Qasr Burqa; Qasr Burqu; Wadi al-Khudri Complete

Description

An Arabic inscription dated 81 AH (700 CE) attests to an Umayyad refurbishment of Qasr Burqa and records the presence and building activity of al-Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik before his accession to the caliphate (r. 705–715). This phase saw the complex adapted as the prince’s residence. The text is catalogued as RCEA I 12 = TEI 17 and is accessible at www.trismegistos.org/text/959923. Earlier occupations are of Late Antique date. The site’s earliest known role was as a Roman/Byzantine defensive observation post, after which, in the fifth and sixth centuries, it was in all likelihood used by a monastic community. Plan source: Harahshah, Desreumaux 2016: 245, fig. 1. Further reading: Betts, A. 2003. “Qaṣr Burqu – Desert Periphery and Urban Core.” Mediterranean Archaeology, 16, 89–97. Helms, S. 1991. “A New Architectural Survey of Qar Burquʽ, Eastern Jordan.” The Antiquaries Journal, 71, 191–215. Harahshah, R., Desreumaux, A.J.P. 2016 “A recently discovered Christo-Palestinian Aramaic inscription from northeastern Bādiyah, Jordan,” Semitica et Classica 9, 245–250.