An Iron Age II ceramic figurine from Umm Sweiwineh, Central Jordan

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses a typical Ammonite terracotta figurine discovered during the rescue excavation conducted at Umm Sweiwineh in the periphery of Amman in 2014 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoA). During the past few decades, excavations in Transjordan, in particular central Jordan, have produced a large corpus of anthropomorphic figurines from various sites dated to the Iron Age. Their excavation contexts varied from funerary to domestic. Male figurines are usually slipped or painted to show a beard or moustache and are characterised by a conical headdress. Although foreign cultural influence is apparent, they show a local stylistic tradition. This paper will discuss the figurine and its findspot, including a description and the forming technique employed to produce it, its typological classification, chronological framework, comparisons, cultural influence, iconography and potential function. The chronology of the figurine was determined by its archaeological context and accompanying pottery assemblage, as well as comparative examples from well-stratified sites.

KEYWORDS:

• rescue excavation
• Umm Sweiwineh
• Ammonite figurine
• horse and rider
• Iron Age
• ceramic figurine
• moulded head
• handmade body

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the DoA represented by Director General Dr Fadi Balawi for giving us the permission to study and publish the figurine and for facilitating the study of other related materials. Many thanks also to Dr Règine Hunziker-Rodewald for her dedicated efforts to provide us with advice, notes and corrections where needed. Without her assistance we could not have completed this paper. We would also like to thank Mr. Dheeb Maharmeh for drawing the terracotta figurine. We also extend our sincere thanks to the staff of Tabarbour main store for their help during photographing.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Mega Jordan Site no. 2702, JADIS: 2314116

2 Regrettably, no pictures of the site nor its pottery assemblage were taken in situ by the excavators.

3 The pottery sherds that were found during the excavations were transported to the main storage of the DoA at Nuwayjis, Tabarbour in 2014. As such, their current location is unknown as they are mixed with boxes of finds from other sites in Jordan.

4 The current location of the figurine is the main storage of the DoA at Tabarbour.