Athena Review Image Archive ™
Khirbet el Fityan: Satellite image of Roman fortress with plan
Khirbet el Fityan: satellite image of fort with plan (Google Images; Kennedy and Riley 1990 fig.121.)
Situated on the edge of a deep ridge of the Wadi Lajjun, and located 1.3 km to the northwest of the legionary fortress at El Lejuun in central Jordan, is the smaller fort of Khirbet el Fityan (coordinates N 31.242789, E 35.856783). Two Roman roads went past the forts on the east.
The
fort measures 78.8 x 76.8m, with square corner towers and gates in
three walls. Barrack blocks and cisterns have been identified in the
interior. Excavation has revealed pre -Roman, Iron Age and
possible Nabataean occupations at the site (Parker, 1987). The
fort itself was constructed in the late 3rd or early 4th century,
closely contemporary with the Wadi Lajjun fortress nearby. Occupation
at Khirbet el Fityan, however, does not seem to have lasted long and it
may have served mainly as a forerunner of the fortress, perhaps
continuing in use briefly as a watch post.
[Source: Kennedy and Riley 1990, Rome's Desert Frontier from the Air.]
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