by Stephan G. Schmid and Piotr Bienkowski
The 2014 field season of the International Umm al-Biyara Project (IUBP) lasted from March 16th to April 09th. The IUBP 2014 was funded by the cluster of excellence „Topoi“ (Berlin), Humboldt-University (Berlin), the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF, London) and the Association for the Understanding of Ancient Cultures (AUAC, Basel). We would like to thank Dr. Munther al-Jamhawi, Director General, as well as the staff of the Department of Antiquities for their support and for granting the working permit, as well as Dr. Eimad Hijazeen, commissioner of the Petra Park Authority, and Tahani Salhi for their kind logistic support.
The following persons participated in the 2014 season of the IUBP: as co-directors Stephan G. Schmid (Berlin) and Piotr Bienkowski (Manchester); as archaeologists Christoph Schneider, MA (Basel), Polly Agoridou (Berlin), Will Kennedy, BA (Berlin), Sophie Horacek, BA (Berlin), Raphael Eser, BA (Berlin); as surveyor Jana Falkenberg, BSc (Berlin). The representative of the Department of Antiquities was Mohammad Marahleh, whose help and advice were very much appreciated. During the team’s stay at Nazzal’s Camp in Petra and on top of Umm al-Biyara, Suleiman Mohammed al-B’dool, Saher Mohammed al-B’dool, Aziza Suleiman al-B’dool, Rasmieh Hussein al-B’dool and Ali Chalaf al-B’dool were a very efficient and helpful camp and supply team.