An Arab Chariot Monument at Umm al-Jimāl

Research at Umm al-Jimāl, Jordan, reveals previously unpublished basalt sculptures from a Nabataean-Roman to Byzantine settlement, offering new evidence of Hellenistic-Romanized embellishment in an Arab-Nabataean sanctuary. The fragments, dated to the first or second century AD, depict chariot groups driven by deities, paralleling similar statuary found in the nearby basalt desert of al-Ledjā (ancient Trachonitis). Analysis of these remnants suggests they were part of a larger sculptural complex likely destroyed during the Palmyrenean Campaign in the later third century AD. The study combines archaeological investigation with comparative analysis to reconstruct the sanctuary's significance and cultural context, bridging gaps in our understanding of this understudied region.

Weber-Karyotakis, T. M., & al-Khdair, M. H. S. (2018). An Arab Chariot Monument at Umm al-Jimāl. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 150(3), 214–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00310328.2018.1485427