al-Burz; Khirbet el-Burz; Khirbet el Birz; Khirbet el Bourj Complete

Description

The site known as al-Burz—referred to in the literature by several variants, including Khirbet el-Burz, Khirbet el-Birz, and Khirbet el Bourj—lies in the northwestern region of Jordan, about 10 km northwest of Irbid and roughly 2 km southwest of the modern village of Sama ar-Rusan. Fieldwork has been episodic. An initial reconnaissance was carried out by Glueck in 1942. In October 1984 a further survey was undertaken by Lenzen, McQuitty, and Rousan, and the locality was revisited the following month by Lenzen and McQuitty together with McCreery, Director of the American Centre for Oriental Research in Amman. The investigations in 1984 documented, among other remains, a courtyard complex, an underground conduit, cisterns, and burials. A subsequent development occurred in 1993, when Nasser Khaleb al-Khasawneh identified a church at the site. The available plan derives from the 1984 work (Lenzen, McQuitty, Rousan 1985, p. 177, fig. 1) and therefore predates the identification of the church; as a result, the latter is not represented on that drawing. Further reading: Hoyland, R. 2010. Mount Nebo, Jabal Ramm, and the status of Christian Palestinian Aramaic and Old Arabic in Late Roman Palestine and Arabia, [in:] M.C.A. Macdonald (ed.), The development of Arabic as written language, Oxford, 29-46. Lenzen, C. J., McQuitty, A. M., Rousan, M. 1985. Khirbet el Burz, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 29, 175-178. http://publication.doa.gov.jo/Publications/ViewChapterPublic/2083 Khasawneh, N. 1993. Final Report on the Khirbet al-Burz - Sama ar-Rusan Excavation, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 38, 21-29. (in Arabic). Puech, E. 2003. L’inscription christo-palestinienne du Ouadi Rajib-Ajloun et de nouvelles inscriptions christo-palestiniennes de Jordanie, [in:] G.C. Bottini, L. di Segni & L.D. Chrupcala (eds), One Land Many Cultures; Jerusalem: Franciscan Press, 317–325. SEG 53-1911. Sama ar-Rusan (area of el Burz). Fragmentary bilingual (Aramaic / Greek) inscription recording the foundation or renovation of a church, probably 6th/7th cent. A.D.