Dhra‘ (Wadi Dhra‘)
Dhra · Wadi Dhra · Dhra Jordan
PPNA (c.9300–8600 BCE)·Sultaniyean PPNA·🇯🇴 Dead Sea plain, Jordan Valley, Jordan
About
About Dhra‘ (Wadi Dhra‘)
PPNA village (c.9300–8600 BCE) on the Lisan Peninsula at -200 m beside the Dead Sea, excavated by Bill Finlayson. Rectangular pisé houses pre-dating Jericho, with plastered floors, granaries and an early cereal silo complex indicating pre-domestication storage.
Why it mattersKey Dead Sea plain, Jordan Valley sequence for PPNA (c.9300–8600 BCE); pre-agricultural granary village at dead sea margin.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology of Dhra‘ (Wadi Dhra‘) relative to neighbouring centres?
Theories
- 01Regional centre hypothesis for Dead Sea plain
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.9300 BCE
- Period
- PPNA (c.9300–8600 BCE)
- Culture
- Sultaniyean PPNA
- Builders
- Sultaniyean PPNA communities
- Purpose
- Pre-agricultural granary village at Dead Sea margin
- Rediscovered
- 20th century survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1960
Foundation/earliest horizon
1980
Major excavations
2020
Conservation/monitoring
On the ground
Structures & features
31.5800° N · 35.6000° E · -200 m · 2 mapped features
PPNA granary complex
structureRaised-floor granary with plastered storage pits
31.5802° N · 35.6003° ERectangular pisé houses
structureEarly rectangular houses with lime-plaster floors
31.5798° N · 35.5997° E