COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Researchers led by Susan Kerner have examined 95 dolmens, or stone burial monuments, at the Central Ghat site, which is located in central Jordan, according to a statement released by the University of Copenhagen. Settlement at Mori Ghat dates back to about 6,500 years ago, when people built large domestic areas and small shrines. The construction of dolmens began around 500 to 5,500 years ago during the Early Bronze Age. Kerner and his colleagues believe that this shift towards building megalithic structures occurred as a communal response to climate change and social disruption. The presence of Early Bronze Age artifacts such as large bowls, grinding stones, flint tools, animal horn cores and copper objects at the site suggests that the population practiced communal rituals, feasting and burials at their ritual monuments. “Morigat gives us certain, fascinating new insights into how early societies coped with disruption by building monuments, reshaping social roles, and creating new forms of society,” he explained. To read the academic paper describing the research, go to The Levant. For more information on the Bronze Age in Jordan, visit “Life in the Desert.”
Post-megalithic structures studied in Jordan published by First On Archeology Magazine.
