal bowls, millstones, flint tools, animal horn cores, and a few copper objects—all indicative of ceremonial activity and the possibility of ritual feasts. The site's layout and appearance in the landscape also suggest that it served as a meeting point for various groups in the area.
Susan Kerner recently published the article "Dolmens, standing stones and rituals in Murayghat" About the site's findings in the journal Levant.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
