Surface surveys
When archaeological and textual data are not available for an area, surface surveys can provide a limited amount of information. Surface surveys do not allow a detailed history of the period to be written, but can allow a rough outline of the population density and settlement patterns to be sketched.
How is a surface survey carried out? A team of archaeologists does a surface survey. The procedure is relatively simple. They walk across the surface of an area in a methodical fashion, making notes of any sites they find. The sites can come in many forms:
- ruins visible above the surface
- a few wall lines indicative of buildings
- a modern settlement with ancient pottery lying on the surface
- sherd scatters in an area with no visible architecture
When the surveyors find a site, they make notes about its location and draw a plan of the site and the surrounding area. They also sherd the site. Sherding is a process by which the surveyors pick up any pieces of pottery that are visible on the surface. This pottery can be quite plentiful. Archaeologists then use this pottery to indicate the time periods during which the site was occupied in the past. People in different time periods produced different styles of pottery using varying techniques, and pottery specialists use these differences to determine the date of the pottery.
How are surface surveys used to determine settlement patterns? Once the surface survey data has been collected, archaeologists can use this data to determine settlement patterns. The first step is to classify the sites that have been surveyed according to the features visible on the surface of the ground. Various categories are used:
- ruins
- modern settlements
- single buildings
- tombs
- sherd scatters
Three of these types of sites can be seen in the photographs below.
A modern settlement (Ai)
Ruins
Single building
Once this classification has been made, the next step is to select those sites that were inhabited during the period under consideration. For the present study, for instance, all of the sites that contained Late Bronze Age pottery would be listed. Those sites would then be plotted on a map of the area. The map would then be studied to see if any patterns were evidence that would give the archaeologist insight into the history of that period. A surface survey will also indicate to archaeologists which sites might be candidates for major archaeological excavations in the future.
The information from a surface survey can be mapped through several methods. The first, and most common, is to plot the sites on existing maps. A second method, which is becoming more common, is to digitize the sites using a Geographic Information System (GIS), a computer program that allows data about sites to be stored along with other map related information.
Surface Surveys of the Karak Plateau
Although archaeological and textual data are lacking for the Karak Plateau, several major surface surveys have been carried out. Among these are the “Archaeological Survey of the Kerak Plateau” under the direction of J. Maxwell Miller, the survey of the northwest Karak Plateau by Udo Worschech, and the on-going survey work by the Karak Resources Project. Several other smaller surveys have also contributed to our knowledge of sites in this region.