The property is a rural settlement in northern Jordan that developed organically on the site of an earlier Roman settlement around the 5th century CE and functioned until the end of the 8th century CE. It preserves basaltic structures from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods that represent the local architecture style of the Hauran region, with some earlier Roman military buildings re-purposed by later inhabitants. The settlement formed part of a broader agricultural landscape that included a complex water catchment system, which sustained agriculture and animal herding. The earliest structures uncovered at Umm Al-Jimāl date back to the 1st century CE, when the area formed part of the Nabataean Kingdom. A rich epigraphic corpus in Greek, Nabataean, Safaitic, Latin and Arabic uncovered on the site and spanning many centuries provides insights into its history, and sheds light on the changes in its inhabitants’ religious beliefs.

Brief synthesis Umm Al-Jimāl, in present-day northern Jordan, preserves the vestiges of a rural settlement that developed organically on the site of an earlier Roman settlement around the 5th century CE and functioned until the end of the 8th century CE, when permanent settlement at the site ceased. Composed of clusters of multi-storey houses with courtyards arranged in three neighbourhoods, the town included sixteen churches of different types. Its layout and distinctive basaltic architecture of mostly domestic and religious character reflect local Hauranian building styles and designs rooted in pragmatism, cost-effectiveness and durability. A few notable well-preserved examples of earlier Roman imperial-type military buildings, which were incorporated into the structure of the town in the Byzantine period after being re-purposed, testify to the resilience of local traditions. The town formed part of a broader agricultural landscape that included a complex water catchment system, composed of a network of reservoirs and channels connecting the settlement to the nearby wadi, that ensured irrigation of the fields. Umm Al-Jimāl bears testimony to the rural way of life on the Hauran plateau in the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, and epitomises the Hauranian culture with its agro-pastoral identity, reflecting the social values and cultural traditions of the Hauranian people. It provides a window into the hinterland of the imperial capitals and urban centres of the time…