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The discovery of a new church inscription referring to the Jafnid (or "Ghassānid") leader alMundhir in northern Jordan provides new insights into the activities of the family in the region arid is a valuable addition to the epigraphic corpus concerning the Jafnids. The initial publication of the inscription in ADAJ, as part of the excavation report, was necessarily limited in its analytical scope. Here we take the opportunity to build on those initial findings to place the inscription in its epigraphic context, in the context of the activities of the Jafnid family, including their public connection to expressions of Christian piety in Provincia Arabia and elsewhere. Finally, we offer a hypothesis about what the title accorded to al-Mundhir on the inscription might reveal about the process of "imperial confirmation" for Arab allies in general and for the Jafnids in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Nabataean inscription was discovered during excavations at Khirbat az-Zūna by the Regional Survey of the Wādī ath-Thamad Project in Jordan. The inscription is one of several examples of spolia found reused in the construction of the Roman castellum, although their origin remains unidentified. The inscription's position left it nearly invisible in antiquity, and it was clearly not meant to be read in its secondary context. The text is incomplete and partly illegible, but includes five lines of text mentioning five individuals; two of these are named Baṭalū, a new name in the Nabataean onomasticon. Of equal interest is a wish for the safety of a qysr, although the identity of this unnamed Caesar remains unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey work was carried out in the region of Mushash Hudruj near the Jordanian- Saudi borders in 2004, 2005 and 2009. The finds of this project include a north Arabian inscription, a cairn, an animal trap, stone circles, flint mines and water harvesting systems. These features demonstrate that this region was utilized by pastoral nomads who depended purely on a mobile subsistence pattern, governed by the availability of pasture and water. This pattern of seasonal movement is still practiced by modern Bedouin who move mainly within the wadi system which have become the main areas of attraction for Bedouin since prehistoric times, and have played a major role in the survival of these groups and their flocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]