The Council for British Research in the Levant

In partnership with the Jordan Museum

Presents a public lecture:

Settlement in the Petra Region during the Crusader Period

Dr Micaela Sinibaldi

Followed by the launch of the book

Crusader Landscapes in the Medieval Levant: The Archaeology and History of the Latin East

Monday, April 17th at 6 p.m.

at The Jordan Museum

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About the lecture

It is well documented by historical sources that during the 12th century the Franks established several settlements in the Jabal al-Shara and the Petra region, in present-day southern Jordan, as part of the former lordship of Montréal within the territory of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. This paper summarizes the main conclusions reached on the subject of settlement of the Crusader period in the Petra. As a result of the synergic work on both documentary and archaeological sources, conclusions show the necessity of significantly revising the interpretation of settlement patterns and dynamics proposed by some scholars until now. What is revealed in the Petra region is a situation of continuous settlement through the whole Islamic period without significant gaps, where the Crusader period was not mainly characterised, as traditionally assumed, by patterns of disruption and change, but rather of continuity and adaptation to the local environment and population.

About the speaker:

Dr Micaela Sinibaldi is a Medieval Archaeologist specialising in the material culture of the Middle East. For her current CBRL fellowship, she is researching on the subject of Islamic-period pottery in Petra, its role in understanding settlement in the region and its chronologically significant aspects. This phase of research follows her work on comparative studies on several Islamic-period assemblages and on the development of a local chronology based on both typological and scientific analysis and stratigraphy. The project aims at contributing to bridge an important gap, both chronological (the one concerning the later historical periods in Petra), and territorial (the one concerning the significance of the connection of the Petra Valley with its hinterland and neighboring regions).

Micaela holds a PhD from Cardiff University, where she submitted a thesis entitled Settlement in Crusader Transjordan, 1100-1189 (2014); she has been a post-doctoral fellow at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany (2014/2015). She currently directs the CBRL-affiliated Islamic Bayda Project in Petra and has recently co-edited the volume Crusader Landscapes in the Medieval Levant: the Archaeology and History of the Latin East (2016).

About the Book:

Crusader Landscapes in the Medieval Levant.
The Archaeology and History of the Latin East.

Edited by Micaela Sinibaldi, Kevin J. Lewis, Balázs Major and Jennifer A. Thompson, University of Wales Press, 2016.

“This superb collection reflects the great variety and originality of contemporary crusades studies. The subjects range from military and ecclesiastic architecture to narrative sources and legal discussion, in geographical scope from Petra in south Jordan to Torpichen in Scotland. A great volume to honour a great scholar.”

– Professor Hugh Kennedy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London