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Summary
 Soil science
has made many contributions to archaeology during the past
several decades in providing detailed descriptions and
interpretation of stratigraphic units. Determining former
surfaces and providing age relationships of soils at sites have
aided archaeologists in developing the history of numerous
sites. The soils at al-Mudaybi’ attest to the long history of
the site. The 2 meters of accumulated sediment and the
subsequent soils that have developed in the past 2700 years in
some areas of the site show not only changes in artifacts with
depth but also soil differences. These soil differences reflect
the time of exposure of the various strata to environmental
effects. For example, the well-developed buried surface (Figure
10) associated with the beginnings of the fort indicate a
significant time of development perhaps a minimum of 50 to 100
years. On the other hand, the well-developed argillic (clayey)
horizon at the base of many of the excavations indicate a long
weathering period exceeding 10-15,000 years.
The more detailed chemical and mineralogical laboratory
characterization provides additional information on the site.
The P levels in the soil provide data on the length of time and
effect of habitation on the site. The X-ray data have shown
plaster to be mainly composed of calcite and that the slag found
at the site is the result of burning limestone for the
preparation of plaster.
Although we are still in the analysis phase
of our studies at al-Mudaybi’ and the Karak Plateau, the
preliminary data on soils have provided some important clues on
the long and complex history of the archaeology of the study
area. |
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