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Jerash - Umayyad House

Jerash Umayyad House

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Introduction
ChatGPT Introduction

The Umayyad House in Jerash is a large elite residence built on level ground north of the South decumanus and in a quarter NE of the south Tetrapylon of Jerash. Excavations indicated that the house was in use from the 7th - 9th [?] centuries CE. The Umayyad House itself is notable for its well-preserved layout, with thick walls, reused Roman material, and an interior cistern. It remained in use for several generations and underwent internal modifications over time.

Jerash - Introduction Webpage

Aerial Views and Plans
Aerial Views and Plans

Aerial Views

  • Jerash Umayyad House in Google Earth
    Jerash Umayyad House

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Plans

Site Plans

Normal Size

  • General Plan of Jerash
    Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.

    Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
    from Wikipedia
  • Fig. 2 - Plan of Umayyad
    Figure 2

    Plan summarising the principal urban features of Umayyad Jarash.

    1. Umayyad mosque
    2. possible Islamic administrative centre
    3. market (suq)
    4. South Tetrakonia piazza (built over)
    5. Macellum, with Umayyad–Abbasid rebuilding, and south cardo, encroached by structures;
    6. Oval piazza domestic quarter with fountain;
    7. Zeus temple forecourt (kiln, monastery?)
    8. hippodrome and Bishop Marianos church, eighth century use
    9. church of SS Peter and Paul and Mortuary Church (Umayyad construction date?)
    10. churches of SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John theBaptist, with Umayyad–Abbasid occupation and iconoclastic-effected mosaics (later eighth century)
    11. Christian complex of two churches (Cathedral to the east with stairs from the street, St Theodore’s to the west), mid-5th to late 6th century Bath of Placcus (north of St Theodore’s) and houses west of St Theodore’s with extensive Umayyad occupation including a kiln and oil press
    12. Artemis compound used for ceramic manufacture
    13. Synagogue church with iconoclastic-effected mosaics
    14. North Theatre, also industrialised with kilns
    15. the 1981 ‘mosque’
    16. central Cardo with blacksmith’s shop and offices

    Map modfied from R.E. Pillen in Zayadine (1986).

    Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
    Jerash from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
  • Fig. 13 - Early Islamic
    Figure 13

    Early Islamic Jerash

    8th to 13th century CE

    Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
    Jerash - 8th to 13th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Magnified

  • Fig. 2 - Plan of Umayyad
    Figure 2

    Plan summarising the principal urban features of Umayyad Jarash.

    1. Umayyad mosque
    2. possible Islamic administrative centre
    3. market (suq)
    4. South Tetrakonia piazza (built over)
    5. Macellum, with Umayyad–Abbasid rebuilding, and south cardo, encroached by structures;
    6. Oval piazza domestic quarter with fountain;
    7. Zeus temple forecourt (kiln, monastery?)
    8. hippodrome and Bishop Marianos church, eighth century use
    9. church of SS Peter and Paul and Mortuary Church (Umayyad construction date?)
    10. churches of SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John theBaptist, with Umayyad–Abbasid occupation and iconoclastic-effected mosaics (later eighth century)
    11. Christian complex of two churches (Cathedral to the east with stairs from the street, St Theodore’s to the west), mid-5th to late 6th century Bath of Placcus (north of St Theodore’s) and houses west of St Theodore’s with extensive Umayyad occupation including a kiln and oil press
    12. Artemis compound used for ceramic manufacture
    13. Synagogue church with iconoclastic-effected mosaics
    14. North Theatre, also industrialised with kilns
    15. the 1981 ‘mosque’
    16. central Cardo with blacksmith’s shop and offices

    Map modfied from R.E. Pillen in Zayadine (1986).

    Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
    Jerash from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
  • Fig. 13 - Early Islamic
    Figure 13

    Early Islamic Jerash

    8th to 13th century CE

    Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
    Jerash - 8th to 13th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Area Plans

Early Islamic Jerash

Normal Size

Magnified

Umayyad House

Normal Size

  • Fig. 1 - Plan of the
    Fig. 1

    Plan of the Umayyad House (7th century CE). from A. Ostrasz.

    Gawlikowski (1992)
    Umayyad House from Gawlikowski (1992)

Magnified

  • Fig. 1 - Plan of the
    Fig. 1

    Plan of the Umayyad House (7th century CE). from A. Ostrasz.

    Gawlikowski (1992)
    Umayyad House from Gawlikowski (1992)

Chronology
7th century CE Earthquake - based on rebuilding evidence

Plans

Plans

  • General Plan of Jerash
    Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.

    Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
    from Wikipedia
  • Early Islamic Jerash from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
    Early Islamic Jerash

    Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of the Umayyad House
    Fig. 1

    Plan of the Umayyad House (7th century CE). from A. Ostrasz.

    Gawlikowski (1992)
    from Gawlikowski (1992)

Discussion

Gawlikowski (1992:358) reports that the Umayyad House at Jerash was built on level ground after an earthquake. The construction date is inferred from coins. These included coins of Constans II (641–668), described as the last Byzantine coins used in Syria-Palestine and "found within the fill (at depth and on the surface)", and Arab-Byzantine coins from Scythopolis (Beisan) and Jerash, found "'sealed' under the ground of the House".

The exact date of this Arab-Byzantine coinage is uncertain, but Gawlikowski, following Bates (1976), places it around the middle of the 7th century CE or later. Based on this numismatic terminus post quem, Gawlikowski proposes that the earthquake which preceded construction was the one of the 659/660 CE Jordan Valley Quake(s).

Gawlikowski also references a "recent discovery" by J. Seigne in the lower terrace of the Temple of Zeus, where the vaulted corridor collapsed and buried a herd of goats. The age of one of the kids suggested that the disaster occurred in May or June due to seasonal birthing pattersn of goats. A Byzantine coin with an Arab countermark, signifying the start of Islamic rule, was also found with the remains. This evidence corroborated Gawlikowski’s attribution of the event to one of the 659/660 CE Jordan Valley Quake(s)..

The archaeoseismic evidence here is based solely on rebuilding evidence. No direct seismic damage from a 7th century CE earthquake was reported.

References
Notes by JW

Gawlikowski (1992:358) reports that the Umayyad house was built on level ground after an earthquake. They discuss its date of construction below:

The construction is well dated by the numismatic findings: on one hand coins of Constantius II (641-668), the last Byzantine coins having been used in Syria-Palestine, found within the fill (at depth and on the surface), and on the other hand Arab-Byzantine coins minted at Scythopolis (Beisan) and Jerash itself, "sealed" under the ground of the House. The exact dating of the latter coinage is not assured, but it is reasonable to place it around the middle of the 7th century, if not later (Bates, 1976). Therefore, I propose that the the earthquake that preceded construction as the one that struck Syria-Palestine in June 658, according to the testimony of Theophanes (Grumel 1958:479; Kallner-Amiran 1950-51:226). A recent discovery by J. Seigne corroborates our identification: the collapse of the vaulted corridor of the lower terrace of Zeus buries under the rubble a herd of goats; the age of a kid indicates that the cataclysm took place in May-June and moreover a Byzantine currency with an Arab countermark indicating the beginning of Muslim government (Seigne, unpublished report of 1984, kindly communicated by the author).
The archaeoseismic evidence is based on rebuilding evidence. No seismic effects from a 7th century CE earthquake are mentioned.

Gawlikowski (1992)

Chat GPT Summary of Archaeoseismic Evidence

Archaeoseismic evidence for a mid-7th century CE earthquake at the Umayyad house in Jerash is based on a clear phase of post-earthquake construction. According to Gawlikowski (1992:358), the house was built on level ground after an earthquake. It was bordered on both sides by high fill deposits, interpreted as clearance layers from this seismic destruction.

The event is dated through numismatic evidence: coins of Constans II (r. 641–668) were found within the underlying fill, while Arab-Byzantine coins from Scythopolis and Jerash were sealed beneath the house’s floors. The author proposes a terminus post quem in the mid-7th century, suggesting the structure was built after the June 658 earthquake [JW: slightly incorrect date for 659/660 CE Jordan Valley Quake(s)], described by Theophanes.

Additional supporting evidence comes from Jacques Seigne, who reported that a vaulted corridor on the lower terrace of the Zeus sanctuary collapsed, burying a herd of goats. The age of a kid and a coin with an Arab countermark place the event in May–June, shortly after the Muslim conquest.

No direct seismic damage (e.g., tilted walls, collapsed vaults, faults) from the 7th century was reported in the house itself. Instead, the archaeoseismic signal is inferred from stratigraphic evidence and intentional rebuilding.

8th century CE Earthquake ?

Plans

Plans

  • General Plan of Jerash
    Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.

    Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
    from Wikipedia
  • Early Islamic Jerash from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
    Early Islamic Jerash

    Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of the Umayyad House
    Fig. 1

    Plan of the Umayyad House (7th century CE). from A. Ostrasz.

    Gawlikowski (1992)
    from Gawlikowski (1992)

Discussion

Gawlikowski (1992) report that the Umayyad house was destroyed towards the end of the 8th century by another earthquake which they dated, based on pottery, to after 770 CE..

References
Gawlikowski (1992)

Chat GPT Summary of Archaeoseismic Evidence

The excavators at the Umayyad house in Jerash found no conclusive evidence of destruction attributable to the 749 CE earthquake. Although the structure was Umayyad in plan and date, it showed no signs of structural collapse or violent damage that could be linked to a seismic event in the mid-8th century.

According to Gawlikowski (1992:358), the house’s interior was reoccupied and repurposed during the Abbasid period. Rooms were subdivided, new installations were added, and signs of domestic activity continued. The modifications were interpreted as signs of impoverishment rather than destruction and rebuilding.

The absence of a collapse layer or widespread clearing of debris suggests that this particular structure may have escaped major damage during the 749 CE earthquake. As such, the archaeoseismic evidence from this location is negative or absent for the 8th century.

Notes and Further Reading
References

Gawlikowski, 1992, Installations Omayyades à Jérash, Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 04