June 13 - 26, 2017

Led by Will Raynolds

This spring, the Jordan Trail Association will officially launch a hiking trail more than 600 kilometers long, connecting many of the historic sites and towns of Jordan. This summer workshop will conduct a rapid assessment of current conditions of the lesser known and largely unprotected historic sites along the trail and anticipate preservation, planning, and interpretative challenges associated with the ongoing development of the route. Focusing most heavily on the first 80km of the trail, which begins in the northern mountains, and traces the verdant slopes that flank the Jordan River Valley, participants of this workshop will visit a series of archaeological sites and historic towns. From Neolithic cave dwellings to Roman farming centers, from Byzantine churches to cities built by the Ottomans, as an ensemble, these sites provide an excellent cross section of thousands of years of continuous urban life. Through this field survey, as well as through stakeholder interviews and visits to sites further south along the trail, including the rock hewn tombs of Petra, the group will produce a small exhibit for the Columbia Global Center/Studio X in Amman, documenting potential challenges and suggesting future possibilities for the historic sites and living communities along the trail.